Africa has become a continent of growth. Over the past 5 years, 7 out of the 10 strongest growth countries were in Africa. The growing economies with their business potential led to an increasing interest by German and international companies to kick-off or review their Africa growth strategies.
Within the framework of the special initiative Training and Employment, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development together with the DAAD funding program, « University-Business Partnerships between universities and industry in Germany and developing countries », developed the IPLogE (Integration of Practice-oriented Logistics Education in Ethiopia). It aims to promote the exchange between Ethiopian and German students and to enable the application of theoretical concepts to real-life practices while enhancing their soft skills.
The Technical University of Berlin (TUB) and Addis Ababa University (AAU) collaborated on a joint program, African Logistics Networks – Bringing together German and Ethiopian logistics students. africon and some of our clients were selected as the business partners. We co-developed a case study with Henkel and Varta who presented to the students at the beginning of their course.
The course kicked off in Q4 in 2020 with lectures and virtual discussion. The students were supported by the business contacts as well as africon who provided practice-relevant content. They worked in groups and presented their solutions.
This joint program was successful, and it enhanced collaboration between the students. The students leveraged their problem-solving abilities to come up with solutions for business problems. They were also able to understand the drivers, challenges, and development of logistics.
In the closing ceremony Ms. Yeni Fowotade from africon gave some HR insights for the graduands on how to approach the job market.
