Universities across Africa are increasingly moving beyond their traditional roles as “ivory towers” to directly engage with local communities and help build resilience against challenges like climate change, extreme weather events, and pollution.
This community-focused approach was a key emphasis at the recent Sustainability Research and Innovation Congress in Durban, South Africa. The event highlighted the work of the Educational Partnerships for Innovation in Communities (EPIC) network, which brings together universities, municipal governments, and community groups.
Through the EPIC model, university students collaborate across disciplines on applied research projects that aim to tackle real-world sustainability issues impacting local cities and communities. At least eight African universities are now part of the EPIC-Africa network.
Dr. Gavin Luter of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a co-founder of EPIC, encouraged universities to be open to partnering with communities of all sizes. “Universities can conceptualize the EPIC model in many different ways,” he said, noting one institution has worked with a town over 100 miles away because “these small communities do not have universities in their backyard.”
Cathy Sutherland, an associate professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, stressed the model’s value in transforming students from passive recipients of knowledge to active producers working on tangible local issues like ecological infrastructure, informal settlement upgrades, and sanitation innovation.
Several examples showcased students’ multidisciplinary efforts in waste management – a major urban challenge. At the University of Botswana, students collaborated with the Gaborone City Council to examine the city’s landfills and recycling operations, with some taking it on as a final-year project.
In Mombasa, Kenya, students partnered with the county government and community members to conduct waste audits and produce educational media highlighting the health and climate impacts of indiscriminate dumping.
While building practical skills, these community-engaged projects allow students to directly apply their knowledge to co-develop solutions for pressing local sustainability problems in partnership with municipalities and residents.
As the EPIC-Africa coordinator emphasized, the network aims to expand this innovative model of knowledge co-production and community impact across the African continent. By forging these multilateral partnerships, universities can become catalysts for positive change in the communities they serve.
