RESUME: The Building Stronger Universities programme has had an impact on virtually every aspect of institutional, educational and research activities at Kilimanjaro Medical University College. Not only has it contributed to building the university’s institutional capacity but also the capacity of individuals studying and working there: from updating laboratories, supporting PhD candidates and strengthening e-services, to increasing research output and international cooperation, to name just a few of the many improvements made. This has sent Kilimanjaro Medical University College well on its way to independence as a fully fledged university in its own right.
RESUME: A young researcher describes her first-ever experience of negotiations between her home university in Uganda and potential partner universities in Denmark under the Building Stronger Universities (BSU) programme. She was struck by how heated the discussions became amongst the northern partners as they positioned themselves while the Gulu team looked on. Something had to be done to break the deadlock and the young woman stepped in. Agatha Alidri tells the story about how the experience awakened her awareness of the power dynamics that are at play at any negotiating table and in north-south partnerships in particular, and how it is important to consistently keep one’s eyes on the end goals of the research programmes or university partnerships.
RESUME: The Building Stronger Universities supported training in problem-based and online blended learning was a revelation for a university teacher in Zanzibar. The author, Aziza S. Abdulkadir had become a teacher in spite of considering it to be a dull and tedious job. The training revolutionised her approach to her role as a teacher and this in turn brought about a new excitement and perception of learning amongst her students, passive uninterested learners until then. When her students were introduced to “cases challenges”, where they worked in multidisciplinary groups to find innovative solutions to real life problems, they became hooked. At the time of writing, the Aziza S. Abdulkadir was going through hundreds of requests from students asking to host a new case challenge. With such a response from her students, it is hardly surprising that she has fallen in love with her job!
RESUME: The degree course in aquaculture at Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) in Tanzania was launched in 2005 with about 10 students registered for the course. The annual intake has continued to increase and is now in the region of 220 students. This growth, however, does not reflect the quality of the education provided.
RESUME: For years, the School of Graduate Studies at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana was not delivering the intended quality of postgraduate training and research in spite of this officially being the driving force of the university mandate. There was a general lack of commitment amongst students and supervisors alike, and even on the part of the university itself. The Building Stronger Universities programme assisted the university in establishing why this was so. Their analysis pointed to factors such as the absence of appropriate administrative structures and support services. Students and staff were invited to participate in defining the remedies and in the preparation of the recommended tools. This has led to a remarkable transformation; improved relationships
RESUME: The Building Stronger Universities (BSU) program has had a significant impact at the University of Ghana. It has played a crucial role in boosting research among faculty members. Since it started, 16 PhD students have completed their studies through this program. It has provided training for hundreds of research administrators and many Masters students, and facilitated research management. The thematic focus of BSU III was malaria research with a specific emphasis on haemoglobinopathies, climate change research, concentrating on adaptation and mitigation, and institutional capacity building, with a strong emphasis on outreach and engagement with external stakeholders.
RESUME: The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology was dogged by poor publication rates because researchers were lured by “quick fix” predatory journals. By tackling this head on, the university has been successful in significantly raising both the quality and quantity of their academic publications. This is thanks to a dedicated investment in activities such as an academic writing programme for doctoral students and academic staff. The university has seen a remarkable turn-around that is mirrored in the publication statistics.
RESUME: Gulu University was a very young university when the Building Stronger Universities (BSU) started up a programme there in 2011. At that point, there was very little capacity for carrying out research and supervising students as very few members of the academic staff had a PhD. In consequence, the number of students who registered for undergraduate, masters and PhD programmes was low. Not surprisingly, the community’s confidence in Gulu University was also low. The BSU programme was meant to develop the capacity of Gulu University in teaching, research and community outreach, and this was expected to trickle down and cause positive change in the communities, especially in northern Uganda. Study grants for PhD students were introduced. There was also support for IT development and adoption at the university. The author tells his personal story about how a BSU grant made it possible for him to present a paper online at a conference in Tunisia, a requirement for the completion of his PhD course. Twelve years of BSU later, in 2023 there were 14 PhDs and 13 still in progress. Twelve of the students had benefited from study stays abroad. The master students’ completion rate had increased and Gulu University’s ranking among universities in Uganda, East Africa and Africa had improved due to a rise in the number of scientific publications in high impact peer reviewed journals. Furthermore, the employability of former students had increased significantly. As for the author, he had applied for promotion to the level of senior lecturer that he was certain to be granted as he had now the necessary qualifications. “The support BSU gave me may look modest to some people, but it played a crucial role at a critical time in my academic life.”
