The Educational Partnerships for Innovation in Communities (EPIC), which has been implemented by universities worldwide, is a transformative approach to prepare students for the workforce, advance scholarships for researchers and make meaningful contributions to communities through engagement with, and empowerment of, local community members.
The Durban EPIC program is a partnership between the city of Durban and the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, that began in 2017. As part of eThekwini Municipality’s Transformative Riverine Management Program, the EPIC program engaged university students to address chronic waste and flood issues within Quarry Road West’s informal community settlement along the Palmiet River. To learn more about the Durban EPIC program and other locally-led stories of resilience: https://gca.org/reports/stories-of-resilience-lessons-from-local-adaptation-practice/