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nairobi newsletter
Regional Office for Africa - 2 | 2012
Call for applications
In-Country/In-Region
scholarships
for a Master or PhD at an
accredited Kenyan university/
a scientific network
Deadline: 20 June 2012
For teaching staff members
of public and private
universities in Kenya
Further info:
http://nairobi.daad.de/
funding_for_studying_kenya_
a.php
New scholars
DAAD will send 35 Kenyan
scholars to Germany for Master
and PhD studies:
Master: Leo Mutisya, Steve
Wakhu, Seth Amuom, Cyrus
Maweu; Jane Wangui, Thomas
Athoo, Suzanne Mboya, Linus
Korir, Kennedy Osano, Linda
Isuyi, Ronald Ketter, Michelle
Akute, Victor Otieno, Linnet
Ndiema, Wako Gabado
PhD: Evelyne Kihiu, Ida
Makena, Juliah Akwhale, Paul
Kuria Kamweru, Livingstone
Ochilo, Christine Awiti, Duncan
Ndegwa, Jacinter Atieno, Zip-
porah Musyimi, Patricia Korir,
Juliet Kariuki, James Kuria
Kimotho, David Ambogo, Lucy
Mburu Waruguru, James
Ogone, Julius Toeri, Kevin
Mganga, Eric Bosire, Celestine
Makobe, John Mbaka
Editorial
DAAD
Regional Office for Africa
P.O.Box 14050-00800
Nairobi, Kenya
Director:
Christoph Hansert
Editor:
Anja Bengelstorff
Contact:
+254 733 929 929
http://nairobi.daad.de
The event in Nairobi on 15 March attracted more than one
hundred highly interested and dedicated current DAAD
scholars and alumni. Some of Kenya’s most outstanding
public intellectuals in the fields of the judiciary, science,
and arts shared their ideas on change in society –
CHANGE being the motto of DAAD activities worldwide in
2012.
George Kegoro, Executive Director of the Kenya Chapter
of the International Commission of Jurists, reminded the
listeners of the trajectory of Kenya on its way to a fully in-
clusive democracy and rule of law. Still, with regard to the
2007 elections, he warned that citizens need to be alert
and willing to stand up for their rights at any time. Also, he
stressed that in order to create a more just society with
opportunities in life for everyone, it is vital to fight corrup-
tion and remind decision makers of their responsibility for
the well-being of the people.
The importance of science to change society was high-
lighted by Prof. Hamadi Boga, Humboldt Foundation Am-
bassador and Principal of Taita Taveta University College.
Referring to the scientific method,
Prof. Hamadi held that challeng-
ing orthodoxy through scientific
discovery is the key to progress
in general. Giving examples from
his own field of research, microbi-
ology, he demonstrated how
seemingly small discoveries – as
the formulation of the germ theory
of disease by German scholar
Robert Koch in 1890 – contain
within themselves the potential to
change the world.
Finally, Kenya’s most famous
cartoonist Gado (Daily Nation,
XYZ Show) commented on how
art can make a difference in soci-
ety. Showing some of his most
provocative cartoons, he got the
audience in fits while at the same
time earning high esteem for his
daring and unswerving work in
the public interest. Yet Gado also
gave an account of how press
freedom and civil rights have pro-
gressed over the last 20 years,
when his career as a political car-
toonist was still in its infancy.
Although observing society from
very different angles, the three
speakers concurred that carefully
considered but purposeful individ-
ual action is necessary to change
society for the better.
Why CHANGE Matters – And How It Can Be Achieved
DAAD Holds Symposium on What Makes a Difference in Society
Daily Nation cartoonist Gado with DAAD Regional Director Christoph Hansert
page 2
newsletter 2 I 2012
Training for Regional DAAD Scholars
….on PhD Poster Presentations
This year, in addition to scholars from Kenya, we invited future
trainers from Tanzania and Uganda, to lay the foundations for fur-
ther DAAD trainings on PhD poster presentation in the region. In
total fourteen PhD students and four trainers were trained by two
Kenyan Alumni, one expert and the DAAD lecturer.
