Michigan State University’s Global Youth Advancement Network (GYAN), Alliance for African Partnership (AAP), and Office for Education Abroad are pleased to announce the selected teams for the COIL Faculty Fellows Program-Africa. Sponsored by AAP, this program is an opportunity for higher-ed teaching faculty (i.e., faculty or academic staff with teaching appointments) from any discipline to explore the theory and practice of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) through global partnerships connecting AAP Consortium institutions.

Almost 30 highly esteemed teaching faculty expressed interest in partaking in this fellowship program and the selection committee was so impressed by the quality of all the team applications received that seven teams were selected, rather than six teams as initially planned.

Through COILed projects scheduled to run in 2024, Michigan State University fellows representing the Broad College of Business, College of Agriculture & Natural Resources, College of Arts & Letters, College of Natural Science, College of Osteopathic Medicine, and Lyman Briggs College will collaborate with African fellows from Egerton University (Kenya), Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (Malawi), Makerere University (Uganda), and University of Nigeria Nsukka (Nigeria).

Below you can learn more about the fellows and their preliminary ideas:

• Aklilu Zeleke, Lyman Briggs College & College of Natural Science (Dept. of Statistics & Probability), Michigan State University.
• Fydess Khundi-Mkomba, Faculty of Development Studies (Dept. of Agricultural & Applied Economics), Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (Malawi).

Provide a space for their students to share and critically reflect upon research ideas in relation to Global North and Global South discourses within health, agri-food, and/or environmental sciences.

• Antoinette Tessmer, Broad College of Business (Finance Dept.), Michigan State University.
• Nkadi Onyegegbu, Faculty of Education (Science Education Dept.), University of Nigeria Nsukka (Nigeria).

Provide an opportunity for their students to discuss global issues affecting their lives and environments (such as waste management/waste recycling) and learn how to enact positive change in their own local communities.

• Gianina K. L. Strother, College of Arts & Letters (Dept. of African American and African Studies), Michigan State University.
• Sylvia A. N. Nannyonga-Tamusuza, College of Humanities and Social Sciences (Dept. of Performing Arts and Film), Makerere University (Uganda).

Foster intercultural dialogues and utilize the arts to broaden their students’ perspectives related to Black institutions, sustainability, and statecraft.

• Jennifer Marcy, College of Arts & Letters (Dept. of Religious Studies), Michigan State University.
• Zione Kalumikiza-Chikumbu, Faculty of Food and Human Sciences (Dept. of Human Nutrition and Health), Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (Malawi).

Bring their students together in the evaluation and analysis of existing efforts related to nutrition challenges in Malawi, with the goal of co-creating innovative solutions that can be later pitched for funding.

• Raymond Pirouz, Broad College of Business (Dept. of Marketing), Michigan State University.
• Felix Uzochukwu Asoiro, Faculty of Engineering (Dept. of Agricultural & Bioresources Engineering), University of Nigeria Nsukka (Nigeria).

Bring their students together to learn and apply “SPIN selling”, a practical and useful professional sales technique in the food value chain leading to the enhancement of food safety/food quality control.

• Rebecca Malouin, College of Osteopathic Medicine (Global Health Studies Program), Michigan State University.
• Amelia Ngozi Odo, Public Health Education Unit (Dept. of Human Kinetics and Health Education), University of Nigeria Nsukka (Nigeria).

Offer their students an opportunity to learn about national health plans/policies within their respective countries and to share their own perspectives related to healthcare seeking experiences.

• Teresa Bergholz, College of Agriculture & Natural Resources (Dept. of Food Science and Human Nutrition), Michigan State University.
• Benard Odhiambo Oloo, Faculty of Agriculture (Dept. of Dairy and Food Science and Technology), Egerton University (Kenya).

Offer their students an opportunity to learn how to best apply metagenomic theoretical concepts to practical settings leading to solutions to global and local food safety challenges.

Visit GYAN's COIL Faculty Fellows webpage for more information about this specific iteration of the COIL Faculty Fellows Program-Africa, and stay tuned to GYAN's COIL webpage as a second call for fellows will open in the near future.