The brief
The project set out to create a forward-looking university campus dedicated to technology, engineering, management and entrepreneurship. Located in Santa Barbara, Bonamoussadi, Douala, the campus needed to support teaching, administration, practical learning and student life while allowing the institution to expand progressively.
The wider programme comprised an administrative building, three pedagogical blocks, an amphitheatre, start-up and high-technology facilities, student residences and complementary amenities, including a student centre, sports centre, restaurant and conference building. The first phase prioritised the administrative building and two pedagogical blocks, establishing the operational foundation of the new campus.
The context
JFN HighTech University Institute was conceived in response to Cameroon’s growing need for professionally oriented higher education in engineering, digital technology, applied sciences, management and entrepreneurship. The institution began operating as a private higher-education establishment in 2018 and obtained university-institute status in 2022. Its academic offer is organised around schools of engineering, digital innovation, management and entrepreneurship.
The campus therefore needed to be more than a collection of classrooms. It had to provide an identifiable academic environment where formal teaching, practical projects, collaboration and innovation could coexist, while responding to the operational requirements of a growing university in Douala.
Our response
NDE FORCOB Architects collaborated with ARINSKEEM Ltd, the project’s lead architect and project manager, in developing the university complex. The campus was conceived as a coordinated composition of academic, administrative and communal buildings connected by clearly organised circulation and shared external spaces.
The first phase brought together the administrative building and two pedagogical blocks to form an immediately usable academic core. This phased approach allowed the university to begin operating within a coherent campus framework while retaining the capacity to incorporate additional teaching, residential, recreational and technology-focused facilities as the institution developed.
The outcome
The first phase established a functional and recognisable home for JFN HighTech University Institute, providing the academic and administrative infrastructure required to support its expanding educational programmes. It also created a structured foundation for the progressive development of the wider university campus.
The campus has since supported important technology and education initiatives, including JFN’s partnership with Google Cloud and the inauguration of Douala Tech Park in October 2024. These developments reflect the institution’s broader ambition to connect higher education with technological training, research, prototyping and entrepreneurship.
Visit the university: JFN HighTech University Institute