During a pilot event last year, poster preparation was squeezed
into five hours time. This year we allowed participants and trainers
two and a half days for the journey from research project to a win-
ning poster presentation.
During the first day, we focused on the conceptualization of the
poster, using pen and paper. Complex research methods and find-
ings needed to bet put in words and graphics, as simple and short
as possible to grasp the attention of a potential reader passing by.
On the second day, participants and trainers were handed an open
source software bundle – both to have a common toolbox and to
promote free software. With good concepts and these simple and
free-to-use tools, participants created quite impressing posters dur-
ing nine hours only working on their laptops. The resulting poster in
A1 format could have been presented at any conference. For the
most successful participants DAAD provided even copies in A0
size.
Spreading the content to two and a half days was very helpful and
helped achieving professional posters, ready for conference use.
Given the success, trainers are already looking forward to having
more workshops in the neighbouring countries.
The jury concluded that the best posters were, in order of ranking,
presented by Addis Teshome, Nicodemus Musembi, and Negera
Abdisa.
...on e-resources
The research rigor expected for the completion of
a Masters can be daunting to a scholar. DAAD
therefore organized an exciting two-and-a- half day
workshop drawing facilitators from Uganda, Tanza-
nia and Kenya, seeking to expose the participants
to the various quality e-resources available to them
through their institutions as well as to train the
scholars in literature review and referencing using
software and emerging Web 2.0 technologies.
The 21 DAAD-sponsored Master scholars were
shown the use of Zotero, a free and open citation
software. They were exposed to the various
sources of scholarly e-resources from scientific
databases and how to access them through the
Research For Life programmes as well as those
available within their universities. They were further
shown how to use open data repositories, open
journals and other grey literature sources. By the
end of the training, the DAAD scholars had a
skeletal bibliography. “This training is so timely”,
chimed Jackson Mdoe from Kenya. “I now know
that I will complete my studies on time.”
Georg Verweyen / Ruth Gibendi
page 3
newsletter 2 I 2012
DAAD and BMZ
encourage “University-
Enterprise
Cooperations with
Developing Countries“
This recently launched initia-
tive, funded by the German
Federal Ministry for Eco-
nomic Cooperation and
Development (BMZ), seeks
to increase the application of
practical knowledge and
skills within university degree
courses. Institutions of higher
education both in Germany
and an African partner coun-
try are invited to cooperate
with private enterprises,
associations, and other
business actors. It is open to
all academic fields.
In order to become part of
the initiative, German institu-
tions of higher education can
apply in collaboration with a
business partner and an
affiliated university from a
developing country.
Application deadline: May 15, 2012
More information can be
obtained under:
http://www.daad.de/
praxispartnerschaften
Potential PhD Scholarship Applicants Improve Their Proposal Writing Skills
To bolster graduate students’ skills in proposal
writing, DAAD continues to offer workshops for
promising young researchers who intend to apply
for a DAAD scholarship to undertake PhD studies
in Germany.
On March 8, more than 60 graduate studies from
various fields of study gathered at Nairobi’s ICIPE
campus to enhance their proposal writing capabili-
ties. DAAD’s Programme Officer Anja Bengelstorff,
who was in charge of the event, had invited some
of Nairobi’s most distinguished scholars in the
natural and geo sciences, economics, humanities,
social sciences and physics/engineering. In group
sessions, participants were given the opportunity to
present their Ph.D. proposal drafts and discuss
their strengths and weaknesses. Moreover, they
learned about the core components which every
strong research proposal should contain. Under the
supervision of their trainers, they understood how a
vague idea eventually develops into a “mature” and
feasible research project.
Another part of the workshop was dedicated to
electronic literature access, review, and reference
management. Dr. Pamela Marinda, a consultant
with ITOCA and a holder of a doctorate from Ger-
many, equipped the participants with useful knowl-
edge and skills in the use of online literature re-
sources and academic computer tools. Lastly, Anja
Bengelstorff and Georg Verweyen, DAAD lecturer
at Kenyatta University, explained how to apply for
a DAAD scholarship and how to find a Ph.D. su-
pervisor in Germany.
