Honoris United Universities launches 21st Century Skills Certificate to skill up graduates for the future world of work

Blending the most in-demand soft and digital skills, the 21st Century Skills Certificate will be issued through blockchain technology

Casablanca / Durban / Tunis / Abuja, September 23, 2020 – Honoris United Universities, the first and largest pan-African network of private higher education institutions, today announced the launch of the Honoris 21st Century Skills Certificate to further enhance the employability of its students by equipping them with the most in-demand soft and digital skills required to thrive and be competitive in the 21st century world of work.

Based on global researches and engagement with employers across the continent, the Honoris 21st Century Skills Certificate has been developed by the Honoris Academic Council, a pan-African team of faculty representatives with exemplary backgrounds and academic experience. Chosen for their unmatched expertise in their fields, including online learning and digital technology, the Council’s work is an important
investment in the development of world-class human talent: agile, collaborative professionals with an entrepreneurial mindset able to transform and impact Africa.

The Honoris 21st Century Skills Certificate delivers skills training in areas highlighted by industry analysts and by the demands of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR), ensuring that graduates enter the world of work
empowered with high cognitive skills and digital literacy competencies that are necessary to navigate our changing world.

The online program will train students in the eight most in-demand skills by employers and for the future of work: behavioral intelligence, creativity and design thinking, critical thinking, communication, collaboration, coding, data analytics and entrepreneurship. These skills, which serve as a driving force for the 4IR, ensure that Honoris graduates keep up with the dynamics of the labor market. Of note, whilst English is the de facto language of business, coding is the new second language for the 21st century, an area which all students, irrespective of their area of study, will need to understand. This understanding of coding, which is included in the certificate, will contribute to developing a computational thinking approach to problems, allowing for new responses to changes in the digital economy.

The 100-hour program is being deployed to all students across the network. It constitutes a four-module design including personal, social, digital, and entrepreneurship skills which will be embedded in Honoris member institutions’ curricula.

This certificate, powered by the Honoris Online Academy, demonstrates the network’s ongoing commitment to providing student-centric learning environments, designed by combining academic knowledge with entrepreneurial and workplace skills and credentials, to ensure graduates are equipped with the digital know-how and hybrid skills to meet the needs of the changing job market.

Commenting, Chief Strategy Officer of Honoris United Universities, Laura Kakon, said, “The world of work has entered an era where nothing is guaranteed. Employers are adopting new ideas and technologies
at a rapid pace and as a result, students need to keep up with the latest innovations and technologies in order to remain competitive and in high demand. At Honoris United Universities, we believe in futureoriented learning to prepare our students to harness technology and innovation, in order to thrive and compete in automated, data and AI-driven realities. We also believe in empowering our students with an academic and skills experience that leads to cognitive agility and a mobile mindset, two attitudes and behaviors of success. The Honoris 21st Century Skills Certificate will help bridge the skills gap in Africa by preparing our graduates for the future world of work.”

A “Best of Breed” Unique Program
The Honoris Academic Council designed this unique online certificate program in partnership with two leading digital learning providers, CrossKnowledge – the world’s e-learning pioneer and Le Wagon – world #1 coding bootcamp*, whose mutual areas of expertise in soft and digital skills are highly complementary.

The Honoris Online Academy
The announcement of the new Honoris 21st Century Skills Certificate also coincides with the launch of the Honoris Online Academy – a best-in-class online platform dedicated to skilling and upskilling programs focused on soft and digital skills that matter for the future of jobs. Adopting the latest cognitive research to maximise skills acquisition, the guided experience offers path journeys with multi-activities and in varied formats to ensure engagement during the online journey.

The Blockchain Diploma
Beginning with the 2021 academic cycles, Honoris graduate diplomas including the Honoris 21st Century Skills Certificate will be issued through blockchain technology by virtue of a partnership with BCdiploma.
This will provide each graduate with a unique URL that makes it possible to share their verifiable and tamper-proof diplomas digitally. The blockchain technology ensures that students have a life-long shareable access to their verified certificates for employers and professional networks. For the certificate, Honoris will issue one blockchain certification badge per module and a certificate upon full completion. The issuance of digital diplomas provides employers with the guarantee that any certification presented by graduates is 100% authentic.
These digital and skilling initiatives reflect Honoris’ commitment to embracing the digital transformation across the student journey and its strategy to reshape and rethink education to continually improve learning outcomes across the continent.

