Future Learning Design Podcast Deep Collaboration is Transforming Higher Education in Africa - A Conversation with Rose A. Dodd
Apr 25, 2026
Rose A. Dodd, Executive Director of The Education Collaborative, leads a pan-African network improving teaching and graduate outcomes. She discusses why universities matter for Africa’s future. She explains how deep inter-institutional trust, shared metrics, regional hubs, and communal traditions enable scalable collaboration. She also covers mentoring, adapting practices locally, and embedding ethical leadership across campuses.
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Collaboration Defined As Shared Responsibility
- The Education Collaborative is a pan-African network where institutions share what works and hold each other accountable for graduate outcomes.
- Rose explains the network's twist: members accept shared responsibility that graduates across institutions should be equally prepared to transform the continent.
Enable Trust By Letting Institutions Own The Work
- Build interorganizational psychological safety by engaging leaders while respecting institutional constraints and aligning network goals with institutional priorities.
- Rose recommends enablers remain comfortable working anonymously so institutions feel ownership and the network can scale without extra burdens.
Model Openness Through Shared Practices
- Encourage openness by modelling transparency: share processes, forms, and curricula so other institutions can replicate and adapt them.
- Rose cites Ashesi openly sharing admissions paperwork and leadership courses to invite replication rather than hoarding practices.