Vocational Teacher Education

Curriculum Development;
Vocational Practices at Training Centers
and Local Industries in South Sudan

Upper Nile University in Malakal is in cooperation with Akershus University College in Norway and Kyambogo University in Uganda forming a Bachelor programme in Vocational Teacher Education. The Vocational Teacher Education will be offered by Upper Nile University in Malakal.

Three master degree students in Vocational Pedagogy at Akershus University College in Norway are in the period Oct – Dec 2008 studying vocational practices and doing data collection among others in Juba, Malakal, Wau and Yei. The purpose of their work is to have a vocational teacher education in line with the needs of South Sudan.

They are going to document the work processes in the different vocational trades and how the learning of the vocational skills takes place both at the vocational training centers and at the workplaces.

We appreciate your kind cooperation and will do our best to provide you with access to a high quality vocational teacher education which is in accordance with the needs of the industries, the vocational training centers, the communities and the individual human beings of South Sudan.

Aidah Trevelynn Nganda Studies: Preparation, cooking, hygiene, safety, preservation and presentation of food. Interested in cake making for important occasions and cooking local& international dishes.	Daniel Ruben Ateng Instructor at Malakal Vocational Training Center Upper Nile and at St. Joseph's Vocational Training Center in Khartoum within mechanical production and Youth Entrepreneurship Development	Paul Tartisio Kenyi Instructor at Don Bosco Vocational Training Center among others in Wau within Auto Mechanics. Teacher at upper secondary school among others within mathematics.

To Whom It May Concern

Akershus University College is a partner in the NUCOOP Bachelor in Vocational Education Project in cooperation with Upper Nile University in the Sudan and Kyambogo University in Uganda.

The partnership is funded by SIU, Norway, and is about developing a bachelor program in Vocational Education at UNU in Malakal.

The participants in the NUCOOP program from Akershus University College are:

• Johan Houge-Thiis, project coordinator and research fellow
• Trond Smistad, project developer and research fellow
• Jan Erik Heimdal, educator and specialist in curriculum development for Technical and Vocational Teacher Education
• Roger Bakken, educator and specialist in electronics in VTE
• Egil Froyland, educator and senior advicer
• Paul Tartisio Kenyi, mastertsudent in Vocational Pedagogy and NUCOOP BVE-Project assistant
• Kwang Daniel Ruben, mastertsudent in Vocational Pedagogy and NUCOOP BVE-Project assistant
• Aidah Trevelynn Nganda, mastertsudent in Vocational Pedagogy and NUCOOP BVE-Project assistant

Sunday morning, but what time is it?

Is it 8 o'clock, 9 o'clock or even ten? We needed some time to figure that out to day - and the reason was that back home summertime was gone and cell phones automatically adjusted. We needed some time to mentally adjust to the correct local time which no more was one hour but now two hours ahead of Oslo.

Professor Faisal picked us up and we had some important discussions at Upper Nile University among others regarding how to get going with some workshop oriented study programmes in pedagogical change management.

In the afternoon we had the opportunity to say thanks to Ola, Shireen and Fasil at the embassy for their excellent and invaluable services. Without their help we could hardly have managed. Visa and transportation are vital to us.

Arriving Khartoum after hours of Lufthansa

Saturday afternoon Oct 25th approximately on time, meaning 17:15 we arrived at Khatoum International Airport and were met by Fatin and Sabet as well as the drivers both of the hotell and the Upper Nile University.

Fatin and Sabet both from Upper Nile University in Malakal are just starting their one year FK staff exchange programme going to Kyambogo University in Uganda and to Akershus University College in Norway.

They were both expressing their gratitude towards the kind and excellent services they have received at the Royal Norwegian Embassy and at the Embassy of Uganda in Khartoum. They expected to be allowed to leave Khartoum for Nairobi and Kampala Sunday aternoon.

Fatin's visa for visiting Norway is still not a hundred 100 % ready, but we both hope and believe that it will be ready in due time with the help of Helle and her colleag-ues at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Kampala and with the good support from Ola and his team in Khartoum.

The evening was a very pleasant one which was spent together with Professor Faisal and the Danish speaking director of the hotel in a fascinating out door restaurant. Not surprisingly, the theme was the obvious needs of all kinds of vocational education in Sudan, both in the North and in the South.