Call for ATVET Success Stories

The “Africa Knows” Conference, to be held 2-4 December 2020, is organizing a panel on technical and vocational education and training (ATVET) in the agri-food sector. The panel, consisting of the Food & Business Knowledge Platform, Nuffic, RUFORUM and Wageningen University & Research, specifically focuses on how ATVET can bridge the gap between higher education, other forms of learning, and the business community. The panel now launches a Call for ATVET Success Stories. 

A background discussion document prepared for this panel will present an overview of how the ATVET sector is organized, and how it relates to the broader national agricultural knowledge and innovation systems (AKIS) in Africa. Recommendations will focus on providing and scaling sustainable agro-food education and training in Africa.

Learning from success

As an integral part of this paper, the panel is looking for “success stories” from ATVET colleges and practical training centres which show how these have interacted with other stakeholders as part of a broader system of agri-food knowledge, innovation and practice. While interesting cases from all Sub-Saharan countries will be considered, the panel especially focuses on Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, Mali and Benin.

Looking for

The panel is looking for stories which illustrate how African ATVETs have collaborated with universities (in both Africa and the Netherlands), communities (incl. farmers’ organizations, NGOs), agri-businesses (trader, processors, input providers, advisory and ICT services, etc.) and Dutch ATVETs, especially where this collaboration has resulted in improvements in:

• The learning outcomes of ATVET (e.g. through development of occupational standards, curricula, etc.); and/or
• The learning methods of ATVET (e.g. through providing instructors, learning materials, etc.); and/or
• The learning context of ATVET (e.g. through providing opportunities for practice, internships, etc.); and/or
• The services offered by ATVET (e.g. technologies and innovations developed, community service, information, research, and analytical services, etc.).

Share your story!

Interested ATVET organizations with successful stories to share should send a one page (300-500 words) summary of their story, showing with whom the interaction occurred, the concrete benefits that were obtained by both the ATVET and these other stakeholders, and the most important activities and/or enabling factors that led to these benefits.

These initial summaries should be sent to the panel consultant by July 25, 2020.

The organizing committee of the ATVET panel for the Africa Knows Conference will then select the submitted summaries that best illustrate the range of successful experiences.  Approximately 12 cases will be chosen to develop further into a 3-5-pages written case study and accompanying video accompanying video summaries, as input to the discussion panel at the virtual conference in December.

A remuneration of up to Euro 500 will be made available to the selected ATVET authors to enable these stories and videos to be developed in collaboration with the panel consultant.

The panel reserves the right to select or reject cases based on the joint agreement and discretion of its members. If no cases meet the criteria, the panel reserves the right to republish the call for cases until it receives those that meet the criteria.

For further information and submission of case summaries, please contact the panel consultant – or the panel coordinator, Food & Business Knowledge Platform –

Background information

• Visit the website of the Africa Knows Conference
• Read about the Panel on technical and vocational education and training (ATVET)
• Download this Call for ATVET Success Stories