Finalist

Community Engagement Initiative of the Year Award

Applied Curricula in Technology for East Africa

Finalist of the Community Engagement Initiative of the Year Award

AP University of Applied Sciences and Arts - Belgium

"Applied industrial engineering for increased local employability"


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Summary

From the conception phase in East Africa, it became apparent that there was the need to start a practical, competence-based curriculum in technology, if the countries involved would be able to fulfill their industrialization agenda. In the long run, the African continent should evolve from deliverer of raw materials and natural resources to a producer of half-fabricates and end-products, and reap the benefits from the richesses of the continent. At the same time, this transition should be sustainable and green, without making the former mistakes of more matured industrialized countries.

The ACTEA project aims to fulfil the specific needs in engineering, provide better skills matching, deliver course material in 2 specializations, Computer Aided Manufacturing Technology and Electrical Engineering & Automation and establish industrial laboratories, made mobile to access remote locations, establish learning tools, and give academic staff additional training. To increase the outreach to the local industry and community, the Business Integration Bureaus were established, to keep the cooperation relevant and going. The Technology Roadshows were performed for teaching technology in distant locations, for skilling people with lesser opportunities, like refugees or IDPs, in an inclusive approach.

When rewarding this project, you reward the hard work of 12 universities in Africa and the EU, under difficult circumstances. You also reward all others involved for their engagement to make a significant difference in East Africa. And you share the hopes and ambitions that through academic cooperation we can improve the world we live in.

Key People


Ing. Dirk Van Merode MSc
Project Coordinator
IT Department,  AP University of Applied Sciences and Arts - Belgium



Mr. Abid Weere Businge
South Coordinator
Faculty of Computing and Informatics,  Mbarara University of Science & Technology - Uganda



Ing. Sofie De Grave MSc
Local Coordinator HOWEST
Department of Industrial Product Design,  HOWEST - Belgium



Prof. Dr. Carsten Wolff PhD
Local Coordinator FHDo
Local Coordinator FHDo,  University of Applied Science and Arts Dortmund - Germany



Dr. Lefteris Doitsidis PhD
Local Coordinator HMU
Department of Electronic Engineering,  Hellenic Mediterranean University - Greece



Dr. George Fouskitakis PhD
Local Coordinator HMU
Department of Electronic Engineering,  Hellenic Mediterranean University - Greece



Dr. Mulualem Gebregiorgis Gebreslassie PhD
Local Coordinator MeU
Department of Renewable Energy at the Ethiopian Institute of TechnologyMekelle (EiT-M),  Mekelle University - Ethiopia



Dr. Tamene Adugna Demissie PhD
Local Coordinator JU
Department of Civil Engineering at the Jimma Institute of Technology,  Jimma University - Ethiopia



Dr. Evarist Nabaasa PhD
Local Coordinator MUST
Faculty of Computing and Informatics,  Mbarara University of Science and Technology - Uganda



Dr. Geoffrey Andogah PhD
Local Coordinator MuU
Faculty of Technoscience,  Muni University - Uganda



Dr. Albogast Kilangi Musabila PhD
Local Coordinator MzU
Directorate of Information and Communication Technology,  Mzumbe University - Tanzania



Dr. Job Asheri Chaula PhD
Local Coordinator ARU
Department of Computer Systems and Mathematics,  Ardhi University - Tanzania



Eng. Godfrey Luwemba MSc
Local Coordinator ARU
Department of Computer Systems and Mathematics,  Ardhi University - Tanzania



Eng. Nicholas Mbonimpa MSc
Local Coordinator RENU
CEO,  Research and Educational Network Uganda



Eng. Stephan Mgaya MSc
Local Coordinator TERNET
CEO,  Tanzanian Educational and Research Network


Acknowledgements

Co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union
Project type: Erasmus+ KA2 Capacity Building in the Field of Higher Education Project number: 597931-EPP-1-2018-1-BE-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP Period: November 2018 – November 2021 (extended to November 2022) Budget: €998.345
The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

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IMPACT STORY

Impacting lifes

The project met with a lot of challenges. There was the Covid-19 pandemic, which started March 2020. This immediately showcased the weakness of digital cooperation. But we continued with the development of courses and went to online trainings. Even more devastating was the war in Tigray, which started November 2020. We lost one of the best partners from Mekelle University. It is hard not to be personally effected by this terrible situation, when you have been to the local coordinator’s home and family.

