In early 2025, OER Africa launched the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Network, an initiative designed to connect higher education institutions across southern Africa in a shared effort to strengthen professional development for academic staff. Since its inception, the Network has convened seven times, bringing together representatives from five institutions:
- The University of Namibia (UNAM),
- Copperbelt University (Zambia),
- UNISCED (Beira, Mozambique),
- Botswana Open University (BOU), and
- Henrietta Stockdale Nursing College (HSNC) in South Africa.
The institutions differ significantly in size and structure, which in turn shapes their approaches to CPD. Universities such as UNAM, BOU and Copperbelt have dedicated Teaching and Learning units that coordinate structured professional development programmes. Smaller institutions, like HSNC, have traditionally relied on ad hoc arrangements to build staff capacity. By forming this network, members gain a collaborative space to reflect on their practices, exchange ideas, and co-develop strategies to enhance the relevance and impact of their CPD activities.
The Network’s first session explored how to develop a CPD framework, drawing on OER Africa’s recent work in this area. OER Africa has already created frameworks for academics and academic librarians and is currently developing one for institutional leaders and senior managers. Each framework integrates a strong emphasis on open education, identifying key capability descriptors—the skills needed to effectively design, deliver, and advocate for open educational practices. Importantly, the frameworks also include curated Open Educational Resources (OER) that institutions can adapt as training materials to support staff in developing these capabilities.
Subsequent sessions built upon this foundation. The second meeting focused on developing CPD strategies—deciding what to offer, when, and through which modalities, while balancing formal and informal opportunities. The third examined different CPD models, from formal short courses and workshops to self-paced study and informal learning opportunities.
Later discussions allowed institutions to share their own experiences. UNAM, for example, relies primarily on short courses as its default CPD format, while others often respond to immediate institutional needs, such as training staff in blended learning.
The Network’s most recent meeting marked a milestone in its collaborative journey. Members agreed to co-design a shared CPD intervention: a workshop package, complete with materials and a facilitator’s guide, focused on creating, licensing, and distributing local OER for academic staff. Using Padlet, participants are jointly developing the workshop content—demonstrating in practice the power of open collaboration to enhance professional learning across borders.
Through this initiative, OER Africa and its partners are building not only CPD frameworks but also a community of practice committed to advancing open, inclusive, and sustainable education in the region.
Figure 1: Padlet Collaborative Project Proposal Board
Would you and your institution like to join the CPD Network? If so, Andrew Moore, our network coordinator, would be happy to chat with you about it. You can reach out to Andrew at andryn
nba [dot] co [dot] za (andryn[at]nba[dot]co[dot]za) or infooerafrica [dot] org (info[at]oerafrica[dot]org) for more information or to get involved!
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