The United Kingdom’s Coventry University on Monday launched a £500,000 ($725,000) scholarship offer for international students and announced the establishment of the Africa Institute for Transformational Entrepreneurship (AITE), which aims to boost socio-economic development across the African continent.

The announcements come as the university’s vice-chancellor and CEO, Professor John Latham, visits Abuja to meet with Coventry’s alumni in Nigeria and explore ways to continue building links between Coventry University and Africa.

In addition to highlighting the scholarship awards Professor Latham will raise awareness of the new AITE, which seeks to promote transformational entrepreneurship in Africa through education, research and practice-based activity.

The institute has been established on the premise that African universities – through the promotion of enterprise and entrepreneurship – have a pivotal role to play in the overall development of Africa.

“African tertiary education should be designed to address the continent’s specific problems. Entrepreneurship-based education and research in Africa’s institutions of higher learning can help address the issues of unemployment and inequality for sustainable socio-economic growth in Africa.” said Prof. John Latham

Coventry University aims to contribute to all areas of Africa’s development as a founding member of AITE.

In collaboration with partners, the AAU and the British Council, Coventry University will run a collaborative programme of education, research and practice-based activity.

AITE programmes will include interactive sessions, face-to-face workshops, research exchanges and online support channelled through its existing International Centre for Transformational Entrepreneurship (ICTE).

“We’re enormously excited to be launching this initiative and we’re confident it will make a difference in driving forward innovation and supporting wealth creation in an African continent that is fast coming to realize its enterprising spirit and potential for socio-economic growth.”, added Professor John Latham

“It’s also a pleasure to be extending our scholarships to prospective students in Nigeria,” said Professor Latham. “I visited Nigeria earlier this year, and was honoured to meet a lot of Coventry graduates, together with the parents of current students. The graduates I met were able to update us on their careers since leaving the University, and I’m pleased to say all had gone on to be very successful in their particular areas of work. It’s fantastic to be back in Abuja and to be continuing to build on our strong links in this lively and enterprising country.”

African Media Agency