About NMI
The Nelson Mandela Institution (NMI) was established in 2004 to help narrow the gap between Sub Saharan African (SSA) countries and the rest of the world in science and technology. It represents a new way of doing things in higher education in Africa and is based on a number of core principles, including a focus on academic excellence, independence from government, strong corporate governance structures, and a focus in educating women, and men as well, with a passion to become entrepreneurs and transform their communities and Africa. It is also designed to draw on distinguished academics worldwide, including the African diaspora in academics.
The Institution was incorporated in the state of Delaware in the US and is named after President Mandela for his visionary leadership and commitment to excellence and education of the African youth and the development of Africa
The institution promotes excellence in science and engineering and their applications to foster Sub-Saharan Africa’s development and narrow the growing scientific and technological gaps between Sub-Saharan Africa and the rest of the world.
Vision
Knowledge Building and the Advancement of Science and Technology in Sub-Saharan Africa, through the two pillars of the institution:
- The Establishment of African Institutes of Science and Technology (AISTs) in four regions West, East, South and Central Africa.
- The Promotion of a Sub-Saharan African Learning Network to enhance broad-based knowledge creation, dissemination and flows across Sub-Saharan African countries.
Our institution was founded by leveraging seed money from the World Bank and subsequent funding from the African Development Bank, the African Capacity Building Foundation and support in kind and direct funding from the government of Nigeria for its flagship university in Abuja, Nigeria: the African University of Science and Technology (AUST). The other two affiliated institutions are the International Institute of Water and Engineering (2ie) and the Nelson Mandela-African Institute of Science and Technology (NM-AIST).
