No. 12 | November 2010
Editorial
Diversity Management at the IEE
Dear Reader,
Marco Rimkus
I just counted the heads of those who took part in the different academic programs offered by the IEE throughout 2010 and came to the astonishing total of more than 120 people, with participation ranging from being in the BA training and MSc program for Afghan lecturers, studying in the MADM program or doing research with us under the PhD IDS umbrella. The fact that all these programs are well internationalised is without doubt, though it is our belief that we still can do better: It is therefore my pleasure to report that out of the youngest of these programs, the PhD IDS, a project proposal was successfully submitted to even increase the IEE’s diversity by establishing ties with other first-class development institutes in Europe. This new development syncs in well with more diversity, more and better international exchange and cooperation; the guiding principles of RUB’s new internationalisation strategy which was just published in preparation of the university’s running for the prestigious award of an Excellence University. This new outward orientation of the university is reassuring for the institute’s work, and so is the new RUB-motto: “people-centred – cosmopolitan – high performance”. It is exactly what the IEE is also continuously striving for. Keep in touch!
Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Löwenstein Managing Director
D
iversity Management is not a new field of study by any means, but an integral part of the day-to-day business of the IEE staff. Among the current Master of Development Management (MADM) intake there are 41 students from 26 different countries. In addition, the IEE annually trains more than 20 young Afghan lecturers from all regions of this culturally quite divers country. The PhD programme, which is making big efforts to increase its visibility in the European academic landscape, hosts 20 participants from 11 countries and 4 continents. Besides, the IEE, which manages the South African-German Centre for Development Research and Criminal Justice at the University of the Western Cape together with its cooperation partners, aims to further expand its “overseas activities” to other regions. The current newsletter is meant to provide a broad picture of the different initiatives and activities of the IEE and its staff. Welcome to the IEE world!
Centre for Development Research and Criminal Justice The Development Research Division of the South African German Centre for Development Research and Criminal Justice has been on the road again, this time heading for Zimbabwe where a three-day cooperation workshop was held. The
meeting was meant to explore possibilities of how and in what areas the University of Zimbabwe could also participate in the DAAD-funded programme. On page 2 you will find a detailed report about the event as well as about the academic workshop entitled ‘Perspectives of aid effectiveness’.
IEE Alumni Small and medium sized enterprises play a central role in the economic development of Vietnam. They account for more than 97% of the total number of enterprises and are therefore essential for the creation of new jobs. Tran Ngoc Diep, Deputy Director of the Export Development Division of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency and former MADM student, has sent us a report about her job and her current research activities in Germany (page 4). Besides, Jens Blank gives an interesting account of his recently completed tracer study of IEE graduates which will be repeated every two years (page 5).
MADM The MADM is well known for its diversity both in terms of content as well as students from various continents. Mariam Sargsyan gives us an insight into the seminar “Intercultural communication and team building’’ which took place during the summer school of the MADM programme (page 10). In addition, Meik Nowak, coordinator IEE News No. 12 | November 2010 | 1
of the M.A. in Development Management, reports on a trip to Berlin (page 11) which did a lot to give MADM students an insight into different aspects of German history.
PhD IDS Since its inception in 2007 the PhD in International Development Studies (PhD IDS) has been enjoying great popularity both in Germany and also in many developing countries. But while the PhD IDS reaches potential PhD candidates in various Asian and African countries as for example China, Indonesia, Ethiopia or Ghana, only a relatively small share of the total number of applications is received from prospective PhD students in Europe. Thus, the DAAD-funded project “PhD IDS goes Europe” aims at enhancing the visibility of the PhD in International Development Studies throughout
Europe. Katja Bender, coordinator of the PhD-Programme, describes the approach and latest events on page 18.
Change of perspectives „Waka-waka – It’s time for Africa!“ says Charlton C. Tsodzo, PhD student at the IEE. On page 7 he describes potential lessons that can be learned from the successful hosting of the World Cup in South Africa in order to further promote the development of the entire African continent in future.
fellow Volker Jacobs. Aiming to analyse the connection between crime rates, the settlement structure and energy mix of a metropolitan area, he informs us about his field research in Cape Town on page 12. Enjoy the read!