About Honoris United Universities
Honoris United Universities is the first and largest pan-African private higher education network committed to educating the next generation of African leaders and professionals able to impact regionally in a globalized world. Collaborative intelligence, cultural agility and mobile mind-sets and skills are at the heart of Honoris’ vision of higher education. Honoris United Universities joins the expertise of its member institutions to develop world-class African Human capital that is competitive in today’s fast-paced, demanding and increasingly digitized labour and start-up markets.

Honoris United Universities gathers a community of 45,000 students on 60 campuses, learning centres and via on-line, in 10 countries and 32 cities. The network counts 11 institutions: multidisciplinary universities, specialized schools, technical and vocational institutes, contact, distance, and online institutions. Students have an opportunity to experience exclusive partnerships and exchange programs in more than 60 universities across Europe and the United States. Over 280 degrees are offered in Medicine, Health Sciences, Engineering, IT, Business, Law, Architecture, Creative Arts and Design, Media, Political Science and Education. www.honoris.net

About Le Wagon
Le Wagon is a coding school that offers short and intensive coding bootcamps. Le Wagon’s mission is to enable the greatest number of people to learn technical skills in order to update their skills, change careers, or launch their project.
The school offers a web development course, recognized as the best coding bootcamp in the world, as well as a data science course. Launched in 2013, Le Wagon now boasts an international presence in 39 cities around the world, an alumni community of 8,200+ people from all walks of life, a proven teaching method, and a corporate offer for companies to train their employees. www.lewagon.com
* #1 Coding Bootcamp on Switchup (ranked as Best Bootcamp by Switchup for the 3 last years) and #1 Coding Bootcamp on Coursereport.

About CrossKnowledge
CrossKnowledge provides digital learning solutions that enable the success of individuals, teams and organisations through skills acquisition. It delivers an integrated and personalized learning experience with a digital content library created with world-renowned experts to bridge the gap between academic programs and skills required in the professional world and to develop future young professionals with the right set of skills required by business players. The learning platform is built with human and artificial intelligence, and unmatched accountability with a dedicated Client Success Team. CrossKnowledge helps L&D, managers and learners acquire the skills they need to succeed. Part of Wiley, one of the world’s largest research and education providers, CrossKnowledge has 20 years of experience in digital learning, serving over 12 million learners in 130 countries. www.crossknowledge.com

About BCdiploma
Deployed in more than 90 institutions in a dozen countries, BCdiploma offers a turnkey service to create and share blockchain certificates for all academic documents: diplomas, transcripts, acquired skills and more. BCdiploma is the first organization to offer 100% blockchain certified Open Badges for micro-certifications. BCdiploma helps companies become leaders in student experience and save valuable time by dematerializing processes. www.bcdiploma.com

COVID-19 Update

Key figures relating to the evolution of the pandemic :

As of March 30, 2020:

177  Country735 560 Confirmed cases34 830  Death156 380 Recovered

TunisiaConfirmed cases 312DeathsRecovered  2

Useful sources of information:

Ministry of Health: http://www.sante.rns.tn/fr/toutes-les-actualites/1059-tout-savoir-sur-le-coronavirus

National Observatory for New and Emerging Diseases: https: //www.onmne.tn/fr/index.php

World Health Organization: http://www.who.int/en

Coronavirus Dashboard:

International:

https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

Local:

Desktop link: https://arcg.is/1q094

Desktop link: https://arcg.is/1KqGDa

COVID-19 Q&A

What is coronavirus?

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses found in both animals and humans. Some infect people and are known to cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).  Novel coronavirus 2019, a respiratory illness, is a new strain of coronavirus that has not been previously identified in humans. It was reported in Wuhan, China in December 2019.

How does it spread?

The disease can spread from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth which are spread when a person with COVID-19 coughs, sneezes or just breathes out.

People can catch COVID-19 from others who have the virus, particularly if they are close to that person and breathe in those droplets.  In addition, these droplets can land on objects and surfaces that can come into contact with the person.

What are the symptoms and how dangerous is it?

As with other respiratory illnesses, Novel coronavirus 2019 can cause symptoms such as a runny nose, sore throat, cough, fever and feeling sluggish.  It can lead to pneumonia and/or breathing difficulties.  More rarely, the disease can be fatal.  Older people, and people with pre-existing medical conditions (such as diabetes and heart disease) appear to be more vulnerable to becoming severely ill with the virus.  There is currently no vaccine available to protect against coronavirus.

How long does it take for symptoms to show?

