nairobi newsletter

DAAD Regional Office for Africa - June 2013

AvH Ambassador Boga meets German President in Berlin

On 6th June, Kenyan Professor Hamadi Iddi Boga had the opportu-nity to meet the Ger-man President Joachim Gauck in Berlin.

Scientists from all over the world had come to the German capital for an Alumni Conference of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AvH) among them politicians, research-ers and Nobel Prize Winners.

Prof. Boga is not just one of the DAAD Alumni but Principal of Taita Taveta Univer-sity College and Am-bassador of AvH as well.

The microbiologist already obtained a DAAD scholarship for his Master’s at Ken-yatta University. Later, he proceeded to do his PhD at University of Konstanz from 1996 to 2000 with a DAAD PhD scholarship.

Read the full story(German only)

Editorial

DAAD

Regional Office for Africa

P.O.Box 14050-00800

Nairobi, Kenya

Director:

Christoph Hansert

Editor:

Anja Bengelstorff

Contact:

+254 733 929 929

info@daadafrica.org

http://nairobi.daad.de

Kenya: African Cities of the Future: Governors, Kenyan DAAD Alumni and German ex-perts try to chart the way

This year’s Kenya DAAD Scholars Associa-

tion (KDSA) and DAAD Africa conference on

May 30th and 31st interrogated how to plan

and design “African Cities of the Future:

Smart, Sustainable, Participatory.” The meet-

ing brought together professionals from uni-

versities, research institutions, parastatals

and the civil society who included more than

160 KDSA members, among them senior

university administrators and experts in the

field especially from the University of Leipzig

and the German Institute for Urban Develop-

ment. The conference was honored by the

presence of H.E. Margit Hellwig-Boette, Ger-

man Ambassador to Kenya. The contribution

of the Governors or their representatives of 10

Counties from all parts of Kenya greatly en-

hanced the dialogue.

The occasion was also very welcome to launch a

year of celebrations of the 40th anniversary of

the DAAD Regional Office for Africa. The First

KDSA Chair and today’s VC of the Technical

University of Kenya Prof. Dr.-Ing. Francis Aduol

impressively looked back to four decades of col-

laboration.

The main topic of discussion was what County

Governors need and what universities can offer

to them and vice versa. It became very clear that

in the current phase support in strategic and

spatial planning for the Counties will be a key

area of cooperation - and the training of the

new staff of the county administration skills.

To be continued on page 2

Salim Mvurya, Governor of Kwale, and Prof. Dr. Manfred Roeber, University of Leipzig, came together with DAAD and Ford Foundation

Alumni and other local experts in Nairobi to look for ways to make African cities sustainable and inclusive.

page 2

newsletter June 2013

REMINDER: EQUIPMENT GRANT PROGRAMME

Many young scientists returning to their home

country after complet-ing periods of study

and research in Ger-many would like to

continue research work started there in

cooperation with their German host institu-

tion of higher educa-tion. They want to use

their qualifications acquired in Germany

to be able to engage in new development-

relevant research or teaching projects for

their home country. However, they are

often faced with the problem that their

home institution of higher education does not have the neces-sary scientific equip-

ment.

The Equipment Grant

Programme for institu-tions of higher educa-

tion in developing countries sponsored

by DAAD and funded by the Federal Ministry

for Economic Coop-eration (BMZ) ad-

dresses this point: Returning scientists

or alumni of German

institutions of higher

education who have already returned to

their home country and are active at an

institution of higher education or compara-

ble academic institu-tion there are eligible

to apply for scientific equipment for carry-

ing out their current teaching and research

projects.

Get more information

on the programme

here.

Annual General Meeting of the Kenya DAAD Scholars Association (KDSA)

The conference was preceded by the AGM of the Kenyan DAAD Alumni. The members se-

lected a new National Executive Committee: Prof. Simon Onywere (KU) was confirmed as chair-

man; Secretary: Dr. John Obiero (JOOUST); Treasurer: Dr. Stellamaris Muthoka (Egerton U);

Vice Chair: Dr. Florence Indede (Maseno U); Assistant Secretary: Dr. Alex Khaemba; Assistant

Treasurer: Dr. Fridah Kanana (KU); Members: Dr. Francis Orata (MMUST), Dr. Grace Che-

serek (Moi U) and Dr. Bernards Okeyo (Pwani U). The Alumni are indebted to their former mem-

bers of the NEC, Dr. Solomon Derese (UoN), Prof. Joy Obando (KU) and Prof. Halimu Shauri

(Pwani U), and thank them for their service in the concluded term.