Nevertheless, we still managed to reach out to many people during the project. We did Master Classes in October 2021 in Tanzania, we welcomed people from industry, we were on national television, which started a lively communication with external stakeholders. We did a Technology Roadshow to Zanzibar, and in April 2022 the first IoT application on the island was built. In January 2022 we did Master Classes in Uganda, with mixed teams, to train university’s and industry’s staff. We visited companies, to prove the relevance of the project, and find ways to keep academics up-to-date with the modern trends. During the Technology Roadshow, we brought along our mobile lab to teach about industrial technology. The reaction during these visits was overwhelming, as if this was the opportunity participants were waiting for. We showed the project outputs, and how to use them in their own work. This attracted a lot of attention of philanthropic and development organizations, which should ensure sustained operation between academics, companies, communities and government.

LEARNINGS

Lessons learned

In pre-proposal phase: believe in your project, do not write projects for the sake of the budget. These projects are challenging as it is. If the implementation does not interested you, better not do it.

When the project starts, build your coordination scheme. We opted for a tandem with an African and European coordinator, which ensured direct communication. In your own institution, you need someone to intensively interact with, for instance your direct superior. You should build your network first. We invited the ambassadors in Antwerp, we arranged meetings in the target countries with the ministry, embassy, business leaders, funding and sectorial organizations. This gave often the project new direction or smoothened implementation. You should build your administration first. Engineers would like to start developing, implementing and building, the fun stuff, so to say. But administration of these huge projects is not easy. A good system should allow easy reporting, easy copy-paste of the data and be digital.During the project, you should be a leader, know the project, know how to solve the individual tasks, know the funding rules. Make sure you are recognized, do not be afraid to demand the attention of the management of the institutions involved. You should be genuine and friendly. People will open up to you, and you avoid intercultural conflicts. You should give opportunities to the right people, the ones who implement the project, the staff that would benefit from training. And finally, never be afraid to ask for help, communicate a lot.

FUTURE PLANS

What's coming?

We are one of the first projects of its kind in Africa, which was an honour and a challenge at the same time. During the project, the relevance of our assumptions became even more clear and we feel that the end of our project in November 2022 is only the beginning of deeper collaboration between the partners.

In this respect, 12-year projects have stared with Mbarara University of Science and Technology in Uganda and Ardhi University in Tanzania, where the partners of ACTEA can continue to work on technology transfer, training and entrepreneurship. A follow-up Erasmus+ project is submitted with 2 partners in Tanzania and 4 in Uganda and 4 in the EU on Applied AI. We submitted a project to continue our work on Internet of Things on Zanzibar. We started cooperation in technology, IT, healthcare, education and social work with Muni University in Arua, and with the Mountains of the Moon University in Fort Portal, both Uganda.

This summer we are organizing our Final Symposium in Dar Es Salaam, with a focus on electrical engineering, project management & strategy, labour market skills, quality control, business management.We will present the projects of student and staff on the equipment and with the course material, related research, and future plans. In the round table on sustained operation, the EU partners will present the opportunities for Africa- EU cooperation within their countries and the EU Programs. The African partners present their project ideas, funding opportunities and needs for international partners.


KEY STATISTICS

17

Amount of courses developed and implemented

€50000/academic partner

Amount of industry-grade lab equipment delivered

>200

Amount of academic staff trained

42

Amount of direct and indirect partners involved

>700

Students educated with the new technology courses

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