UEW Researchers Secure €1M Grant to Advance Competence-Based Education

Ten researchers from the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) have jointly secured a €1 million research grant under the European Union’s ERASMUS+ programme administered by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA).

The project, titled “Transitioning Higher Education Regulators and Universities to Competence-Based Education in East and West Africa (TRUCE),” seeks to transform higher education across Africa by shifting universities and regulatory agencies from traditional teacher-centred methods to Competence-Based Education (CBE) models that equip graduates with practical, entrepreneurial and market-relevant skills.

The award-winning UEW team is led by Prof. Benjamin Ghansah and includes Prof. Stephen Jobson Mitchual, Prof. Victus Bobonkey Samlafo, Dr. Francis Adarkwah, Dr. Stephen Twumasi Annan, Dr. Charles Kwesi Koomson, Dr. Felix Tetteh Kabutey, Dr. Prosper Deo-Donne Lumorh, Dr. Florence Esi Nyieku and Ms. Linda Cobbah.

The TRUCE Project is a collaborative initiative involving a consortium of partner institutions: University of Education, Winneba; Makerere University; Mountains of the Moon University; University of Ghana; University of Barcelona; Polytechnic Institute of Porto and the education regulatory bodies of Ghana and Uganda, with strategic coordination support from the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM).

The project responds to Africa’s urgent need to address youth unemployment and the skills mismatch between graduates and labour market demands. “While Ghana and Uganda have made strides in adopting Competence-Based Education at the lower, secondary and vocational levels, universities still rely heavily on conventional pedagogies. The TRUCE project seeks to build institutional capacity to transition to CBE through innovation, collaboration and policy reform,” Prof. Ghansah explained.

Funded at a total cost of €1 million, the project will develop and pilot a suite of adapted CBE tools including frameworks, rubrics, accreditation guidelines and assessment protocols to support higher education institutions and regulators in implementing sustainable and scalable CBE systems.

The project will strengthen institutional capacity to manage the shift to Competence-Based Education, develop industry-engaged curriculum and assessment guidelines that align academic training with market needs, establish a community of practice among CBE champions to promote scale-up and policy advocacy, and support faculty and regulators to provide CBE-focused services across multiple levels of higher education.

The TRUCE project is divided into five components that focus on management, developing and testing CBE guidelines, building collaborative learning environments, enhancing skills and sharing information. It employs a hands-on research approach that fosters innovation, knowledge sharing and the formation of strategic partnerships.

The initiative reinforces UEW’s commitment to shaping the future of teaching and learning in Africa and positions the University as a key contributor to international efforts aimed at reforming higher education for sustainable development.