The African Engineering Education Association (AEEA), under the leadership of Prof. Funso Falade, Dean, Faculty of Engineering as the President, has a long standing relationship with the Tsinghua University Centre for Engineering Education (now International Centre for Engineering Education, UNESCO Category II Centre). The focus of the relationship is majorly in the area of contribution to the promotion of quality engineering education in Africa via capacity building approach. In 2016, Professor Falade was invited to Tsinghua University as the representative from Africa along with others from other developing countries around the world. One of the places visited was the Tsinghua University MOOC centre.
He requested the Authorities of Tsinghua University to locate the beaming centres of their MOOC facilities in Africa as a way of further promoting education in Africa. The request was approved. The proposed implementation strategy suggested the first phase of the project is to be located in West Africa Sub-region with the pilot project at the University of Lagos. The proposal was accepted and the Authorities of Tsinghua University working with the Chinese Academy of Engineering obtained permission from the Chinese government for the project. The platform has been developed. It is http://unilag.xuetangx.com. The platform was launched on 22nd May, 2017. This represents the 1st phase of Chinese MOOC in Africa. This will also extend to other sub-regions in Africa in a stepwise manner.