Every strand has a lead, and a contribution from all four
The workstreams run in parallel rather than in sequence. Curriculum work feeds staff development, staff development feeds quality assurance, and dissemination carries all of it beyond the funding period.
Project management and coordination
Led by Maastricht University as lead partner, this workstream covers governance, financial management, reporting and the coordination mechanisms that keep four institutions across two continents working to a shared plan. The consortium structure and institutional roles were presented and clarified at the launch event in Mogadishu on 26 January 2026.
Curriculum co-creation
Somali and European academics work jointly to design and revise health programmes that are competency-based and grounded in Somali practice. Priority areas include primary healthcare, disease surveillance, sexual and reproductive health, and emergency response. Work to date has applied constructive alignment — matching learning outcomes, teaching activities and assessment — to selected curricula and modules.
Research capacity building
Training, mentoring and infrastructure support so that Somali institutions can design, conduct and publish research independently. The aim is a functioning research ecosystem — supervisors, ethics processes, methods training and publication routes — rather than a one-off set of outputs.
Academic staff development
Structured development for teaching staff covering pedagogy, assessment, supervision and interdisciplinary approaches to health and development. Delivered through the Training of Trainers programme at Maastricht University and Karolinska Institutet, then cascaded to wider faculty in Somalia, alongside a three-month blended learning programme.
Quality assurance and institutional systems
Strengthening the systems that sustain quality — programme accreditation processes, internal review, and the research and teaching infrastructure that underpins them. A curriculum quality-assurance framework is being established across Somali National University and East Africa University.
Dissemination and sustainability
Sharing results with stakeholders across Somalia and internationally, documenting the Somali-context adaptations that made each approach work, and maintaining structured peer exchange with Maastricht University and Karolinska Institutet beyond the funding period.
Jointly owned, not handed down
Every workstream pairs Somali and European institutions. Curriculum work is co-created rather than transferred; research capacity is built through mentoring rather than outsourcing; and staff development runs on a cascading model, so knowledge multiplies inside Somali institutions rather than staying with a handful of individuals.
That cascading approach is already working in practice.
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