HAI members in Africa
HAI in Africa - the smallest proportion of members in the HAI network on the second largest continent with the second highest population on earth
Even though only 1.2% of all HAI members live in Africa, people living in Africa have been represented in the network since HAI was founded in 1996. The oldest HAI member in Africa was born in 1932, the youngest in 2002. 14% of alumni live in Egypt, followed by Nigeria with 13%, Tunisia with 11% and Ghana with 10%. This means that almost half come from two countries in North Africa and two countries in the Gulf of Guinea. In addition, some HAI members live in Cameroon, Ethiopia and South Africa, as well as groups of roughly equal size in the East African countries of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, albeit with a smaller proportion overall. In some countries, HAI is only represented by a few people, one person or none at all.
The first Heidelberg alumni event in Egypt took place in March 2023: Prof. Dr. Marc-Philippe Weller, Vice-Rector for International Affairs at Heidelberg University, traveled to the country as part of a planned cooperation with the German University of Cairo and also hosted an alumni dinner in Cairo to mark the occasion. The invitation was accepted by former graduates of Ruperto Carola who live and work in Cairo. “The dinner was a great opportunity to reconnect the alumni with our university and inform them about our current developments and plans,” explains Marc-Philippe Weller. During his visit, the Vice-Rector discussed the potential for collaboration with various representatives from Egyptian universities.
Around 10% of HAI members in Africa were in the natural sciences at university, and around 1/3 were in the humanities. However, just under half of all HAI members in Africa come from the field of medicine. The Heidelberg Institute for Global Health (HIGH) with its predecessors, including the Institute for Public Health and the Institute for Tropical Hygiene, is the strongest point of attraction: founded in 1962, its main aim is to improve the health situation of the poorest and most disease-affected population groups, particularly in Asia and Africa. The Institute's ongoing contacts with its alumni are based not only on good support for students and researchers, but also on extremely active alumni work. For example, DAAD-funded summer schools and alumni seminars have been successfully offered for years, which contribute greatly to long-term identification and loyalty to the institute and university.
An alumni meeting was held in Stellenbosch, South Africa, in 2001: one of the five regional conferences of “Alumni.med.Live”. The project, a cooperation between the University of Heidelberg and five other universities in Baden-Württemberg from 1999 to 2004, was a worldwide continuing education program for medical graduates of the participating project partners. In addition to digital formats - at the time an innovation to overcome geographical, financial and time-related obstacles to mobility in lifelong learning - specialist conferences were also organized in presence in selected regions of the world. In addition to South Africa, meetings were also held in Brazil, China, Syria and Lebanon.
An alumni group for your country
Would you like to network with like-minded people in your country and stay in touch with Heidelberg University? Would you like to set up an alumni group for your country? Then send us an e-mail, we look forward to hearing from you: clubs@alumni.uni-heidelberg.de
Join Us
Are you an alumnus or alumna of Heidelberg University and live in Africa, but have not yet registered with the HAI network? Or do you know someone who is? Then register with us and join in - we look forward to hearing from you!
Impressions from alumni work
The university in Africa
Partner schools of Heidelberg University
Since 2008, Heidelberg University has participated in the German Academic Exchange Service's (DAAD) “Support Initiative for German Schools Abroad and Partner Schools” (BIDS) program and has established partnerships with around 30 schools worldwide during this period. On the African continent, partnerships exist in Egypt with the German School of the Borromeo Sisters in Alexandria and the German School of the Borromeo Sisters in Cairo, in Ethiopia with the German Embassy School in Addis Ababa, in Kenya with the German School in Nairobi, in Lebanon with the German International School in Beirut, and in South Africa with the German International School in Cape Town.