Reflecting on a community of practice for engineering education research capacity in Africa : who are we and where are we going?

Matemba, EstherSmith, LelanieInglis, Helen MaryMogashana, DisaapeleJansen, LaurenGwynne-Evans, AlisonCampbell, Anita L.Kwuimy, CedrickNassar, ShamimMagara, IreneKloot, BruceHattingh, TeresaRaji, AtandaMusa, TagwaNyamapfene, Abel2024-03-122024-03-122023Esther Matemba, Lelanie Smith, Karin Wolff, Helen Inglis, Disaapele Mogashana, Lauren Jansen, Alison Gwynne-Evans, Anita L. Campbell, Cedrick Kwuimy, Shamim Nassar, Irene Magara, Bruce Kloot, Teresa Hattingh, Atanda Raji, Tagwa Musa & Abel Nyamapfene (2023) Reflecting on a community of practice for engineering education research capacity in Africa: who are we and where are we going?, Australasian Journal of Engineering Education, 28:1, 74-84, DOI: 10.1080/22054952.2023.2233340.2205-4952 (print)1325-4340 (online)10.1080/22054952.2023.2233340http://hdl.handle.net/2263/95157The Engineering Education Research Network in Africa (EERN-Africa) was created to enable connections between practitioners and researchers with a shared interest in African engineering education contexts. Recognising the importance of developing an African voice in the engineering education research space, the EERN-Africa community has interacted in a dynamic and dialogic way with our own teaching and research practices across diverse African contexts, with an ethical commitment to democratic and inclusive community-building. The objective of this paper is to reflect on the current status of the Community of Practice (CoP), and the challenges and opportunities in sustaining and growing the CoP. A collaborative analysis of perspectives on this emerging identity is presented, using an Appreciative Inquiry (AI) methodology and drawing on collective written reflections and discussions. Six broad themes on the value that the CoP has for both individuals and the group were identified: networking, capacity development, emotional support, impact on professional identity, social and environmental impact, and breaking borders. This paper contributes an approach for collaborative capacity-building in EER through a virtual CoP, underpinned by the spirit of ubuntu.en© 2023 The Author(s). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License.Engineering education researchEngineering education practicesCapacity developmentUbuntuAppreciative inquiryCommunity of practice (CoP)Engineering, built environment and information technology articles SDG-04SDG-04: Quality educationEngineering, built environment and information technology articles SDG-05SDG-05: Gender equalityEngineering, built environment and information technology articles SDG-09SDG-09: Industry, innovation and infrastructureEngineering, built environment and information technology articles SDG-17SDG-17: Partnerships for the goalsReflecting on a community of practice for engineering education research capacity in Africa : who are we and where are we going?Article