Change to DelPHE focus countries: UK Government's Department for International Development (DFID) has recently announced a change to the list of priority/PSA countries. These changes will come into effect for DelPHE from the next round of applications; round 4. In future the lead partner must be a HEI from one of the new focus countries. All commitments to continuing round 1, 2 and 3 DelPHE projects for non priority countries will be honoured. DFIDs new 22 focus countries are:

Africa: Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Vietnam and Yemen.

Education Partnerships in Africa Launch Event: More than 300 HE and FE sector representatives and businesses joined DIUS and the British Council to launch the new Education Partnerships in Africa (EPA) programme at Imperial College London on 8th and 9th September. The event highlighted best practice and outcomes achieved from projects supported under the former England-Africa Partnerships programme. Find out more about the new EPA programme and how to apply for funding.

The West African Research and Innovation Management Association (WARIMA) will hold their second annual conference at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, on 10-12th November 2008.

The conference will feature a special half-day workshop session on managing collaborations, with a special focus on developing DelPHE proposals. West African delegates interested in developing future collaborations through schemes such as DelPHE and EPA are especially encouraged to attend. Current DelPHE project leaders, the ACU, and British Council representatives from West Africa are expected to help lead the workshop.

For more information on attending the conference and the workshop, please visit the conference website or contact the WARIMA administrator Tejumola Ajao.

The ACU University Extension Network has launched a new e-briefing for extension workers at ACU member universities and at HEIs in DelPHE focus countries. The fortnightly email briefing - Interact; highlights policy news in extension and community engagement, articles in leading extensionist journals, and showcases DelPHE projects that are addressing local development needs in Africa and Asia.

To register for this e-briefing and to join the ACU University Extension Network free of charge, please contact extension.network@acu.ac.uk