In the spring of 2025, LDE Global deepened its strategic collaborations in East Africa, with key developments in Nairobi, Kenya and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. These efforts reflect LDE’s long-term commitment to equitable, reciprocal partnerships with institutions across the Global South, aimed at shaping inclusive, sustainable futures through research, education, and innovation.
Partnership with University of Nairobi and NUVONI
A key milestone was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus (LDE) Universities and the University of Nairobi. This agreement formalises our growing collaboration and paves the way for new joint initiatives in education and research. One of the strategic priorities highlighted by Chancellor Patrick Verkooijen is medical technology, an area where LDE partners—including Medical Delta—are keen to engage further.
NUVONI Centre for Innovation Research, LDE Global’s local implementing partner in Nairobi, plays a central role in facilitating and expanding our activities on the ground. Together with NUVONI and LDE partners such as the African Studies Centre Leiden (ASCL), the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS) at Erasmus University, and the International Centre for Frugal Innovation (ICFI), several educational programmes and projects have already been developed in Nairobi. Plans are underway to broaden these offerings at both the bachelor and master level—potentially through a minor programme and dedicated graduate tracks. This collaboration not only strengthens academic exchange but also supports context-sensitive and practice-oriented learning for students from both regions.
Research and Urban Innovation with LEARN and UN-Habitat
On the research front, the LDE East Africa Research Node (LEARN) continues to grow as a dynamic platform for collaborative inquiry into urban, environmental, and governance challenges. A significant development is the strengthened involvement of UN-Habitat in LEARN’s work. This partnership enhances our collective capacity to produce actionable knowledge on themes such as urban resilience, inclusive planning, and grassroots innovation—across both African and European urban contexts.
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Engagement in Addis Ababa
In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, LDE representatives held exploratory discussions with key stakeholders from Addis Ababa University and the African Union. Central to these conversations were the roles of urbanisation and regional integration in shaping Africa’s development trajectory. These exchanges open new avenues for collaboration in both research and higher education, particularly within the LEARN framework, and strengthen the LDE network’s connection to continental policy agendas.
As East Africa takes a central role in global development, LDE Global is proud to stand alongside local universities, innovation hubs, and policy actors to co-create knowledge and solutions for a shared future.
Wim van den Doel, dean of Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Universities: 'We believe it is very important that students are given the opportunity to focus on issues in low- and middle-income countries, together with students from those countries. Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary work thus gains additional dimensions for the students: working on different issues than those found in the wealthy North, and doing so together with students from a different social and cultural background.'
We thank all our partners in Nairobi and Addis Ababa for the inspiring exchanges and look forward to the next steps in our journey together.
