Cambridge, 26th, December 2022 – ELITE Innovation College Cambridge, today announces the MOA signing ceremony of establishing EICC EGC Tunis Campus.
With the witness of Professor Ahmed Friaa, former Tunisian Minister of Education, Professor Richard Li-Hua, Founder and President of ELITE Innovation College Cambridge (EICC), UK, and Professor Mondher Bellalah, Founder and Chairman of Mediterranean Institute of Technology (MIT) (and three other sister Colleges) signed the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the establishment of EICC Campus in Tunis along with the launch of Al Kindi Institute of Technology (AIT), on 21st December, 2022, in Tunis.
The parties share a great vision in tackling the challenges and opportunities in the global higher education and enabling Tunisia to become the Singapore of Africa. Both parties are keen to make EICC presence in Tunis along the launch of Al Kindi Institute of Technology (AIT), which is designed with two brand-names (EICC-AIT Co-branded) and one institution and a strategic instrument to achieve the vision and for the development of tomorrow’s talents, managers, and leaders for the Rise of Tunisia.
Agora ELITE Education Innovation Model
Agora, a Greek word, means a public space used for assemblies and market. The literal meaning of the word "agora" is "gathering place" or "assembly". In our term, the “gathering place”, is not only physical but also virtual, which means online and offline. ELITE is an acronym of e-learning of innovation, technology and entrepreneurship within an O2O Innovation University[1] in the global higher education. Agora and ELITE have organic relation which complement each other and provide philosophical answers to the challenges and opportunities of the global higher education (GHE) in the post COVID-19 era.
Almost all the universities and colleges are currently delivering courses online based upon the MOOC experiences since the outbreak of COVID-19. In fact, there is similarities of online delivery around the globe as universities and colleges have been forced to do so. The strategic intention of establishment of Agora ELITE O2O Innovative Education Structure is an exploration of an innovative education pedagogy of integrating the delivery of programmes, knowledge, contents and education ethos with a global vision embedded in the teaching and learning strategy built into the technological system of Agora ELITE University. This technological innovation system demonstrates how various features and objectives of innovative and entrepreneurial university is created, translated, articulated, and achieved in a learning organization context.
Professor Richard Li-Hua and Professor Mondher Bellalah
Professor Ahmed Friaa expressed at the signing ceremony, “I am very pleased to see this wonderful signing event which creates history in Tunis. Agora ELITE Education Model that has been created by Professor Richard Li-Hua is very convincing and attractive which fits in very well in Tunisia, MENA Region, and the African Continent. I hope that the settle down for EICC in Tunis will bring global academic resources to Tunis and makes a great contribution in enabling Tunisia to become the Singapore of Africa. We welcome Professor Li-Hua and your team to spend more time here for the establishment of EICC-AIT Co-branded Campus and for the development of tomorrow’s talents.”
MOA Signing ceremony witnessed by Professor Ahmed Friaa
Professor Mondher Bellalah stated at the signing ceremony, “It is a great honour to work with Professor Richard Li-Hua. We are very happy to make such a great strategic collaboration with ELITE Innovation College Cambridge. We believe that Agora ELITE Education model fits in very well with our long-term strategy in setting up Al Kindi Institute of Technology in offering holistic and affordable education in the African Continent for the enhancement of student experience. We appreciate the strong features of ELITE education of innovation and entrepreneurship. We look forward to building a long-term relationship and fruitful collaboration with EICC and great partnership! And we look forward to visiting you in Cambridge soon”.
Professor Richard Li-Hua highlighted at the signing ceremony, “It is a great privilege for me and EICC to work with Professor Friaa, Professor Bellalah and the local team here at Tunis and to be a strategic partner with MIT in Tunisia. And this wonderful signing is an official start to set up EICC Tunis Campus and the launch of AIT. We are proud that we have pioneered Agora ELITE O2O Innovative Structure. We offer holistic education and affordable education through reframing Oxbridge model. We are very privileged to have a strong connection with Oxbridge with the state of art of technology and world class collegial, inspirational, and academic ambiance and environment”.
