The Pan African University was conceptualized in 2008, as part of the implementation of the Plan of Action for the Second Decade of Education for Africa, to support the revitalization of higher education in Africa, and contribute to the achievement of the vision of the African Union.
In 2009, a High-Level Panel of eminent African Professors was established to help in the development of operationalization instruments that were endorsed by the Conference of Ministers of Education of the African Union in November 2009.
The Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union made a Decision to establish the Pan African University (PAU) in 2010, and on December 14th, 2011, the AUC launched PAU as a flagship continental initiative.
The Pan African University’s Statute was adopted by the Assembly in January 2013 and the revised PAU Statute was adopted in January 2016.