DAAD Annual Cocktail

During the DAAD Annual Cocktail at the German Ambassador’s

residence DAAD not only bade farewell to the host, outgoing Am-

bassador Margit Hellwig-Bötte, with a big and delicious cake she

shared generously with her guests. DAAD also said goodbye to

Prof. Christian Borgemeister, Director-General of ICIPE, who leaves

Kenya for

ZEF Bonn.

Also returning to Germany are DAAD

lecturer at KU, Dr. Georg Verweyen, and

Andrea Sasse, Cultural Attaché at the

German Embassy. We appreciate their

work and collaboration and wish them all

the best in their new positions. More

than 70 scholarships for postgraduate

studies and higher education manage-

ment training were awarded during this

occasion. Ambassador Hellwig-Bötte, DAAD Regional Director Christoph Hansert

and NACOSTI CEO Prof. Shaukat Abdulrazak and happy PhD

scholarship holders Grace Ngatia, Walter Alando and Fred Ongarora.

Continued from page 1

The partnership should be achieved by creat-

ing a meeting space and subsequently signing

Memoranda of Understanding between one

to four Counties and the next University. Con-

crete needs formulated by the Governors were

the use of Geographic Information Systems

(GIS) for improved spatial planning or the

sharing of postgraduate research work on

their County from Universities all over the

Country. The National Commission for Sci-

ence, Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI)

was tasked to provide a respective electronic platform together with the Kenya Open Data

Initiative. NACOSTI CEO Prof. Abdulrazak confirmed that they perceive this as a very doable

idea. Last but not least Governors urged for more internships of students in County admini-

strations. Prof. Some, CEO of the Commission for University Education assured that CUE will

support internships by allowing them to be credited - if properly organized.

The Alumni are grateful to DAAD, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, UN-HABITAT and the IFP

of Ford Foundation for their support.

page 3

newsletter June 2013

Kenya: First East African Conference on German Studies

The first conference on German Studies in Eastern Af-

rica took place from 27th to 28

th June at the Goethe-

Institut Nairobi. The conference which attracted over

thirty participants from Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, Zim-

babwe, Germany and Kenya was funded by the DAAD

and was jointly organized by the German Studies pro-

gramme, University of Nairobi and the German Sec-

tion, Makerere University, Uganda.

The conference theme was “German Studies in East

Africa and Sustainability: new scientific concepts, new

ideas”. Over 15 academic papers were presented and

graduate students from the DAAD funded Master’s pro-

gramme at the UoN also presented their envisaged re-

search projects. Areas covered included Intercultural

German literature, Translation Studies and German as a

Foreign Language. A highlight of the conference was a

public reading of the book “Das Dossier Robert” by its

author Dr. Karsten Dümmel, and a round table

discussion with employers chaired by DAAD Office

Director Christoph Hansert.

In addition, a facebook project jointly run by students

of Kenyatta University (German Studies) and University

of Leipzig (African Studies) was presented.

The participants were invited to a cocktail by the

Austrian Ambassador to Kenya, H.E. Mag. Christian

Hasenbichler on 28th June. The DAAD Regional Office for

Africa also organized a cocktail on the 29th June where

Mr. Oliver Schwart of the German Embassy and Chris-

toph Hansert awarded five Summer School DAAD schol-

arships to Kenyan students of German studies.

As a result of the conference, it was unanimously agreed

that a regional association of scholars and teachers of

German Studies in Eastern Africa should be formed, and

a steering committee was duly appointed. The confer-

ence proceedings are to be published later this year, and

we are all looking forward to the second conference in

2015.

DAAD Lecturer Dr. Shaban Mayanja, GI Nairobi Director Johannes Hossfeld and

DAAD Africa Office Director Christoph Hansert welcome the participants at the

Goethe Institute Nairobi

URGENT! Upcoming application deadlines!

