PLEDGE project is a structural reform national Erasmus project that supports sustainable, systemic and structural improvement and innovation in the higher education in Uganda. The project addresses the need to improve collaboration of higher education with the industry, ensuring more relevant practical education and training provided through practices and placements. The project is aligned with EU - Uganda Gateway priorities in the fields of agri-food, climate and energy value chains (Coffee, Tourism and Horticulture). PLEDGE intervention focuses inter-alia on establishing sectoral Industry-Education Councils, as structures for launching dialogue between higher education and industry in relation to the relevance of educational programmes, needed competences, preparedness of graduates for the labour market in the industrial sectors, etc. The project also builds capacities of Ugandan HEIs to provide for relevant and competence-based training through specialization and excellence. The PLEDGE project is compatible and complementary with the ongoing AgriCBE project which will provide training for the NCHE evaluators on competence-based curricula in HE enabling fuller roles of HEIs are met against the pressing societal changes.