EpU was presented in Tunisi and Casablanca between 5 and 9 November. The two conferences provided a forum for representatives of universities from Germany, Tunisia and Morocco to exchange views and opinions on how should a market-oriented and innovative university look like. The conferences were also the occasion for stakeholders involved to exchange contacts and create partnerships in view of the launch of the first projects, planned by DAAD in 2019. 

The African institutions use the EU-OECD tool “HEInnovate” to develop their strategies. HEInnovate is an initiative jointly developed by the European Commission jointly and the OECD. It works as a self-assessment tool for HEIs who wish to explore their innovative potential. Thanks to such tool, HEIs are guided through a process of identification, prioritisation and action planning in eight key areas: Leadership and Governance, Organisational Capacity: Funding, People and Incentives, Entrepreneurial Teaching and Learning, Preparing and Supporting Entrepreneurs, Digital Transformation and Capability, Knowledge Exchange and Collaboration, The Internationalised Institution, Measuring Impact. Thanks to this process, HEIs are able to identify areas of strengths and weaknesses, assess their entrepreneurship and compare and contrast its evolution over time. From the German side, on the other hand, the project is financed by the German Ministry of economic cooperation and development.