Germany to Set Up the German-East Africa Fachhochschule in Kenya

Amina Mohammed and Steinmeier
Kenya’s Foreign Minister, Amina Mohammed with her German counterpart during her visit to Berlin in 2014.

Germany is not only planning to introduce their Ausbildung in Kenya but is set to also set up the German-East Africa Fachhochschule (also known as a University of Applied Sciences) in Kenya.

READ: Germany to Invest 3 Billion in Technical Skills Training in Kenya

The German Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt) together with African partners, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and German universities of applied science, is planning to set up a German-East African University of Applied Sciences based in Kenya. The aim of the institution will be to train qualified experts and managerial staff to work for businesses based in the region.

The University set to be based in Kenya has the Kenyan Government’s assurance of its financial support and other input.

“The German-East African University of Applied Sciences is a tailor-made training solution to satisfy the huge need for trained staff in the region. I am convinced that such a university of applied sciences will serve as a flagship project for Germany’s practical cooperation with the countries in Eastern Africa and will provide important momentum for staff training on the ground”, Germany’s Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier said.

The Federal Foreign Office is extending its engagement in the education and business sector of eastern Africa. The region is attractive to international investors due to its long-standing high economic growth of 6% of GDP, the discovery of important oil, gas and mineral deposits, dynamic innovation trends through digital transformation and considerable infrastructure investment which is already under way. Kenya, in particular, is turning into the economic and technological heartland in the region and is also attracting German businesses.

The country is seeing on the one hand a growing shortage of experts and managerial staff and on the other hand high youth unemployment. What is crucial for the university landscape is to develop practice-oriented training options for engineers in all sectors which are coordinated with industry as quickly as possible. This is where the German model of university of applied sciences and the expertise provided by German businesses can feed in perfectly.

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