The second part of the workshop will take place on
June 7 for participants to improve their proposals
with their trainers. Altogether, the participants con-
curred that the workshop helped them to refine
their research goals, the methodology needed to
attain them, and the practical steps necessary to
embark on an international research career as a
DAAD scholar.
With the generous support of DAAD Nairobi
Office, the Ugandan Universities Quality As-
surance Forum (UUQAF) successfully held its
first ever quality assurance training on the 1st
and 2nd
of March 2012. This training, hosted
by the International University of East Africa,
was aimed at building the capacity of QA co-
ordinators in universities in Uganda.
A total of 50 participants drawn from 22 uni-
versities and one tertiary institution were
trained on, for example, the concept of quality
in higher education, the NCHE Quality Assur-
ance framework for Ugandan universities,
Quality Assurance practices in the East Afri-
can region, experiences in establishing and
managing Quality Assurance Units from some
East African universities, and developing in-
stitutional quality assurance policies.
The training was facilitated by regional, na-
tional and one German expert in quality as-
surance in higher education. DAAD was ably
represented by Ina Grieb, one of the key Ger-
man experts in the East African Quality As-
surance Initiative since 2006.
The participants were overjoyed by the input
of the facilitators, most of whom have been
trained under the IUCEA-DAAD Quality As-
surance Initiative. “We are grateful to UUQAF
and its partners for this training in quality as-
surance and please provide more opportuni-
ties for such trainings to enhance our capacity
in doing the work of quality assurance in our
institutions”, said a participant. UUQAF is
equally grateful to its partners for their sup-
port and to the participants for their active
involvement in the training.
Michael Mawa
Quality Assurance Multiplication Workshop in Uganda
DAAD Open Day
on May 5, 2012
9 am — 5 pm
Goethe-Institut Nairobi
an excellent opportunity for
professionals and researchers
to find out more about Master’s
and Ph.D. scholarships to
Germany funded by DAAD
General presentations every
hour (starting at 10 a.m.),
individual consultations
throughout
Maendeleo House,
Monrovia Street
www.goethe.de/kenia
page 4
newsletter 2 I 2012
New DAAD Lecturer in Uganda
My name is Dr. Mirjam Gille and during the next two years or so, I will represent DAAD in Uganda’s capital Kampala. I arrived here on March 1
st; I was welcomed very warmly and settled well
during the first weeks of my stay.
My fields of activity are lecturing German as a Foreign Language at Makerere University in Kampala at the Department for Euro-pean and Oriental Languages. I also provide students with ad-vice on DAAD scholarship offers for Uganda.
In Germany I lived in the beautiful Ruhr area, which is in the mid-western part of Germany. I studied German as a Foreign Lan-guage, German Studies, and Social Pedagogy. I worked as a teacher and lectured at the Technical University of Dortmund.
This is the first time for me to visit a country south of the Sahara and I’m really looking forward to learn a lot about the people, the culture, the country, and everything else in the “Pearl of Africa”.
New “Kulturweit” Volunteer at DAAD’s Regional Office for Africa
At the end of February, the team of DAAD’s Nairobi outpost bid farewell to the previous German “Kulturweit” volunteer, Isabell Schneider. Lately, her duties have been taken over by her successor Daniel Hagen, who arrived in Nairobi re-cently. Before coming to Kenya, Daniel received his B.A. degree in social sciences from Bonn University.
As this is his first visit to an African country, Daniel says he is excited to indulge in its culture, get in touch with its peo-ple, and meet scholars and alumni of DAAD in East Africa. Subsequent to his return to Germany, he intends to pursue
Master’s studies in the field of social determinants of health.
While his first permanent stay abroad was in Germany’s neighbouring country Denmark, he expects his service in Nairobi to be a life-changing experience of a completely different kind. When asked about his motivation to go to Kenya and join the DAAD staff in its Regional Office for Africa, he replies, “Having been an exchange student myself, I know that studying abroad is an invaluable experi-ence for almost everyone who is lucky to have the opportunity to do so. Also, I have come to appreciate scholarly exchange and cultural diversity, both of which is promoted by DAAD and its scholars all over the world. As for why I opted to go to Africa, fellow students and friends coming from a number of Afri-can countries have stirred my interest in the region. The most cordial welcome by the local DAAD staff and the Kenyan friends I have made so far reinforces that decision.”
