Digital Platforms for Learning and Knowledge Sharing in Africa

Experiences from the PACET programme

Margaret Koli and Yannick Schillingerkoli@ehs.unu.edu | schillinger@ehs.unu.edu

Pan African Cooperation and Educational Technologies (PACET) sectionUnited Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security

Content

About UNU-EHS

ELearning at UNU-EHS and the SDGs

eLearning experience

Recommendations for eLearning

Digital platforms for collaboration

Impacts and results

United Nations UniversityInstitute for Environment and Human Security

Based in Bonn, Germany

Research think-tank focusing on risks and adaptation related to environmental hazards and global change.

Actively engaged in education through a joint MSc programme, a number of PhD projects, and external collaborative partnerships.

The Pan-African Cooperation and Educational Technologies section (PACET) aims to strengthen the research, educational, and institutional capacities of UNU-EHS in Africa.

eLearning andSustainable Development Goals

Two Students

Moussa● From Mali● 24 years old● Studies agriculture● Wants to learn more about water interactions● Looking for project opportunities

Amina● From Algeria● 25 years old● Studies water engineering● Wants to connect with students in other African countries● Looking for practical & innovative applications of her research

Partner institutes:● UNU-EHS (Germany)● PAUWES (Algeria)● Uni Bonn / ZEF (Germany)● TH Köln / ITT (Germany)● AMU (Niger)● USTT-B (Mali)● IPR/IFRA (Mali)

The RARSUSSummer School

Apply to Summer School

Selection Process

Register on the Platform

Platform Onboarding

Platform Onboarding

Regular CommunicationSeveral eMails in the week before the summer school to help

participants sign up and navigate the platform. Daily agenda

updates during the summer school.

Single Overview for Each TrackStudents had a single entry point based on their track, with links to

the individual courses and activities. The default view would

change to reflect the daily agenda.

Regular Q&A SessionsLive sessions at the start of the day to answer participants’

questions about the platform and the activities. Recordings of live

sessions available for participants who couldn’t join.

Summer School Activities

2 week schedule

Student Locations

27

Mali

Niger

Algeria

Germany18

32

13

101applicants

46completions

90 participants (24 female)

(26 female) (13 female)

eCourses(incl. videos, interactive units, and assessments)

Learning Management System

Introductory videos

Video lessons

Interactive self-paced

units

Discussion forum

Webinars

● Wastewater Management in Urban Areas(Ministry of Environment, Niger Republic)

● Sustainable water management in urban settings, with a focus on Africa (UNU-INWEH)

● Flood management, Earth Observation and GIS Technology for Spatial Management of Water Resources(ZEF – Uni Bonn)

● Water-Energy-Food Nexus in the context of Risk Assessment and Reduction(Council for Scientific and Industrial Research)

● Building WEF Nexus partnerships and projects in Africa (Pennsylvania State University)

● Resources, Services & Risks – Lessons from Nexus Observatory Project (UNU-FLORES)

● Geothermal Energy and Geothermal Systems (UNU-GTP)● How can Climate Services Support Renewable Energy

Generation & Management in West Africa?(WASCAL Competence Center)

● Affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all – Project Navigator (IRENA)

● Energy Infrastructures: Gateways to the Future of Energy (University of Nevada, Las Vegas)

Water

Energy● UN-Habitat Building Urban Resilience: Tools and

Case Study● Resilience and Sustainability of Urban Food

Systems (International Centre for Sustainable Research (IZNE) at the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences (BRSU), Germany)

Urban Resilience

Water-Energy-Food Nexus

What was the most challengingbarrier to attending webinars?

Connectivity Language Scheduled times Webinar platform

51%

15%

31%

3%

What devices did you use to accessthe RARSUS Online Summer School?

3427

10

Laptop SmartphoneDesktop

PCTablet Other

14

GlobeDroughtDeveloping a web-based information system

for characterizing drought events

• Development of eLearning courses and a digital learning environment

• Organization of 12 Webinars and 12 online lectures

• Online discussion forum for stakeholders

• Duration: 1 Jul 2017 – 31 Dec 2020

• Countries: Brazil, Zimbabwe, South Africa, India, USA

• Partners: UNU, University of Göttingen, University of Bonn, University of Frankfurt, RSS GmbH, Welthungerhilfe

Recommendations for eLearning:Bridging the Digital Divide

➔ Have a combination of different modes of delivery➔ Allow for flexible schedules and favour self-paced approaches➔ Consider low-bandwidth learning management systems and eCourses➔ Design for different devices, including mobile phones➔ Arrange for instructors to deliver courses remotely to students➔ Address internet connectivity challenges through combinations of

transmission tools, e.g. USB & CDs, and communication protocols such as USSD as supplementary modes of delivering learning

What next? Communities of Practice

CollaborationKnowledge SharingEnables knowledge communities and south-south

knowledge transfer

Professional NetworkingBuilds a network of researchers, practitioners, and

entrepreneurs

Project IdeasAllows young researchers from different countries and

academic backgrounds to work together

Online Communitiesof Practice: PAUWES

Online Communitiesof Practice: PAUWES

A network of academic, public and private sector institutions addressing significant scientific, social, environmental and engineering challenges at the water-energy-food nexus.

WEF Nexus in Africa

Partners: Penn State,Michigan State, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), IHE-DELFT, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS), Pan African University Institute of Water and Energy Sciences (PAUWES), AU/NEPAD CoE, West Africa Science Service Center on Climate Change (WASCAL), Waterlution

Impacts and Results

• Active members are collaborating further on proposals for joint projects

• Building an alumni network for a strong community in Africa in the thematic areas of water, energy, food, and climate change

• Safe and secure online spaces for students and experts to interact on a common environmental agenda

Opportunities

• Ongoing activities are needed in order to sustain engagement of members

• In-person meetings are still necessary to create stronger synergies

Challenges

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Key Outcomes

Thank you!

Margaret Koli and Yannick Schillingerkoli@ehs.unu.edu | schillinger@ehs.unu.edu

Pan African Cooperation and Educational Technologies (PACET) sectionUnited Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security

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