Eva Klaus
This blog is part of an on-going series reflecting on the launch of the Africa Urban Lab’s Professional Diploma program. Our students come from diverse professional and cultural backgrounds, giving rise to a dynamic learning environment where different ideas, perspectives, and experiences combine to inform innovative solutions for cities across Africa and beyond.
On November 18, 2024, the Africa Urban Lab (AUL) welcomed 38 talented students to Fumba Town, Zanzibar to participate in the first block of our Professional Diploma in Urban Development. Hailing from many corners of the world, they arrived by plane, bus, and ferry to spend two weeks learning about urban planning and urban governance. However, the experience was not just about learning theory; it was a deep dive into real-world challenges and innovative approaches to urban development, set against the backdrop of a rapidly growing region.
Students in the first cohort represent eleven different countries. One of the goals of the Africa Urban Lab is to build a community of practice around urban development that stretches across East Africa and beyond. By forging strong ties between individuals and groups working on urban challenges, we aim to help foster collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and innovative practices that can transform how cities in Africa are planned, managed, and governed.
Most of our students are based in East African countries, with about 60% from Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda. Ten students, about a quarter of the cohort, come from Ethiopia. Three other countries on the continent are also represented – Zambia, Malawi, and South Sudan. Students from the United States, Spain, and India also brought their unique perspectives to the program, emphasizing the global relevance of urban development challenges.
The diversity of the cohort created a unique learning environment. Because the start of the program coincided with the qualifying rounds for the Africa Cup of Nations – a continent-wide, biennial men’s football tournament – it also introduced an element of friendly competition. The first day saw some jockeying between Guinea and Tanzania fans before Tanzania claimed the qualifying spot in their final match, while Zambia fans relished in their finish as group leaders and coasted to qualification.
Our students also come from diverse professional backgrounds. The Professional Diploma is explicitly designed to cater to working professionals, which is why it is broken down into two intensive two-week blocks. The program is also structured to equip students with practical skills and tools that they can apply in their day-to-day work. During the first block, students completed the Strategic Urban Planning course by Nuria Forqués Puigcerver and the Topics in Urban Governance course by Dr. Patrick Lamson-Hall. In the spring, they will return to complete courses in urban finance and economics. This structure allows them to continue contributing to their organizations while gaining in-depth knowledge and skills to apply in their work.
Slightly over a third of the cohort are engaged in urban-related academia and research. In fact, many urban research labs in the region – including the Urban Action Lab at Makerere University, The Urban Center, and Ardhi University – sent researchers to participate in the program. For example, Medhanit Tadesse Ayele, is a researcher at The Urban Center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. With a background in architecture, she decided to attend the AUL to hone in on her research interests and meet with people working in other urban-related fields. You can check out our interview with Medhanit.
Other students in the cohort include urban planners, civil servants, and even city leaders. In fact, two students are currently serving as mayors for towns in Ethiopia, navigating the challenges of managing growing urban areas. Bashir Farah, Mayor of Degahbour City in Ethiopia's Somali region, brought an especially unique perspective to the classroom. Mayor Farah has a background in public health, but he decided to join the Diploma program to learn more about urbanization trends in Africa and to gain practical strategies for handling rapid urban growth. You can check out our interview with Bashir.
For many of the students and faculty, one of the highlights of the first block was the opportunity to engage with people across disciplinary and hierarchical lines. Interestingly, the number of students in the first cohort who have one to three years of experience is nearly equivalent to the number of students who have ten or more years of experience. This mix created a dynamic classroom environment where seasoned professionals could share their insights, while newer practitioners brought fresh ideas. Within the program, hierarchies faded, allowing everyone to contribute equally to discussions and group assignments.
This dynamic was especially evident as students began to work together within their capstone groups towards the end of the two weeks. For this important part of the program, students are split into teams of two to four, embedded in an organization working on urban issues, and tasked with a substantive, applied project. At the end of first block, students began scoping out their capstone assignments, which ranged from research on value chains for timber construction to developing innovative mortgage solutions for affordable housing. The capstone projects allow students to apply what they’ve learned while creating lasting connections.
This collaborative ethos also spilled outside the classroom. Over the first two weeks, students participated in a variety of activities designed to break down walls, help the group connect with one another, and build new skills. For example, following the inaugural AUL Public Talk by Alain Bertaud, a panel of students and researchers at partner universities took the stage with AUL Executive Director Kurtis Lockhart. The panel sparked a lively discussion on lessons learned from urban research in East Africa and strategies for building a robust research ecosystem across the region, underscoring the importance of creating platforms for dialogue and knowledge exchange across institutions.
As we prepare for the second half of the program, we are excited to see how the students will apply the concepts they’ve learned so far and are eager to welcome them back to Fumba Town in late April. Our hope is that by the end of the program, they will leave not only with a diploma, but also with actionable strategies to make a tangible impact in their respective cities and a new network of urban-based researchers and practitioners they can continue to engage. We look forward to seeing how these incredibly talented students will continue to shape the future of cities in Africa.