RESUME: Gulu University is located in northern Uganda, a region that still suffers the effects of a devastating insurgency that went on for twenty years. Leaders in the region expect the university to collaborate with the local communities to help them solve their problems. The Building Stronger Universities programme started at the university in 2011 and introduced problem-based learning at a training workshop in Denmark for some of the teaching staff from Gulu. This was to be a major turning point for their university’s approach to learning. They could see that amongst other positives, the method provided a basis for meaningful interaction with local communities. Therefore, it introduced to master students in the first instance to prepare them for doing research anchored in local issues. Another strand in improving the quality of learning was the development of an eLearning system with the help of BSU partners Maseno University in Kenya and Aalborg University in Denmark. The reaction of the staff was mixed until the Covid-19 pandemic hit. This helped make slow adopters appreciate the importance of using PBL and ICT in teaching and learning. During the lockdowns, the university engaged students in a mode of Open and Distance eLearning (ODeL) and the response was impressive. There was a marked increase in the use of online services. Bringing about change is a slow process. It is a case of trial and error and being persistent. Nevertheless, the introduction of problem-based learning and eLearning at Gulu University marks a turning point for students, teachers, and the wider community. By Tabo Geoffrey (PhD) Lecturer, Gulu University
RESUME: The Building Stronger Universities programme had been running along nicely at the Sokoine University of Agriculture for about eight years. Then came 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic disturbed everything. The players in the programme had long talked about collaborating across the thematic areas and, when some new project funding was made available, they decided to give it a try. We planned a pilot project involving a fishpond, chicken and cattle farms and a digester that used residual material from agricultural production to produce biogas. The residue from the biogas production would then be recycled to enrich the soil. The project was approved and is now underway. For all intents and purposes, this circular economy pilot plant is a conventional project. However, what went on “between the lines” is an essential part of the story and must not be overlooked. The author Olav Jull Sørensen’s time spent building good relationships and developing the team members’ capabilities and capacity pays off, and about crossing what at times are sticky organisational and cultural borders and contentious scientific positions. All of this is fundamental for new ideas to emerge. In this case, if there had been no new ideas, the pilot biogas plant would never have seen the light of day! By Olav Jull Sørensen, Professor Emeritus, Aalborg University
The expansion of internet access at Gulu University was a gradual process, but when, thanks to phase three of the Building Stronger Universities programme, bandwidth was increased to 133 mbps and the
RESUME: High tech or low tech? This is my personal story about how I became involved in developing a biogas digester adapted to local conditions in Tanzania. One of the goals of the Building Stronger Universities circular economy programme at Tanzania’s Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) was to develop an economical way of producing bioenergy for small-scale farmers. This should be done by recycling waste from animal and crop production, and thereby reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The SUA team was invited to Denmark to see how things are done there. The Danish biogas plants were very efficient and very high-tech – they used very big tanks made of heavy-duty materials and pumps that required electricity – and were therefore far too sophisticated to use as a model back home. Nevertheless, they provided the inspiration that we needed to develop a system that would appeal to local farmers. The digester we designed was for use above the ground. Instead of heavy-duty iron tanks and piping, we used plastic polytanks and polypipes with manual feeding and gravitational flow so there was no need for electricity. We found solar powered temperature sensors that were simple to install. We think that we at last have a digester model that bypasses the limitations posed by a modest economy and fragile energy infrastructure and one that farmers can learn from and adopt. Furthermore, we can also use it for our students and our research.
Charles Okumu’s story is about the many personal and professional experiences that have come his way as a result of his participation in the Building Stronger Universities (BSU) programme. It is also a story about the development of a young university that was established in Gulu to help lift a region fragile after twenty years of war.
RESUME: It is almost impossible for young would-be researchers to get funding when they have to compete with experienced researchers. In the first phases of the Building Stronger Universities (BSU) at Tanzania’s Sokoine University of Agriculture some were fortunate to be selected to join pilot projects. Such opportunities first dried up during BSU3 until the team realized that young inexperienced researchers still needed support. Then the university established a fund specifically for them. The ensuing increase in research activities has been remarkable. In January 2022, SUA had a total of 111,886 citations in Google Scholar profiles and thereby ranked first among Tanzanian universities. The year before, in January 2021, the figure was 89,752. This can hardly be a coincidence!
RESUME: The State University of Zanzibar is doing research on conditions that affect environmental sustainability on the island with the support of the Building Stronger Universities programme. The research programme has two interconnected prongs, one looking into the health of marine life off-shore, the other studying mosquitos’ breeding grounds at hotels and how hotels dispose of their waste. In this story, the author is recalling how a meeting with the director of the Swizz NGO Marinecultures.org on the west coast of Unguja Island became the stepping stone for a joint publication between Århus University and the State University of Zanzibar in the esteemed journal Science Direct. By Idrissa Hamad (Phd), Lecturer, State University of Zanzibar
RESUME. A strong partnership builds on a culture of trust and commitment, a sense of ownership and mutual respect, transparency and open discussion, respect diversity and constructive criticism. Such is the BSU partnership between the consortium of Danish Universities and the State University of Zanzibar that is about to enter its fourth phase. Young researchers were involved from the outset of the partnership; in what has proven to be a visionary strategy, as they are now seasoned academics setting the agenda for the next phase and beyond. Sharing is caring; this story provides indisputable evidence that strong partnerships and collaborations have the power to transform young inexperienced researchers, such as myself, into highly productive ‘grown-ups’. Being energetic and eager to learn, young researchers are vital for assuring the successful implementation of research projects.