The incubation period (length of time it can take before symptoms become evident) can be up to 14 days.

What are the steps I can take to reduce my exposure?

As a reminder, the coronavirus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person.

  • Between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 1-2m)
  • Respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes

As the virus spreads through the world, below items you can undertake to reduce the risk to yourself, your family and the campus communities:

  1. Wash your hands well and frequently with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub
  2. Substitute a smile for a handshake, don’t share eating utensils or cups
  3. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and/or mouth
  4. Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces
  5. Cough or sneeze into your elbow or use a tissue to cover it, then throw the tissue in the trash
  6. Avoid close contact with others, particularly in enclosed spaces
  7. Stay home when you are sick

Do not travel if you are feeling unwell.  If you show symptoms of coronavirus at arrival airports, you may well be refused entry or quarantined and you will probably need to follow in-country procedures.  It may also prove difficult to get you home until tests confirm that you do not have coronavirus and symptoms have subsided or been treated locally.

What actions should I take if I live or have travelled to an area which has had reported cases and I develop coronavirus-like symptoms?

If you are feeling unwell and showing coronavirus-type symptoms, you should isolate yourself and seek medical attention/advice directly.

Who is at risk for COVID-19?

People who have been in close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 or who have been travelling in parts of the world where the virus is actively spreading are most at risk of COVID-19.

What travel precautions should be taken?

If you intend to travel out of your home country, it is essential that you check the updated list of countries affected by the COVID-19 outbreak before booking any flights. Inform yourself via guidance provided from the local authorities as well as the authorities from the destination country.

What if I have recently returned to my home country from an affected country or region?

If you have recently returned from an area where there is thought to be an active spread of the disease in the community, you should immediately stay indoors and avoid contact with other people as you would with the flu.  You should follow this advice even if you do not feel unwell in any way.  Check with your local authorities for guidance on being tested for detection of the virus.

Where else can I get information and advice about COVID-19?

We are being guided by a number of leading institutions such as World Health Organisation (WHO), Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and International SOS. Helpful websites are –

International SOS

https://pandemic.internationalsos.com/2019-ncov

World Health Organization

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/warning/novel-coronavirus-china

Coronavirus Dashboard

https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

USEFUL VIDEOS

Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)

https://youtu.be/mOV1aBVYKGA

How to protect yourself against COVID -19?

https://youtu.be/1APwq1df6Mw

Q&A: How to protect yourself when traveling during the coronavirus outbreak?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZcRD9fV7jo&feature=emb_title

COVID-19 UPSAT Statement Update

COVID-19 UPSAT Statement 

UPSAT is closely monitoring internationaldevelopments surrounding the coronavirus health crisis(COVID-19), which has been declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization 

Each member institution has been adhering to the guidancefrom their respective authorities and from national directives (e.g., Ministries of HealthMinistries of Education, Labor Departments, etc.), in addition to the advice from relevant authorities around the world. A Contingency Committee has been constituted in each of the network’s institutions, comprising functional leaders and experts in the communitiesThese committees are leading various measures to protect the health and the safety of our students, staff and faculty. They are foremost advocating awareness and safety by having these communities informed via regular posts and information disseminated via each institution’sofficial communication channels, online and offline. Within the network, all students have had access to the ongoing status and the spread of COVID-19 worldwide and its impact on human healthNecessary measures and sanitary precautions required to avoid contamination have been put in place. Awareness sessions–both physical and digital-are taking place and these include seminars for studentsfaculty and staff. 

Through its network and relationshipsUPSAT has strong expertise and access to distance and online learningthese will form the basis for studies to continue in the most appropriate form for a great many of our students as the situations merit. 

At the current time: 

  • All educational institutions in have been instructed to closeby the local authorities as of March 12 (two days ahead of the regularly scheduled spring break), until further notice. 
  • The leadership teams in Tunisia are working to prepare continuation of studies, per the above plans, in coordination with, and per the indications of the local authorities. 

Of note, at this point, there are no reported cases of the coronavirus at Honoris,including students, staff and faculty. 

The Upsat website will be continuously updated. 

Signature of an agreement with Sivo essilor

Supsat established in March 2019 an agreement with Essilor Sivo for the benefit of students in the Optics and Eyewear specialty guaranteeing them:

* to carry out a factory internship at the company’s workshops in Sfax.

* to benefit from additional training provided at the Faculty’s premises by a team of Sivo specialists and relating to marketing, sales techniques, management of an optical store, new products in optical glasses as well as practical work on machine.