31 July at DAAD Office Nairobi:

- Master Courses in "Public Policy and Good Governance"

The programme offers very good graduates with a first university degree (not older than six years) the chance to ob-

tain a Master’s degree in disciplines that are of special relevance for the social, political and economic development of

their home country. The scholarships are offered both for young graduates without professional experience and for

mid-career professionals. more info

- Development-related Postgraduate Courses (formerly: Postgraduate Courses for Professionals with Rele-

vance to Developing Countries)

The courses, mainly at Master’s level, are open to candidates with a very good first degree (not older than 6 years), at

least one year work experience and preferably a study leave from the employer.

more info

(Application Deadline at DAAD Bonn: 31st August)

30 September at DAAD Office Nairobi:

- PhD scholarships to Germany (additional online application from 15 July 2013)

Six scholarships open to all fields of study for excellent Master degree holders (not older than six years); additional 20

scholarships available in conjunction with the Government of Kenya via NCST

more info

page 4

newsletter June 2013

New BMBF Funded ICT partnerships between German and Sub-Sahara African

With funds of the Federal

Ministry for Education

and Research (BMBF)

DAAD promotes the de-

velopment of common

university courses be-

tween African and Ger-

man universities in the

field of applied Informa-

tion and Communica-

tion Technology (ICT).

The cooperation aims at

implementing ICT Mas-

ter’s courses with cross-

cultural and management

components as well cre-

ating a sustainable devel-

opment of African higher

education institutions.

University of Apllied

Sciences of Neu-Ulm

(HNU) together with

Kenya Methodist Uni-

versity and University

of the Western Cape

(South Africa) developed

a joint Master programme

in Health Information

Management. Within this

programme the interna-

tional students will attend

courses in all three coun-

tries of the partner univer-

sities. The start for this

Master course is planned

for October 2013. Profes-

sors Burk and Jacob of

HNU introduced the con-

cept during an Afternoon

Tea at the DAAD Re-

gional Office on June 5.

Also University of

Oldenburg is cooperat-

ing with African Universi-

ties in Tanzania, Ghana

and Mozambique to

progress an international

network of science and

research. The project is

called EMIS and includes

the study programmes for

Environmental Manage-

ment Information Sys-

tems and additional Pro-

fessional Training Pro-

grammes of Sustainable

and Environmental In-

formatics.

Tanzania: Joint TCU-DAAD team hosted by Universities

Together with the Tanzanian Commission

for Universities (TCU) from 6th to 9

th of May,

the Director of DAAD Regional Office for Af-

rica, Christoph Hansert, and Programme Of-

ficer Anja Bengelstorff visited six key Tanza-

nian Universities, mainly to inform about the

joint PhD scholarship programme with the

Tanzanian government and to promote higher

education cooperation with German universi-

ties.

The first university to be visited was Sokoine

University of Agriculture in Morogoro, which

is not only known as being the best training

and research institution for agricultural sub-

jects in Tanzania, but is also a stronghold of

DAAD alumni. The next stop was Mzumbe

University, a university just outside

Morogoro, that has initiated a Master course

in Health Systems Management in collabora-

tion with the German University of Neu-Ulm.

The University of Dodoma in central Tanza-

nia was a surprise: the most ambitious aca-

demic project of the Tanzanian government

presented itself to the visitors as a brand new

university of 19.000 students, surrounded by

a breath-taking scenery, equipped with mod-

ern technology - and with an urgent need for

well-trained lecturers. Visits to Muhimbili and

Ardhi Universities and the University of

Dar es Salaam, and a meeting with the

Permanent Secretary marked the end of a

journey to the heart of Tanzania.

The Acting Vice-Chancellor of the University of Dar es Salaam

and the DAAD Africa Office Director present the letter to estab-

lish a new DAAD long term lecturership in Regional Legal Studies

at USDM’s Tanzanian German Centre for EA Legal Studies

(TGCL) - Foto: DAAD

Germany: Chancellor Angela Merkel invites DAAD

On 5th June the German Chancellor

Dr. Angela Merkel invited experts

from all over the world to the First

International Germany Forum at

the German Prime Minister’s Office

in Berlin. Among the guests were

the DAAD Secretary General, Dr.

