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Maïtena Master’s Program in Cameroon: The Response to the Training Needs Of Development Professionals
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Maïtena Master 2 is a two-year master’s degree program created through a partnership between Université Senghor (Université de la Francophonie) and Campus AFD. The program provides capacity building for managers in African countries who work on development project management, be it in the public or private sector, in NGOs, or in civil society organizations. On April 18, 2022, the first class year was officially launched at the Catholic University of Central Africa (UCAC) in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
First published May 2, 2022.
Today, development in Africa largely depends on the professionalization of the steering and management of development projects. To address this great challenge, Université Senghor and Campus AFD have joined forces to develop and put into action a modified version of the emblematic Master’s Degree in Project Management for Development (Master Maîtrise d’Ouvrage pour le Développement – MODEV), in Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This training is adapted to the needs and realities of each of these two countries.
The first class year of the Maïtena Master 2 program will bring together 30 managers from Cameroon and the subregion (Chad, the CAR, and the DRC). They generally work as consultants, project officers or managers working in support of the Sustainable Development Goals. The program is multidisciplinary and includes a set of theme-based modules on project management, the current great economic issues, and development financing. These modules respond to the specific context of Central Africa and particularly to that of Cameroon.
The training also gives great importance to the acquisition and strengthening of cross-cutting skills such as leadership, creativity, cooperation, critical thinking, and communication, etc. These are essential for project leaders so that they can bring their projects to a successful conclusion in all areas of development.
Campus AFD and Université Senghor also offer support to speakers on including active teaching methods (e.g., critical case studies, role-playing, teamwork, etc.) in their training programs. Some distance learning courses will be led by Campus AFD, which acts here as a catalyst for the emergence and dissemination of relevant solutions for sustainable development. Campus AFD seeks to stimulate long-term initiatives outside of established frameworks, rooted in the realities of the areas in which AFD Group operates and which respond to the major transitions of the 21st century.