About – CENIT East Africa

About Us

Our History

Welcome to CENIT@EA, the Centre of Excellence for Information and Communication Technology in East Africa. Established in 2019, by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the East African Community (EAC). the CENIT@EA is a regional innovation hub responding to the needs and contributing to the digital transformation in the East African Community (EAC) region.

Implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in partnership with Inter-University Council of East Africa (IUCEA) and German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the CENIT@EA has enrolled over 148 students from across the seven East African Partner States, on full scholarship from the German Government.

The CENIT@EA is transitioning from a project into a self-sustaining centre that will continue to provide limited scholarships but also engage with partners, to support the institution to scale up and become the centre of excellence for emerging technologies in the region.

The CENIT@EA builds on the following three pillars:

Needs-driven and applied master’s programme in Embedded and Mobile Systems (MSc EMoS)
Regional partnerships and dialogue between academia, the private and public sector to drive innovation in the EAC
Upskilling of ICT professionals, unemployed graduates and university staff to meet the needs of the digital transformation

Why Study at the CENIT@EA
Our flagship offering is the industry-driven Master’s programme in Embedded and Mobile Systems (MSc EMoS), which includes a 6-month industry internship in the region and Germany, applied master’s thesis, Summer Schools, guest lectures from industry experts, and training in entrepreneurial and soft skills. The comprehensive programme equips students with the tools to create and commercialize digital solutions vital for regional industrial growth in the region.

What makes us different

A functional innovation hub set up for research
Academic exchange with researchers and universities in EAC and Germany
Entrepreneurship skills embedded into the programme.
Meet with experts and professionals through summer schools.
Exposure to a network of companies through an internship.
Participation in international and regional innovation events and conferences.

The Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST), Tanzania

Our Governance Structure

CENIT@EA is part of the technical development cooperation between the East African Community (EAC) and Germany. It is integrated into the regional program “Education in the East African Community (EAC),” which aims to enhance employment opportunities for youth in the EAC.

The project is governed by the Joint Steering Committee (JSC), which meets biannually to review and monitor the progress of both CENIT@EA and the dSkills@EA project.

The JSC comprises representatives from the EAC Secretariat, the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), political partners, and implementing partners including Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA). It also includes an East African-German academic consortium led by NM-AIST and the University of Oldenburg in Germany, along with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

Additional partners include innovation hubs, national and regional industry associations such as the East African Business Council (EABC), and regional and international companies.

Academic Collaboration For Enhanced Emos Education

Universities and research institutions in the region can only realize their full potential through robust networking at national, regional, and global levels. This connectivity facilitates access to global research and educational resources, enabling the generation of content and collaboration with peers in communities of practice.

CENIT@EA partners with an Academic Consortium, consisting of both regional and international universities, to enhance and sustain the teaching and learning capabilities in Embedded and Mobile Systems (EMoS) at East African universities. This consortium fosters technical expertise within the region by combining innovative research with strong international and regional academic collaborations, all committed to producing impactful solutions for industry, the private sector, and society.

The consortium is led by the University Carl Von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg (UoL), Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST), and includes the following members: