Saint Monica University (Cameroon)
Saint Monica University is an accredited private independent Christian university with operations in Cameroon, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It is an American-style university offering programs that are at the intersection of liberal arts, science, and technology. It is also known as the American International University.
SMU has been committed to civic engagement since its foundation in 2012. The university’s motto is “Servire Sine Fine,” the Latin for “Service Without Limit” , and the university’s slogans include: “Transforming Lives, Transforming Society” and “Learn with Support, Graduate with Confidence.”
The university’s Institute of Sustainable Development and Entrepreneurship (ISDE) helps students develop environmentally and economically sustainable ideas that can enable students and the wider community to create their own jobs in a country where unemployment is close to 40%.
The Institute of Biodiversity and Non-Profit Studies (IBINS) runs in collaboration with ERUDEF, a leading conservation organization in Cameroon. It has been promoting biodiversity and helping develop the capacity of actors in the entire non-profit sector of the country. Its project management program has become quite popular.
SMU’s Institute for Ethics and Human Rights (IEHR) helps to provide people with training that should lead to a better work ethic as well as serve as a pro-bono human rights organization. It provides counsel for victims of various injustices, especially those who can’t afford legal counsel by themselves.
In addition, SMU provides scholarships for academic excellence, as well as need-based scholarships, to both Cameroonian nationals and foreign students alike. Special needs students are welcomed and provided scholarships at SMU. They have also done away with differential fees between nationals and foreigners.
Service Learning is an essential aspect of SMU’s curriculum. All faculty are encouraged to be involved in it. Students have carried out a variety of activities for our local communities, while both faculty and students are currently involved in research activities designed to benefit the greater community.
SMU runs a health center that provides affordable health care to the entire community and is working on developing the concept into a franchise and providing health care to communities with very limited access. It is the first institution in Cameroon to introduce a course on telemedicine and is equiping its students with the ability to make use of existing information and communication technology infrastructure in the deliver of health services.