The American University of Central Africa will provide students a degree that is recognized around the world and an education that can be used anywhere in the world, StoneHill Education Senior Projects Manager, Katherine Hilker, said in a recent interview with Focus Washington.
The government of Equatorial Guinea seeked advice from StoneHill Education and Boston University School of Education to launch The American University of Central Africa, which will be located in the city of Oyala, Equatorial Guinea.
Equatorial Guinea has the highest literacy rate in Africa, and education has been a top priority for the government. Hilker said that education is strong in Equatorial Guinea. “Public education has been a priority for the government there for many years,” she said.
Hilker said that due to the fact that Equatorial Guinea is somewhat linguistically isolated because it is the only Spanish-speaking country in Africa..“Their literacy is very high, their education is very high, but being able to acquire English language skills, and having a degree that they can use anywhere in the world will benefit the people Equatorial Guinea.”
The partnership with StoneHill Education brings many advantages to the launch to the American University of Central Africa such as an international focus and an international recognition. “We have partnerships with international universities,” Ms. Hilker said. “We have the ability to recruit faculty and staff from around the world and we are seeking international accreditation both in the U.S. and with European accrediting bodies.”
StoneHill Education has been working with the private sector, including international companies that are already present in Equatorial Guinea. “What we have been hearing from day one is that there is a lack of skilled labor in the country that they need in their specific corporations. The American University of Central Africa will help fill this gap, will help support these international corporations that want to work with local labor,” she said.
Ms. Hiulker said that a wide variety of courses will be offered at the university, but the priority is on industry-specific needs. “We have 8 different colleges and 34 different degree programs, everything from arts ad sciences to engineering, chemistry, sciences and all kinds of different degrees but the main focus is on industry needs, she said.”
Since 1979, citizens of Equatorial Guinea have received more than 500,000 scholarships to study in universities and professional and technical-training programs outside the country. This figure includes multiple scholarship recipients and people who have remained outside the country.