February 8, 2008

Greetings,

Our web-based network, the International Network for Higher Education in Africa, (INHEA), located at http://www.bc.edu/inhea, has undergone significant renovation. The new design should allow for easier navigation by users, and introduces several innovations that will enhance content and usability. Following are several key highlights:

1. We have added a new feature called the "INHEA Editorial Series." This will feature occasional contributions by leading scholars and policymakers in African higher education. Our goal is to encourage thoughtful consideration and dialogue about key issues and developments in higher education in Africa.
   
   
2. Another new section is the "Current Events in African Higher Education" which provides links to timely news articles about higher education across the continent. In addition to providing calendar information about upcoming and past conferences, we also hope to post details about key outcomes of such events.
   
   
3. Our existing "Publications Database," organized by country, region, and theme, is being updated to include many recent publications on African higher education. We are especially pleased to announce that, through a special agreement with ProQuest Information and Learning, we have received permission to post links to the abstracts of 300 dissertations and theses on African higher education. This will provide visitors to our website with direct access to much more detailed information about these important and original studies on African higher education. Our publications database will also be re-organized to allow for quick access to references for each country by year. The chronological breakdown of material should make it easier to navigate through each country's list of references.
   
   
4. Throughout 2008, we expect to be able to revise and expand our "Experts and Researchers" database, as well as update our already extensive and detailed "Country Profiles" information. We also plan to coordinate efforts with the Podcast Initiative of the Boston College Center for International Higher Education in order to produce several podcast interviews with African higher education leaders and experts. Meanwhile, we are also very interested in adding more visual content to the INHEA site, As such, we would be very happy to receive digital photographs of African universities for posting on our web pages. Please send any contributions of this nature to rumbley@bc.edu.
   
   
5. Finally, we would like to take this occasion to update you about the ongoing initiative to publish a resource book titled Higher Education in Africa: An International Dimension. We are delighted to inform you that the work is progressing and soon we should finalize the editing process. We are hopeful that the book will be ready in the next several months and we will send out the announcement to you as it is published. One of the spin-offs of this initiative is an effort to nurture networks for "seasoned" and "new generation" of thinkers, policy makers, and researchers concerned with and interested in the international dimension of higher education in Africa. In 2007, we created two opportunities to bring a dozen individuals from many African countries to a relevant meeting and workshop, in Egypt and South Africa. It is our intention to expand this cohort in terms of numbers and countries represented. We are planning to organize another regional meeting, this time hopefully in Kenya, in concert with the book launch. To this end, we are asking you to send us names and contacts of potential candidates that may qualify to participate in this initiative. The criteria for selecting potential candidates are as follows.

   a. African (based in Africa)
   b. Under age 40
   c. Undertaking or recently completed a PhD in higher education
   d. Deep interest in higher education
   e. Some prior involvement in internationalization of higher education

We very much look forward to your constructive comments and input.

Damtew Teferra, Ph. D., Director (teferra@bc.edu)
Laura E. Rumbley, Ph. D., Managing Director ( rumbley@bc.edu)

International Network for Higher Education in Africa
http://www.bc.edu/inhea