By Ivan Watson
With record numbers of international students arriving to begin their studies this fall, Camosun College is increasingly embracing a global perspective that brings mutual benefits through partnerships and opportunities for cross cultural learning. B次元官网网址淥ne of the initiatives our international team is working on is having students attend Camosun from a larger number of countries and in particular from places like Africa,B次元官网网址� says Camosun President Sherri Bell who spent a week at Arusha Technical College in Tanzania this summer.
B次元官网网址淭his was my first trip to Africa and the experience was well beyond my expectations. I met amazing leaders and students and I learned so much from the people I was with.B次元官网网址�
CamosunB次元官网网址檚 partnership with Arusha Technical College has been nurtured through the work of Graham Knipfel, CamosunB次元官网网址檚 global initiatives lead on the project and John Gordon, CamosunB次元官网网址檚 Chair of Plumbing, Pipe and Refrigeration Trades. Gordon has collaborated with his Tanzanian counterparts to develop a unique credential program in pipes trades that promises to unlock a generational opportunity for Tanzanian students.
B次元官网网址淭his isnB次元官网网址檛 about a Canadian institution giving our curriculum to another country,B次元官网网址� says Bell. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 about working together by understanding mutual needs and opportunities for collaborative learning and curriculum building. ItB次元官网网址檚 a true partnership.B次元官网网址�
The curriculum was jointly developed to prepare Tanzanian students for employment in the countryB次元官网网址檚 burgeoning oil and gas sector as plans are underway for an extensive pipe line project from Uganda through Tanzania.
B次元官网网址淭he program is very important for the Tanzanian government because with the discovery of oil, there will be jobs,B次元官网网址� says Bell. B次元官网网址淭anzania rightly wants to make sure that jobs will be employing Tanzanians without needing to hire people from outside of the country. The reason I went to Arusha was for the grand opening of our joint program and it was amazing.B次元官网网址�
Funding for the partnership comes from the Canadian federal government through a grant administered by Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan).
B次元官网网址淲e applied and Arusha made the selection that they wanted to work with us,B次元官网网址� says Bell. B次元官网网址淭he Tanzanian team has come to Camosun a number of times and John has gone to Arusha.B次元官网网址�
Over the course of a weekB次元官网网址檚 visit, Bell embraced a busy itinerary that included meetings with senior academic, government and political leaders and was impressed with ArushaB次元官网网址檚 commitment to advancing women in trades.
B次元官网网址淔or me the highlight was the students,B次元官网网址� says Bell. B次元官网网址淭he first day we did a tour and gave certificates to students in a short course on the use of propane. The really cool thing is that most of the people we gave certificates to were young women.B次元官网网址�
Throughout the week, Bell noticed that in some of ArushaB次元官网网址檚 programs there was an almost even ratio of women to men.
B次元官网网址淚 said to the Rector IB次元官网网址檓 surprised at this, because this is something we are working on in Canada, and I asked him how they did it.B次元官网网址� Bell learned that the Tanzanian government had developed an incentive program several years previously which had led to significant improvements in the gender balance in the classroom.
For the new two-year pipe trades program, the Tanzanian government is continuing to provide incentives for student success.
B次元官网网址淚n the diploma program there are 25 students and all of them are government sponsored,B次元官网网址� explains Bell. B次元官网网址淭heir tuition and their food and their accommodation is paid for, and because itB次元官网网址檚 a modularized program, they can stop after a year and work or stay in full-time. These are very highly rated students and itB次元官网网址檚 a very popular program that provides opportunities for the best of the best.B次元官网网址�
While in Africa, Bell took vacation time to visit ZanzibarB次元官网网址檚 historic city of Stone Town and to participate on a safari in TanzaniaB次元官网网址檚 Ngorongoro Conservation AreaB次元官网网址攁 UNESCO world heritage site.
B次元官网网址淚 couldnB次元官网网址檛 believe how close we got to very large animals, who were absolutely unfazed by our vehicles,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淥ur guide was excellent and very knowledgeable. He was very careful in not treating animals in a way that would be detrimental to them and to people or the environment.B次元官网网址� Awakening early one morning, Bell learned just how close the animals would come. B次元官网网址淲e stayed in tented camps and we had a male lion walk through our camp, right past my tent. I didnB次元官网网址檛 see it I was asleep fortunately but I heard about it the next morning.B次元官网网址�
At Arusha, Bell visited classrooms and led workshops for ArushaB次元官网网址檚 executive team.
B次元官网网址淭hey wanted me to talk about Camosun and my thoughts on leadership. They were a really good audience and they asked some very good questions,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淚 spent the week with the senior leadership group and there was this lovely rapport that developed. They starting using quotes from my workshops and we were all talking and laughing together.B次元官网网址�
While the Arusha pipe trades partnership is focussed on training for Tanzanian students in their own country, Bell hopes that the relationships Camosun has cultivated will foster more educational opportunities between Canada and Africa.
B次元官网网址淚 met a young man in ArushaB次元官网网址檚 pipes trade program and I looked at his sweatshirt which heB次元官网网址檇 bought at a local market and I was surprised to see that it said B次元官网网址榁ictoria.B次元官网网址� I said to him: B次元官网网址榙o you know what it says on your shirt, do you know weB次元官网网址檙e from Victoria?B次元官网网址� And he said B次元官网网址榥o.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
As Camosun continues to build partnerships with institutions like Arusha, more Tanzanians students will likely learn about Canada and more Canadian students will learn about Africa, leading to many future opportunities to work together.
B次元官网网址淚t starts by building relationships and having a conversation,B次元官网网址� says Bell.
- Ivan Watson is a strategist with Camosun Communications at their Interurban campus. Email: watsoni@camosun.ca Twitter: @watsonivan