Dorothea Rüland and the DAAD

Office Directors from Rio de Ja-

neiro, Tokyo and Nairobi.

Under the slogan “What matters to

people – wellbeing and progress” different concepts of quality of living were discussed. Will

people be happier because of more and more growth? What is happiness or well being beyond

economic success? Is the Bhutanese “Gross National Happiness Commission” on an innovative

path by measuring happiness regularly with population surveys?

It was common sense, that health and the quality of family relations are key factors for happi-

ness. During the discussion, yet, some differences between the North and the South came up.

Whereas developing countries take a fair distribution of goods and opportunities as very

important people from the North pay more attention to the environment.

On the left side Dr. Dorothea Rüland, Secretary General of DAAD, and the Director

of the DAAD Regional Office for Africa, Christoph Hansert, together with global

experts and German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel - Foto: Bundesregierung

page 5

newsletter June 2013

IDIES International Deans’ Course Africa 2013/2014

The Regional Office

would like to congratu-

late the eight Kenyan

academics who will

take part in the DIES

International Deans’

Course Africa 2013/14

after a very rigorous

selection process. The

new course partici-

pants are Yudha Ayodo

(Kibabii UC), Peter

Barasa (Moi U), Flor-

ence Indede (Maseno

U), James Kombo

(Daystar U), Esther

Magiri (JKUAT),

Renson Mwangi (KCA

U), Christine Onyango

(TTUC) and Losenge

Turoop (JKUAT).

The International

Deans’ Course Africa

2013/14 is jointly or-

ganized by DAAD,

the Hochschule

Osnabrück,

the German Rectors’

Conference (HRK),

the Centre for Higher

Education (CHE) and

the Alexander von

Humboldt Foundation

(AvH). This intensive

training course is part

of the DIES pro-

gramme (Dialogue on

Innovative Higher Edu-

cation Strategies)

which is jointly coordi-

nated by DAAD and

HRK.

The key objective of

the course is to bring

together a group of

about 30 deans, vice-

deans, and heads of

departments – many

of them alumni of

DAAD and Humboldt

Foundation – from uni-

versities of the African

region and to prepare

them for the challenges

of holding a dean’s

position in an ever-

changing higher educa-

tion landscape.

Kenya: E-resources Training for DAAD Scholars

From 27th to 30th May, 25 DAAD Scholars from Kenya and all over Africa currently pursuing

their Master or PhD at Kenyan universities and international research centres, met each other

for the first time in Nairobi and participated in the e-resource training workshop jointly organized by

the DAAD Regional Office and the Information Training and Outreach Centre for Africa (ITOCA).

The facilitators from ITOCA enlightened participants on free access to 7.000 full text journals

and 8.000 E-books, as well as review and reference management. The free access had been

negotiated for scholars in Sub Saharan Africa by e.g. the Gates Foundation and WHO with key

publishing houses like Springer. The training began with an overview as well as learning about

search strategies for academic research.

The 2nd

and 3rd

day were filled with introductions to open access databases like HINARI, OARE,

AGORA and hands-on exercises by finding relevant articles and creating a bibliography according

to the participants’ field of research, using Mendeley and Zotero reference software to manage

their collection of articles. An introduction to The Essential Electronic Agricultural Library (TEEAL),

which can be used offline by academic institutions from income-eligible countries, as well as the

right referencing of online sources and “cite as you write”- practices gave more important insights.

The last day was dedicated to raise aware-

ness regarding copyright, licensing and

plagiarism issues. Another session dealt

with the use of information self-services like

RSS feeds and alert services according to

the motto: let relevant information come to

you, instead of you looking for it. This very

intense week, full of new information and

impressions was winded up by participation

in the DAAD Alumni Conference on Smart

Cities and at the Annual Cocktail and Schol-

arship hand over at the German Ambassa-

dor’s Residence.

