Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and the Mastercard Foundation, in collaboration with the Government of Rwanda, are pursuing a transformational partnership in higher education and innovation in Africa to catalyze opportunities for 10,000 young people to engage with emerging technologies and lead the digital transformation of the continent.
The $275.7 million partnership with the Mastercard Foundation will significantly expand advanced engineering and technology education at Carnegie Mellon University in Africa. The investment from the foundation includes a $175 million endowment to perpetually fund Carnegie Mellon Africa and $100.7 million to establish the university’s Center for the Inclusive Digital Transformation of Africa.
CMU-Africa offers graduate degrees in information technology, electrical and computer engineering, and engineering artificial intelligence through the university’s College of Engineering.
“The key to creating opportunities for promising African students from all socioeconomic backgrounds is access to education in the high-tech fields that are driving the economies of the future,” said Farnam Jahanian, president of Carnegie Mellon University. “We are grateful to the Mastercard Foundation for their partnership with CMU over the past six years to help empower the next generation of Africa’s leaders, and we are delighted to be expanding our partnership even further. With this new collaboration, we will accelerate our shared mission and provide life-changing educational and career experiences for students across the continent.”
