Enrhed Project Newsletter – April 2023
Dear,
welcome back to our regular Newsletter that will also be with us in this 4th (and last) year of EnRHEd. As you will read below, there are still many activities planned, including many exchanges.
The year 2023 began with mobility of young European and Rwandan students. They were involved in training activities organized to enhance learning and capacity building (through workshops and international seminars) and to deepen transversal academic topics (specifically in the fields of FST and EPSM).
Among the latest news you will also read how the EnRHEd project, which will end in January 2024, has also given rise to new relationships and linkages that have led to a new international project, namely GREATER, which we will tell you more about in this Newsletter.
So, let’s take a deeper look at this newsletter…
STUDY PERIOD IN ITALY FOR 10 RWANDAN STUDENTS
“We need to have plans and to carry them out with dedication and passion: only in this way can we make our lives a masterpiece”
Between November 2022 and February 2023, the University of Parma welcomed 10 Rwandan students who travelled to Italy to carry out interesting academic activities in the fields of Communication Engineering, Civil Engineering and Food Safety and Food Risk Management.
The Rwandan students attended courses and carried out a series of activities aiming at a deepening of academic knowledge and a ‘discovery’ of Italian teaching methods that they could apply once they will return to Rwanda. After this first period within EnRHEd, the Rwandan sending institutions and the University of Parma agreed to admit the 10 Rwandan students to Master’s programs in Italy. The students gladly took up this opportunity.
Once the Master’s degree will be completed, the students will be able to return to Rwanda with an adequate qualification to work in the field and to teach at the higher education sending institutions. This will help the sustainability of EnRHEd objectives beyond the project life, in terms of deepening and keeping alive the different competences and skills acquired thanks to the Capacity Building established by EnRHEd.
ITALIAN STUDENTS BECOME TEACHERS IN RWANDA
“Teaching is the best way to learn”
In January 2023, a delegation of UNIPR students reached out to the four Rwandan partner institutions in order to carry out teaching activities in a “Capacity Building” perspective, i.e., through discussion and exchange with their fellow Rwandan students. This teaching approach has continued for about one month and the result was evident from the very appreciative feedback by Rwandan students who have asked for enhance student exchanges also in future exchange projects.
The use of this “Capacity Building” approach was really win-win and allowed a genuine multicultural student-to-student exchange. Italian students had the opportunity to improve, in the role of “teachers”, their lecturing skills by giving face-to-face classes in the framework of FST and EPSM to Rwandan students, while Rwandan students have taken part in interactive sessions dealing with their “peers” by being able to discuss and inquire with them without hesitation.
To find out more, watch the video following this link or have a look on our website news.
AFTER EnRHEd, GREATER COMES IN!
“Teaching in the Internet age means we must teach tomorrow’s skills today”
After almost 4 years of EnRHEd, the fellowship of the project team composed of European and Rwandan colleagues has not died down; on the contrary, it has grown so much that a new project idea has been born: GREATER (Growing Rwanda Energy Awareness Through higher Education).
GREATER action focus at supporting effective diffusion of renewable energy and green practices in Rwanda, accounting for technical skills as well as for management and planning. According to the Rwandan development scenario, emphasis is given to the development of small-size power stations, mostly based on photovoltaic sources. Such contents will be key to the development of new curricula in the fields of smart, sustainable energy. The project aims to fight the energy poverty and the inequality in access to electricity that still characterizes many African countries.
In light of the experience gained thanks to EnRHEd, the main activity of GREATER will be the design of new or renewed curricula in the field of smart and green energy, with the introduction of solid digital foundations. Four “Living Labs” will be created accessible to local communities that will allow the population to get in touch and familiarize themselves with the technologies. The “Living Labs” will be remotely controlled by wifi connection and will allow male and female students to experiment in a realistic environment.
GREATER is the result of exploitation activities of the EnRHEd project. In fact, it follows in the wake of the EnRHEd project as far as capacity building and knowledge transfer between European and Rwandan higher education institutions is concerned. The project has the support of the Rwandan Ministry of Education and local companies active in the energy development market.
To find out more about the GREATER kick-off meeting, watch the video following this link or have a look on our website news.
The beginning of 2023 has energized us to take on EnRHEd’s latest challenges that will allow us to achieve our project goals. Before going on, we also stop to enjoy Easter time together and send you our sincerest wishes for a Happy Easter!
THE ENRHED TEAM