Participants of the workshop are exchanging on how to use Mendeley and Zotero - Foto: DAAD Nairobi - Foto: DAAD Nairobi

After an introduction into HINARI, OARE and AGORA the participants

worked tirelessly to refine their very own research papers - Foto: DAAD

page 6

newsletter June 2013

Research Ethics Workshop at Makerere University, Uganda

The first day of the workshop organised jointly by the DAAD lecturers Dr. Georg Verweyen of Kenyatta University,

Kenya and Dr. Mirjam Gille of Makerere University, and AUGA the Ugandan Association of Germany Alumni was

well filled with presentations and discussions on different types of plagiarism, how to detect them or to avoid them in

the first place. The most surprising type of un-ethical research is the second hand literature review where all quotes

and references from one or two well written reviews are “recycled” into the plagiators‘ own work without him/her ever

seeing the original sources.

A key message of the workshop was: Software like PlagScan is

a useful tool to highlight suspicious parts of a text, but it takes a

skilled reader to decide if a sentence or a paragraph was plagia-

rised!

The second day was open to the interested public and was hon-

ored by among others the director of research and graduate

training, the director for quality assurance and a former vice

chancellor. Together with more than fifty colleagues and gradu-

ates they got an idea of the worrying status quo in research ethics

and discussed the way forward for individual researchers, super-

visors and university administrations.

Links

Find the original presentation shown at Makerere University

here.

Find the one page research ethics guideline for applications

here.

Find the extended guideline for supervisors on how to trace

plagiarism here.

The texts are all free to use as long as you mention the author

"CC BY-SA" under this link.

Rwanda: Third East African Quality Assurance Forum

This year’s forum on “Networking for Quality Higher

Education in East Africa” took place from May 13 to 17

in Kigali, Rwanda. It attracted a record audience of

over 100 Deputy Vice Chancellors for Academic Af-

fairs, top level officials of the East African University

Commissions, Quality Assurance Directors and experts

from Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and

Germany. It took place in the frame of the DIES

programme of DAAD and HRK.

The forum was officially opened by the Rwandan Minister

for Education, Dr. Vincent Biruta. Besides appreciating

efforts by the Inter-University Council of East Africa (IUCEA)

towards establishing a regional quality assurance frame-

work, he also encouraged universities to implement robust

internal quality assurance systems since the primary re-

sponsibility for quality lies with the institutions themselves.

Others who addressed the forum were Prof Mayunga

Nkunya, the Executive Secretary of the IUCEA; Mr Chris-

toph Hansert, Director DAAD Regional Office for Africa; Mr.

Thomas Böhm from the German Rectors Conference (HRK)

and Dr. Innocent Mughisa, the Director of Academic Quality

of the Rwandan Higher Education Council (HEC).

The forum was preceeded by a training workshop on how

to conduct graduate surveys. The facilitators were drawn

from Germany and East Africa, included Barbara Michalk

from HRK; Petra Pistor and Sylvia Ruschin from Duisburg-

Essen University, Omar Egesah from Moi University and

Ladislaus Lwambuka of University of Dar es Salaam. Prof.

Mulinge Munyae from United States International

University, Kenya provoked an intensive discussion when

he presented findings from a empirical research on the

quality of postgraduate degrees. During the General As-

sembly of the East African Higher Education Quality Assur-

ance Network (EAQAN) members resolved to start an East

African quality assurance journal and to hold a quality as-

surance conference in 2014 in Arusha, Tanzania. QA Directors Prof. Anne Nangulu (left, Moi University) and Dr. Bernadette

Sabuni (right, MMUST) discussing the workshop on quality assurance

page 7

newsletter June 2013

Kenya: New Herder Lecturer at TTUC, Voi:

Prof. Dr. Volkmar Kreissig

While searching on the inter-

net, I came across the an-

nouncement of a Herder

Senior-lectureship at the

Taita Taveta University Col-

lege in Voi. My first personal

meeting with Prof. Hamadi

Idi Boga - the principal of

TTUC - in Germany con-

firmed: I would find good

working conditions in Voi

and new scientific

challenges.

By now, we already started

to develop a network with

German and African universities for the support of new

study courses in the field of mining and sustainable

management of resources.

I hold a doctorate from the Technical University/Mining

Academy of Freiberg, Saxony, in business management

dealing with decision making in the field of raw materials.

