How can I improve my practice?

This is the major question which is framing the one week workshop for 19 instructors from the Vocational Training Centre, Mine Action, Agricultural Training Centre, Medical Training School as well as SPLM. The workshop started Monday February 16th and it took place at Yei Vocational Training Centre.

The workshop was officially opened by Paterno Legge. He is now working as the Investment and Development Advisor to the Governor of Central Equatoria. Paterno Legge has for years been an important part of NPA in Southern Sudan.

In his opening speech Paterno Legge, the Investment and Development Advisor to the Governor of Central Equatoria highlighted the importance of the focus on capacity building in Southern Sudan. “We have been at war for more than twenty years and in this period the people of Southern Sudan did not have access to education. Even during the war the Norwegian people were here together with us supporting us and they still continue to support us, now focusing on capacity building.”

The capacity building program in Technical Vocational Pedagogy in Yei was initiated by Ms Linda Thu at Norwegian People’s Aid in Juba. The capacity building is a part of the NUCOOP program focusing on supporting Higher Education in Southern Sudan.

The workshop is the first of its kind held in Southern Sudan. It is the first part of a full one year program offered as a part time program over two years in Technical Vocational Pedagogy. The program is offered by Akershus University College from Norway in collaboration with Upper Nile University in Malakal.

Practical Pedagogical Development Work (PED)

In May 2008 the deans of UNU during a meeting in Khartoum did declare their interest in having a capacity building programme for the faculties enabling them to implement the principles of vocational pedagogy based upon experiential learning at UNU.

As a response Akershus University College is offering such a capacity building programme in Practical Pedagogical Development Work (PED) to the faculties of UNU.

The overall aim of the study programme in PED is to enable each participant to build his or her capacity in student centered teaching to facilitate experiential learning for the students.

The studies in PED are to be integrated into each of the participants teaching practice. The PED will utilize ICT and Internet as active means of facilitation and documentation throughout the whole programme. Each student has to know the basics of how to use a digital camera and to have access to, and know how to use a PC and Internet during the two year programme.

The medium of instruction and documentation is the English language.

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.

How to make English the tounge of vocational learning in the NUCOOP Bachelor programme?

The teachers in the NUCOOP Bachelor programme in Vocational Education are beyond doubt expected to be using the English language when teaching. At the same time it is expected that not all of the teachers are used to teaching in English and that even a smaller part of the Sudanese bachelor students are feeling at ease when using the English language.

In some parts of the Sudanese upper secondary schools English is not taught at all. It is expected that some of the bachelor students are going to qualify for admission partially based upon their vocational merits.

Lazarus is worried that his computer training which he paid for him self is soon becoming useless because of his lack of acces to a computer.

Lazarus, a young man from Malakal told me how he had learned his English. By listening to others, picking up pieces of phrases and actively construct-ing his English language he has on his own obtained sufficient knowledge in English to be able to participate in social inter-action using the same language. Lazarus is beyond doubt a clever guy and he is called wise by his peers. He has in his own way managed to cope with the challenges caused by that his school did not offer him the opportunity of learning English.

The NUCOOP bachelor programme in vocational education will have to face the challenge of a student body supposed to be lacking sufficient knowledge in English by integrating intensive focus on language training in all of its activities.

One way might be to offer the students access to high quality soundtracks presenting readings of English literature as well as vocational texts. The individual use of technology supported interactivity enabling each student to record and listen to his or hers own pronunciation and intonation and to compare it with the sound tracks will probably contribute to an increased learning outcome.

Another approach might be to facilitate a systematic formalisation of the tacit knowledge often characterizing vocational practice by open reflection and sharing.

The big question of how to manage to make English the tongue of learning in the NUCOOP bachelor programme in vocational education in South Sudan still remains mainly open and ideas are welcomed.