“This is my third time to visit Tunis in 2022. The more I am here, the more I believe my earlier dream continues, the more I love in Tunis, its people, its culture and the Arabic style of architecture as well the tropical weather of the Mediterranean and North Africa. Coming here always reminds me when I was younger. 40 years ago, in early 1983, I worked in Libya as a young Associate Project Manager to Tripoli, Libya, sent by China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC). I felt quite excited and filled with dreams as this was my first time abroad after graduation. This then enabled me to visit and work in Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Senegal, Morocco, and South Africa. My many visits to and work in the African Continent always let me feel that I have affiliated with Africa and always had the passion for the construction of Africa and for the better social and economic development of Africa. And today’s signing ceremony clearly indicates that my earlier dream remines and continues in Africa” Professor Richard Li-Hua expressed emotionally.
Innovative Concepts and Philosophies
The parties share the innovative concepts and philosophies to offer holistic education and affordable education by delivering the programs online and offline through technology enhanced learning and educational technology innovation system for enhancing the student journey without compromising the education quality of the delivery.
The parties agree that EICC-AIT will move to a dedicated new campus with consideration of reframing Oxbridge model in transforming the landscape of the global higher education in MENA Region and Africa.
Distinctiveness and USP
The distinctiveness of the education innovation at EICC-AIT Co-branded is the unique strategic design – It offers a double-degree which means that students who successfully complete their studies will be awarded a double-degree – ONE Tunisian degree via offline delivery and ONE international degree via online delivery. Furthermore, students have choices to choose offline studies beyond Tunis campus as they wish for all the international programs, for example, they can choose to stay in Vancouver, Berlin, and Cambridge, where necessary.
Both parties are keen to have this strategic and all-round collaboration and remain committed, and make contribution to the establishment of EICC-AIT Co-branded Campus – EICC will focus on the contribution of its soft capacity building, including branding, education innovation model and business model, IP, strategic planning, global academic resources and its international programmes and curriculum while MIT/AIT will focus on the contribution of hard capacity building, including hard infrastructure, strategic investment, operational cost, familiarity of local strategy and policy, governmental relations, sources of students and marketing capacity, in MENA region and Africa.
Two Phases of the Project
Perspectives of the existing campus of EICC-AIT
It has been designed with a well-crafted strategy for a newly created university that the project has been composed of two phases. During the first phase between 2023-2028, the strategic intention is that EICC-AIT Co-branded uses the existing campus with Co-branded-names and one institution.
Perspectives of the existing campus of EICC-AIT
It is our education philosophy that EICC-AIT Co-branded offers holistic and affordable education by delivering the programs online and offline through technology enhanced learning and the educational technology innovation system for enhancing the student journey without compromising the education quality of the delivery in the existing buildings and campus. However, EICC-AIT will move to a dedicated new campus with consideration of reflexing Agora ELITE Education features and reframing Oxbridge model in transforming the landscape of the global higher education in MENA Region and Africa in 2028.
Site of the potential future campus of EICC-AIT
Stanford University was founded in 1885 and rebuilt after the devastating 1906 earthquake and it became the world-famous Stanford today. Henley Business School was set up in 1945 during the Second World War at Henley-on-Thames and it became a global known institution today. ELITE Innovation College Cambridge (EICC) has been known as “the little peach tree born in Tsinghua in 2006 and grown up and settled in Cambridge in 2014”. However, our college was re-launched in late 2020 during the pandemic, which has a strong capability of survival.
Landscape and view of the potential future campus of EICC-AIT
Profile of ELITE Innovation College Cambridge (EICC)
ELITE Innovation College Cambridge (EICC) is a British Educational Institution that provides undergraduate, postgraduate and research programmes with our co-branded academic partners, and executive education, workshops, conferences, and seminars in various subjects, locally, internationally, and globally, working with Partners in the United Kingdom, Asia, Africa, North America and the Middle East.