The second PhD I earned at the Technical University

Dresden in Philosophy connected with French alterna-

tive economic concepts. I have nearly 100 scientific

publications to my name.

In Germany I started my academic career at the

University of Applied Sciences Mittweida in busi-

ness management, as assistant and then associate

professor. Later I joined the University of Technology

Karl-Marx-Stadt/Chemnitz and the University of

Applied Sciences Dresden (HTW). I served as a di-

rector of a research institute in Chemnitz, a pro-dean

and headmaster of the rector’s office. I am also experi-

enced in academic and scientific project management

and I took part in practical development of new univer-

sities. These experiences I want to use at the TTUC in

Voi.

In Kenya, I want to develop courses in resource man-

agement as a new field of study and also as a compo-

nent of the new discipline of mining in Voi. I always

wonder: Why not work more interdisciplinary with

other university colleagues? Therefore, I met col-

leagues in Freiberg, Dresden and Zittau/Görlitz who

are willing to collaborate with African university col-

leges, especially with TTUC. I started with development

of practice oriented projects of Master students in

tourism, SME's in agriculture and other branches.

Prof. Dr. Volkmar Kreissig came to Kenya

to promote interdisciplinary work between

universities here and in Germany

Ethiopia: Pilot workshop to mentor outstanding female students

Only 10% of the DAAD scholarship applications in Ethiopia

are coming from women. One reason might be a low self es-

teem and perceived quality of their intended PhD proposal.

After last year’s pre-selection DAAD Regional Office Director

Christoph Hansert discussed this exceptional situation with

DAAD Alumni in Ethiopia. It was resolved that special mentor-

ing workshop for women should be organised to tackle this.

Thus, on May 7th 2013 the new DAAD Information Centre

Ethiopa and top Ethiopian DAAD Alumni organised a one

day workshop for outstanding female students at Addis Ababa

University .

The workshop aimed at enabling young women to write a sci-

entific research proposal and apply for a DAAD scholarship.

There is a need for encouraging young females and besides

scientific issues also train them on how to be assertive in de-

fending their intended proposal. Subsequent to the workshop

the Vice Director of DAAD Addis Ababa Dr Jana Zehle, Prof. Yalemtsehay Mekonnen (Addis Ababa University), Dr.

Guday Emirie (College of Social Sciences, Addis Ababa University) and Dr. Sewalem Tsega (OSSRES) have contin-

ued to mentor participants individually.

About 30 women discussed the essential contents a good PhD proposal is

made of

page 8

newsletter June 2013

Tanzania: International Conference on Constitutional Reforms

On 24 May 2013, constitutional law experts from Tanzania and Kenya came together in Dar es Salaam for a knowledge

exchange on constitutional reform processes. The conference was hosted by the DAAD-funded Tanzanian-German

Centre for Eastern African Legal Studies (TGCL) in cooperation with Africa wide Rule of Law Programme the German

Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS). TGCL Project Leader

Professor Ulrike Wanitzek of University of Bayreuth and KAS

Programme Officer Richard Shaba opened the conference, both

highlighting that a successful constitution-making process re-

quires the consideration of the people’s views. In his welcome

remarks, the German Ambassador to Tanzania, H. E. Klaus-

Peter Brandes, underscored the importance of a constitution as

the bedrock of democracy.

The keynote speech on “The Independence of the National Elec-

toral Commission of Tanzania (NEC) as an oversight Constitu-

tional Organ” was delivered by Hon. Justice Damian Lubuva,

Chairperson of the Tanzanian NEC. He emphasised the deci-

sive role of structural and functional independence of the NEC for

the electoral process. Commenting on the keynote speech, Professor Gamaniel Mgongo Fimbo (University Dar es Sa-

laam) criticised that NEC Commissioners are being appointed by the President who also acts as the chairman of a politi-

cal party. Insights from the constitutional reform process in Kenya were presented by Catherine Mumma, Commissioner

of the Kenyan Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution.

Presentations and contributions to the discussions were given by certain scientists and politicians who were or still are part of the recent constitutional development in

Eastern Africa - Foto: TGCL

Over 150 local and German experts took part in the conference on constitu-

tional progresses in Tanzania and Kenya - Foto: TGCL