PRESS RELEASE
Nairobi, Lagos & Ouagadougou — [10 September] — The Africa PID Alliance, together with research partners from Burkina Faso, Kenya and Nigeria, is pleased to announce that it has secured funding for the project “Digital Transition and Occupations in African Contexts: Case Studies in Burkinabè, Kenyan and Nigerian Universities” (DigiT-OACs).
The project will be implemented through the The Africa PID Alliance, University of Joseph Ki-Zerbo Africa Multiple Cluster Centre in Burkina Faso and the University of Lagos Africa Multiple Cluster Centre in Nigeria. It will undertake a comparative investigation of how academic and non-academic university professionals engage with, adapt to and shape digital transformation within their institutions.
Digital technologies are increasingly influencing teaching, research,administration and institutional management across African higher education. However, discussions about digital transformation frequently present technology as a neutral tool for improving efficiency, productivity and cost management. Less attention is given to how professional knowledge, occupational identities, institutional cultures and different forms of work influence the adoption and use of these technologies.
DigiT-OACs seeks to address this gap by examining digital transformation as both a technological and social process. The study will explore how academics, administrators, technical personnel and other university employees interpret, negotiate, adapt to or resist emerging digital technologies.
Using comparative case studies from Burkina Faso, Kenya and Nigeria, the project will analyse the actors, policies, practices, infrastructure, institutional dynamics and professional perspectives that influence digital transition within universities. It will apply a multidisciplinary, multi-scalar and sequential mixed-methods research design.
The project has three principal objectives:
- To identify and analyse the actors, practices, meanings, policies, discourses and institutional dynamics shaping digital transition in the participating universities.
- To map the digital infrastructure, artefacts and technical systems that constitute the universities’ evolving socio-technical environments.
- To examine how wider social and policy pressures, established institutional systems and emerging innovations interact to produce distinct digital-transition pathways.
The research will draw on the Multi-Level Perspective on socio-technical transitions, complemented by insights from Actor-Network Theory and the sociology of occupations. This approach will enable the research team to examine digital transition at the landscape, institutional-regime and innovation-niche levels, with particular attention to the role played by occupational institutions.
A central focus will be the relationship between digital transformation, professional identity and knowledge. The study recognises that universities comprise diverse occupational groups with different responsibilities, skills, knowledge bases and value commitments. These differences can significantly influence how technologies are understood, adopted and incorporated into institutional practices.
By comparing experiences across three national contexts, DigiT-OACs will generate evidence on the opportunities, inequalities, adaptations and tensions associated with digital transformation in African higher education. It will also strengthen collaboration among African researchers and institutions working at the intersection of digitalisation, innovation, knowledge, labour and professional identity.
The project’s findings are expected to contribute to more inclusive, context-sensitive and evidence-informed digital-transformation policies within African universities. They will help institutional leaders, policymakers and technology developers better understand how digital systems can be designed and implemented in ways that respond to the realities of different professional communities.
Commenting on the funding award, Joy Owango, Africa PID Alliance Project Lead and Executive Director of TCC Africa, said:
“We are delighted to have secured funding for this important project. Digital transformation in African universities is not simply about introducing new technologies; it is also about understanding the people, professions, institutional cultures and knowledge systems that determine how those technologies are used. Through this collaboration, we will generate evidence that can support more inclusive and contextually relevant digital-transformation strategies across African higher education.”
“The funding represents an important investment in African-led, comparative research and will support closer collaboration among researchers and universities in Burkina Faso, Kenya and Nigeria. It will also contribute to the broader Digitalities research agenda by connecting the fields of innovation and knowledge with identity and self-identification in African occupational settings.” said Prof Natewinde Sawadogo , the projects’s Principal Investigator from University of Joseph KI-ZERBO
The project is the outcome of research conducted within the Africa Multiple Cluster of
Excellence at the University of Bayreuth, funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
(DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germany ́s Excellence Strategy –
EXC 2052/2 – 390713894
Participating Institutions
- University of Joseph Ki-Zerbo, Burkina Faso
- University of Lagos, Nigeria
- Training Centre in Communication (TCC Africa) & Africa PID Alliance project
About TCC Africa, Kenya
The Training Centre in Communication (TCC Africa) is an award-winning African organisation that strengthens research capacity, scholarly communication, Open Science and the adoption of research technologies. Working with universities, research institutions, governments and international partners, TCC Africa supports the development of more visible, connected and impactful African research systems.
About Africa PID Alliance
The Africa PID Alliance ,TCC Africa’s open infrastructure program builds trusted, interoperable infrastructure, using persistent identifiers and DOCiD™ to connect African research, innovation, Indigenous Knowledge and cultural heritage, strengthening discoverability, provenance, governance and global visibility.
About University of Lagos, Nigeria
The University of Lagos (UNILAG) is one of Nigeria’s foremost public universities, advancing excellence in teaching, research, innovation, and community service. Based in Nigeria’s commercial capital, it develops globally competitive graduates and produces knowledge addressing Africa’s most pressing development challenges.
About University of Joseph Ki-Zerbo, Burkina Faso
The University of Joseph Ki-Zerbo, established in 1974, is Burkina Faso’s leading public university. Located in Ouagadougou, it advances teaching, research, and innovation across diverse disciplines while developing skilled graduates and contributing significantly to national development and regional knowledge production.
Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence
Established in January 2019 and renewed in 2025 through the Excellence Strategy of the German Federal and State Governments, and building on a long and stellar record in African Studies at the University of Bayreuth, the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence pursues an ambitious and innovative agenda, expressed in the subtitle “Reconfiguring African Studies”.
Initially comprising the twenty-five Principal Investigators but steadily growing in membership, it now hosts more than 140 scholars from three continents, who represent a diverse range of academic disciplines and pursue joint research interests together with academic partner institutions in Africa,
Germany, Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
Media Contact
Africa PID Alliance
℅ Training Centre in Communication (TCC Africa)
Email: info@africapidalliance.org
Website: www.africapidalliance.org