Dr Edephonce N. Nfuka

with more than 20 years of national and international experience at the intersection of digital education and IT governance. He holds a PhD in Computer and Systems Sciences (IT Governance) from Stockholm University, an MSc in Software Engineering from Barcelona, and a BSc in Automation Engineering from Havana. At the Open University of Tanzania (OUT), alongside his academic responsibilities, he serves as Coordinator of ICT in the UNESCO Chair on Teacher Education and Curriculum, where he advances SDG 4 through teacher professional development, competency-based curriculum (CBC/CBET), Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK), Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and the integration of digital and AI-enabled tools in teaching and learning. He has also held senior leadership roles at OUT, including seven years as Director of the Institute of Educational and Management Technologies, where he oversaw ICT implementation and policy engagement; four years as Director of Consultancy and Outreach Services; and, earlier, five years as Deputy Managing Director of the University of Dar es Salaam Computing Centre (UCC), overseeing ICT services, policy, and infrastructure at UCC/UDSM and beyond.

His work bridges research, policy, and practice. He recently chaired the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) committee that developed Tanzania’s National Guidelines for Digital Education for schools and teacher colleges, and he contributed to both the National Digital Education Strategy (2024/25–2028/29) and the National Guidelines for Digital Education in TVET. He currently leads the MoEST mobile-learning pilot, which applies an offline-first, three-layer pedagogical model (concept introduction, virtual experiment or simulation, and assessment) in urban and rural secondary schools. He is also the Principal Investigator of the multinational Connected Learning for STEM (CL4STEM) secondary school teacher capacity-building programme across Tanzania, Nigeria, and Bhutan, funded by IDRC. In addition, he has served as Chair of the ICS/ICT subject panel for secondary schools under the Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE); he is a co-author of national TIE textbooks in ICS; and he has contributed to World Bank analytical work advising MoEST on technology policies to expand access and improve quality in higher education, with a STEM focus. His expertise spans digital education policy, strategy, and implementation, as well as IT governance, including frameworks such as COBIT and ISO/IEC 38500, with a strong emphasis on translating policy into practice and evidence into better policy.

Contact: edephonce.nfuka@out.ac.tz | enfuka@gmail.com | 0754 280 802 | Open University of Tanzania