Research “Relation between crime and the energy use mix in metropolitan areas in South Africa based on the example of Cape Town” is the research topic of the IEE research
Marco Rimkus is a research fellow and lecturer at the IEE. Contact: marco.rimkus@rub.de
South African-German Centre for Development Research and Criminal Justice The Development Research Division in Zimbabwe Jens Blank Charlton C. Tsodzo The Development Research Division (DRD) of the SA-GER CDRCJ juggernaut was on the road again, this time heading for Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe where a three-day cooperation workshop (4 to 7 October) was held involving representatives from the University of Zimbabwe (UZ), the University of the Western Cape (UWC) and the Ruhr University Bochum (RUB). In the spirit of the African Excellence programme, a DAAD funded initiative seeking to improve the educational quality and expanding the research capacity of African universities through cooperation ventures with German partner universities, the meeting was meant to explore possibilities of how and in what areas the University of Zimbabwe could also participate and so enter into mutually symbiotic relationships with the other institutions already 2 | IEE News No. 12 | November 2010
cooperating in the DRD process. The researchers participating in the cooperation workshop were from the following institutions: from the Ruhr University Bochum, the Institute of Development Research and Development Policy, from the University of Western Cape, the Institute for Social Development & the School of Government and from the University of Zimbabwe, the Institute of Development Studies as well as the Faculty of Social Studies. The first two days, which were essentially devoted to the technical issues of the cooperation process, began with the respective institutions making presentations about their organisational mandates, composition, location within their respective university frameworks as well as with elaborations of the academic and research programmes they were currently offering. The discussions were then taken forward by the operators of the DRD (RUB and UWC) who gave
a detailed account of what the cooperation was all about and also shared their experiences with regard to what it had to offer as well as how the respective institutions had mutually benefitted from the process. The key activities of the cooperation project that are being pursued already included the exchange of lecturers and exchange visits for master’s students as well as the possibilities for joint research between the institutions. In making their own submissions, representatives from the University of Zimbabwe acknowledged that, based on the deliberations to date, cooperation within the framework of the DRD could indeed be of tangible benefit and their institution could greatly benefit from the possibility of such a partnership. Particularly with the need to satisfy the overwhelming demand for a postgraduate programme in development studies, the representatives from the UZ saw the opportunities for receiving support in curriculum
Staff members of the Institute of Development Research and Development Policy, Ruhr University Bochum, School of Government, University of the Western Cape, Institute of Social Development, University of the Western Cape as well as of the Institute of Development Studies, University of Zimbabwe and Faculty of Social Studies, University of Zimbabwe (photo: IEE)
development as well as in contemporary pedagogical approaches in teaching development studies courses. Potential benefits for Zimbabwean post-graduate students with respect to exchange visits and taking modules at UWC were also explored, and they were thought to be limitless. Also in acknowledging how standards had plummeted over the years due to the socio-economic crisis in Zimbabwe, representatives from the Zimbabwean university indeed saw the cooperation with the DRD as an opportunity to raise the institute’s profile at the international level. The same sentiments were also echoed by the University’s registrar. Overall, there was general consensus as to the timeliness of this potential partnership and it was everyone’s hope that with the availability of funding resources and a few more deliberations, the cooperation could be launched in the not-too-distant future and the University of Zimbabwe could also be roped into becoming a cooperation partner of the DRD. Of course, this report would never be complete without mentioning the third and final day of the three-day process, which was the day of the academic workshop the topic of which was ‘Perspectives of Aid Effectiveness’. The workshop also
involved other research institutes, practitioners in the NGO and government sectors as well as other interested parties whose work directly or indirectly dealt with aid issues. Among the organisations represented were the German agencies DED, Konrad Adenauer Foundation, EED, InWent and the local correspondent for Deutsche Welle Radio. Papers presented by Prof. Dr. Löwenstein (IEE), Prof. Pieter Le Roux (UWC), Prof. Rudo Gaidzanwa and Dr. Godfrey Chikowore (both from the UZ) sparked intense debates on the efficacy of aid with case studies spicing up the
arguments for and against aid. Amidst all the explosive deliberations and discourse, however, there was a general acknowledgment of the important role that aid had played in various facets of the socio -economic development in the African context. The participation and official speeches of the First Secretary of the German Embassy in Zimbabwe, Mr. Mathias Schumacher as well as the Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Zimbabwe, Prof. Chipo Ndyanda also added weight to the occasion which ended a process marking yet another good day in the office for the DRD.
The Development Research Division (DRD) of the DAAD-funded South African-German Centre for Development Research and Criminal Justice (SA-GER CDRCJ) at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in South Africa is a cooperation project of the IEE of the Ruhr-University Bochum and the School of Government and the Institute for Social Development of the UWC. The Criminal Justice Division of the double centre is run in cooperation with the Law Faculty of the HumboldtUniversity Berlin and the Law Faculty of the University of the Western Cape. The SA-GER CDRCJ is the only centre in South Africa chosen for support by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) as part of their current "African Excellence" initiative. In addition to the centre at the UWC, this initiative will lead to the establishment of four other African-German centres of excellence which will be based in Ghana, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as well as in Tanzania and Namibia. The establishment of such centres of excellence is a cornerstone in the new DAAD programmes for Africa for which funding is being provided by the German Federal Foreign Office.
