- Rector of the Pan African University

- Students and guests

- Mayor of Soa

- Division Officer of Soa

- Government Officials

- Rectors & Vice Rectors

WHY:

At the end of their academic studies, a graduation ceremony is organised to honour students who have successfully completed the requirements for the Master's and PhD degrees.

HOW: A graduation ceremony will be organised in recognition of the achievement of meritorious students who have earned a Master’s or a PhD final degree.

MAIN SPEAKERS:

• Rector of the Pan African University
• Vice President of the Pan African University Council
• Director of PAUGHSS
• Mayor of Soa
• Rector of University of Yaoundé II- SOA
• Students’ delegates

BACKGROUND: 

The African Union Commission launched the Pan African University as a flagship continental initiative in December 2011. It is a continent-wide university offering postgraduate (Master and Doctoral) programs with the aim of establishing an academic network of already existing post-graduate and research institutions. The PAU comprises thematic Institutes hosted in different geographic regions by existing academic institutions operating at the graduate studies level. PAU Institutes are currently operational in four of Africa’s five regions (Western, Eastern, Central and Northern regions), whilst preparations are underway to operationalize the fifth PAU Institute in Southern Africa.

Hosted by the University of Yaoundé II in Cameroon (Central Africa), the Institute for Governance, Humanities and Social Sciences (PAUGHSS), is one of the five hubs of the Pan African University. This institute trains students from various countries of Africa who are selected on the basis of academic results while also considering gender issues and candidates with physical disabilities. Admission to PAUGHSS is free of charge and selection is based on file review. It currently offers high level trainings to students in two major fields of study: Governance and Regional integration (Yaoundé campus) and Translation and Conference Interpretation (Buea campus). Lectures are disseminated in English and French. About 100 students are recruited per Master and PhD. batch. In compliance with the LMD system (Bachelor, Master, PhD system), a Master’s program lasts for 24 months at PAUGHSS. Programmes offered at PAUGHSS include:

• PhD in Governance and Regional Integration;
• Master of Arts in Governance and Regional Integration;
• Master of Science in Translation;
• Master of Science in Conference Interpreting; and
• Master of Arts in Transborder languages and Intercultural Communication.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

The Pan African University envisions to become a leading centre of excellence in research and higher education for the advancement of the continent. Among other main objectives, it aims at:

-           Producing a new generation of responsible leaders who drive the Pan-African integration;

-           Advancing an African network of excellence for knowledge production and innovation and contribute to the international scientific discourse from an African point of view.

Therefore, the PAU endeavours to award PhD & Masters scholarships to students from the 55 member states. Thus, the graduation ceremony is the best occasion to officially recognize and celebrate the academic achievements of the graduating class, and above all, give them a chance to stand as role model for their friends and relatives.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

These expected outcomes are:

• Conferment of degrees to 84 Master’s and PhD students.
• 84 graduates are leaving the university to enter the job market.
• Promotion of excellence, and enhanced attractiveness of African youths;
• Regional integration enhanced as the graduating students hail from different AU member countries;
• Production of a critical mass of high-quality intellectual capital;
• Making African higher education and research attractive, globally competitive, and locally relevant and serve as a model for quality education.

This cohort of well-trained graduates from the Pan-African University (PAU) is a vivid contribution to the achievement of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa. PAU realises its full potential by training a new generation of responsible leaders who will facilitate the pan-African integration.

Moreover, these graduates are equipped with the skills to solve the problems specific to each sector, and demonstrate the integrity needed to support the political, economic and social integration of the continent. They are thus ready to take up leadership positions in politics, administration, the private sector, civil society and academia at national, regional and continental level, including entrepreneurship, by creating their own jobs or firms.

Note to the Editor:

The Pan African University (PAU) was created following Decision of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union during its Fifteenth Ordinary Session in July 2010 in Kampala, Uganda (Assembly/AU/Dec.290 (XV)). The primary aim of establishing the Pan African University was to create high-quality continental institutions that promote quality training, research, and innovation within Africa, that ensure a steady nurturing of new ideas, as well as a continuous injection of highly skilled human resources to meet the developmental needs of the Continent.

For more information please contact:

Claudette Chancelle Bilampassi Moutsatsi, PAU- ESTI Communication Officer| ESTI Department|

Tel: +251 115 517 700| E-mail: BilampassiC@africa-union.org|