Daniel will be assisting DAAD’s Regional Office for Africa until early August.
DAAD represented at ADEA Meeting in Burkina Faso
The Executive Secretary of the Inter-University Council of East Africa, Prof. Mayunga Nkunya and the coordinating ex-
pert on behalf of DAAD’s Nairobi office of the IUCEA/DAAD QA Initiative in East Africa, Prof Mike Kuria of Daystar Uni-
versity, made a well-received presentation during the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)
Triennale Meeting held from the 12th to 17
th of February 2012 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The paper, titled Joint
Capacity Development for Regional Quality Assurance: The IUCEA-DAAD-HRK East African Quality Assurance Initia-
tive was co-authored between them and the Africa DAAD Regional Director, Christoph Hansert. The paper was well re-
ceived and generated discussions touching on the quality of higher education across Africa. Many of the respondents to
the paper said they were impressed by the progress made in East Africa towards building a regional quality assurance
framework and especially the publication of the handbook A Road Map to Quality: Handbook for Quality Assurance in
Higher Education.
Mike Kuria
page 5
newsletter 2 I 2012
DIES International Deans’ Course (IDC)
concludes with final workshop at Addis
Ababa University
In mid-February, the final workshop of the International Deans’ Course (IDC)
brought together 30 higher education managers from ten African countries.
The distinguished group of vice-deans and deans had already met nine
months ago when the first training on faculty management took place in Ger-
many. Subsequently, the final seminar of the IDC on "Strategic and Practical
Issues in Higher Education Management” was carried out in Ethiopia and
hosted by Addis Ababa University (AAU). Dr. Admasu Tsegaye, President of
the AAU, and German Ambassador Lieselore Cyrus welcomed the IDC par-
ticipants at the official opening ceremony.
The five-day seminar included various sessions on topics such as research
management, entrepreneurship, public relations, human resource manage-
ment, and internationalisation. However, it was mainly the participants them-
selves who took centre stage. They presented the results of the reform pro-
jects implemented during the course of the programme at their respective
home universities. Moreover, participants discussed how to move forward and
continue networking upon completion of the course. To this end, DAAD’s
alumni programmes were presented, especially with regard to the activities of
DIES alumni networks such as the regional network in Eastern Africa (REAL).
In his keynote speech Prof. Peter Mayer, Academic Coordinator of the IDC at
the University of Applied Science in Osnabrück, gave a comprehensive over-
view on trends and perspectives in the European Higher Education Area. He
also commented on how the Bologna Process is perceived beyond Europe.
Furthermore, Dr. Michael Brinkmeier, member of the
parliament of the German federal state North Rhine-
Westphalia, took the chance to attend the opening
and shared his views on the Bologna reform process.
The International Deans’ Course (IDC) is carried out
under the umbrella of the programme "Dialogue on
Innovative Higher Education Strategies" (DIES),
which has been coordinated jointly by DAAD and the
German Rectors’ Conference (HRK) since 2001. Ger-
man partners are the University of Applied Sciences
Osnabrück and the Centre for Higher Education
(CHE). African expertise is provided by trainers from
Kenya, South Africa, and Ethiopia.
“LIKE” US ON FACEBOOK!
Want to be kept updated on DAAD’s activities in Africa?
Visit our Facebook presence
DAAD Regional Office for Africa
and “like” it in order to keep in touch with us.
It offers useful information on upcoming events, scholarship
opportunities, and degree courses at German institutions of
higher education.
The fastest way to access is via the following shortcut:
https://www.facebook.com/DAADNairobi.
Please note that you are not required to have an own Face-
book account to see the page content.
IDC trainers together with Dr. Michael Brinkmeier, MP in
North Rhine-Westphalia (third from right), and Marc Wilde,
Head of Section for DIES at the DAAD headquarter
in Bonn (fourth from right)