ELITE is an acronym of E-Learning of Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship. It was during the COVID-19 that ELITE Innovation College Cambridge (EICC) was consolidated and re-created. Still, its history can be traced back to 2006, when a group of outstanding management scholars launched CAMOT[1] during IAMOT [2] International Conference in Tsinghua University.
IAMOT [2] International Conference at Tsinghua University
The four colleges: Innovation College, Technology College, Entrepreneurship College and Global Leadership College that we have established based upon the 16 years of accumulation of global academic resources. The colleges provide an academic arm of EICC, as well as extra liberal arts curriculum to our degree and non-degree programmes, and qualifications that we deliver for the enhancement of student journey which delivers alongside our degree awarding power universities.
Further, our Agora ELITE O2O Innovative Structure is what differentiates EICC from conventional higher education. This structure is based upon the education of innovation and entrepreneurship, delivered through a novel platform that challenges the traditional ways of learning. Coupled with prestigious academic quality, global engagement, and strategic collaboration with worldwide partners, EICC provides significant value to its students.
EICC Headquarter at St. John's Innovation Centre, Cambridge, United Kingdom
EICC Headquarter at St. John's Innovation Centre, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Our strength lies in our innovation and entrepreneurial spirit that underpins a holistic educational framework and a unique pedagogy with online capabilities to create a focused and flexible environment for our learners. This environment combines online learning and offline delivery centers in cities around the world, which extends access to provide engaged social learning experience. This learning model combines explicit and tacit knowledge transfer that is entrenched in human learning behaviour and contributes to the delivery of an enriched and enhanced student experience.
In addition, EICC's global research and engagement, which includes EICC’s Global Innovation Webinar series and the Global University President Forum, develops and sustains worldwide higher education, research and global engagement, creates globally connected learning and practice communities so as to enhance the learning journey and student experience. We are privileged to be a strategic partner of United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI).
Over a decade, we have been successfully organizing international conferences and forums with global universities, including Tsinghua University (CAMOT Conference 2014 Beijing) and University of Cambridge (CAMOT Conference 2016 Cambridge) and University of Law (University President Forum 2021 London) with university presidents, vice-chancellors, deans, experts, scholars, government officials and doctoral candidates in the field of higher education participated in the events.
We are also honored to be Agora co-branded strategic partners with Trinity Western University (TWU) in Canada, along with International University of Applied Science, (IU) in Germany, University of the West of Scotland (UWS) and Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) in the United Kingdom. We are also in the delivery of degree and non-degree undergraduate, postgraduate, and taught & research programmes in Cambridge, United Kingdom.
EICC 2022-2023 Academic Year Commencement, Wolfson College, Oxford University
On Wednesday, 28 September 2022, ELITE Innovation College Cambridge (EICC) held its first Commencement Event in both online and offline format with pre-recorded videos from hundreds of EICC global students, faculties, and global partners and friends, live at Wolfson College of University of Oxford as well as remotely through Zoom. The event celebrates the start of a new academic year, bringing together global students, staff, and global partners to mark the momentous occasion. Eleven (11) EICC student representatives delivered their short speech in expressing their excitement and happiness in joining EICC and its global partners.
We are proud that we deliver Agora ELITE O2O Innovative Education in the world class academic, collegial, and inspirational ambiance.
We look forward to having sincere collaboration with like-minded people and institutions to meet the opportunities and challenges of global higher education in the epidemic and post-epidemic era. Leading educational innovation and promoting educational innovation together.
[1] China Association for Management of Technology (CAMOT).
[2] International Association for Management of Technology (IAMOT).
For more information about us, please read our website:
For collaboration, please contact our Global Engagement Office at:
globaloffice@eiucambridge.com
[1] Please see further details on Working Paper ELITE Initiative for Creating Innovative and Entrepreneurial University in the Global Higher Education presented by Richard Li-Hua at MoE Conference, 2016, Wenzhou, China.