IEE News No. 12 | November 2010 | 3
AlumnIEE SME Promotion in Vietnam such as handicrafts, seafood and textile & apparel. Additionally, one of the most important roles of It was my good luck to be awarded SMEs is to create new jobs. This a DAAD scholarship for the MADM has helped to sustain the social, 2004-2006 intake. Adapting to a political economic stability of the new study environment, a new lifecountry. During the period of 2006 style and a new culture has and 2010, 2.7 million jobs were equipped me with many precious created by the sector. experiences for my life and my caThe support measures provided by reer. After the programme, I continour organisation mostly deal with ued my job in the trade promotion trade promotion issues. Besides a agency of the Ministry of Industry number of activities, we are responand Trade of Vietnam. My organisasible for two of the most outtion is focusing on activities to help standing projects, the national Vietnamese enterprises to do busibranding programme and the naness and especially to enhance tional trade promotion programme. their export capabilities. The two projects were designed and Focus on Small and Mebased on a survey of the difficulties faced by Vietnamese enterprises. dium Sized Enterprises Although exports have experienced By the end of 2009 SMEs accounted a high increase in terms of volume, for more than 97% of the total numtheir value is still low. This is due to ber of enterprises in Vietnam. Since the fact that most Vietnam compa2006, the contribution of SMEs to nies export under foreign brands, GDP has increased from 45.6% to which means they process for for47% and to 48% in 2008 and 2009. eign companies. Therefore, the Between 2001 and 2007 the contrivalue and the profits are not high. bution of the sector to the state The companies themselves, and budget was nearly 17.6%. It acespecially the SMEs, have not uncounted for 24.3% of the industrial derstood this and thus not considoutput and 35% and 40% of the ered the importance to build their total investment capital of the own brands. The national branding economy in 2005 and 2008 respecprogramme was started in 2003 tively. Particularly, the export share with the aim of raising awareness of SMEs sector has been increasing among the Vietnam enterprise commainly in traditional export items munity of establishing own brands and developing a national brand for Vietnam which is called “ V i et n a m V a l u e “ . Through this programme, we aim to improve the image of Vietnamese high quality products among cusTran Ngoc Diep together with Dr. Hans-Peter Merz, Head of Trade Depart- foreign ment Mid Ruhr Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Bochum (IHK tomers and to
Tran Ngoc Diep
Bochum) during her current research in Bochum (photo: private)
4 | IEE News No. 12 | November 2010
establish a stable position in the world market. This is a long-term project and has been positively received by the enterprise community. Under the national trade promotion programme, enterprises receive financial support for such activities as participating in out-bound and inbound study missions or trade fairs, organising specialised business conferences, buying trade information and consulting services to expand sales in export markets, etc. The programme was established in 2003. Up to now, thousands of enterprises have benefited from the programme in terms of increasing export volumes and values and expanding their market share.
Working as the Deputy Director of the Export Development Division For the time being, I am in charge of several business associations namely for handicrafts, seafood, SMEs alliance, and local trade promotion centres. My duty is to consult and help these organs design their trade promotion projects. Apart from that, together with my colleagues, I have to do research and liaise with different local and foreign trade promotion organisations to work on export policies. Therefore, I was sent to Germany again by the DAAD to do a research on the support for SMEs in Germany and to gain experience which might be transferred to Vietnam. Luckily, I was well supported by IEE staff who set aside much of their busy time to arrange meetings and interviews for me. I have had some effective interviews already and more are scheduled for me for next week. And I am sure that I will bring back precious and helpful information for my organisation.
Good to hear from you - MADM Alumni Study 2009 Jens Blank Alumni activities have become more and more important in the German university landscape (Göcks in Bremer/Göcks/Rühl/ Stratmann [Ed.] 2010: p. 76). It is obvious that institutions of higher learning as well as alumni and the students themselves can benefit in many ways from alumni work. Figure 1 gives an idea of how stakeholders can benefit from alumni activities. The IEE, for example, can benefit from alumni guest speakers who, by the addition of practitioners´ views, will further enrich the relevance of the M.A. in Development Management for work in the field. Alumni in turn can benefit from continuing education programmes and from the career services provided by the IEE. A sustainable alumni network requires an up-to-date database and meets the needs of the alumni. The present study addresses these questions by asking alumni about their professional development after graduation and by measuring the extent of interest in different alumni services. It should be emphasised that the primary goal of
the alumni survey is not the ex post evaluation of the MA in Development Management. Nevertheless, the data obtained on the professional development of graduates can give basic indications about the success of the study programme. In the field of quality management, the professional development of graduates is considered to be a wellestablished indicator for the internal evaluation of study programmes (Hackl/Sedlacek in Spiel [Ed.] 2001: p. 116).
Methodology of the survey From a methodological point of view the main aim of the project was to design a survey for alumni that does not take up too much time and which can be repeated every two years. Although internet-based surveys have some basic limitations we opted for an electronic online survey rather than a postal survey. Furthermore, we refrained from a postal survey due to the fact that a considerable number of addresses in our database were outdated. In contrast we observed a relatively high continuity in the use of email
addresses. The cover letter and link to our online survey were sent out on March 29. The survey was conducted from 29 May to 31 July 2009. The average survey completion time was 5 minutes (median). Between 2000 and 2008, a total number of 118 students obtained a Master’s degree in Development Management. From table 1, it can be seen that 78 graduates participated in the study. The response rate (66.1 per cent) is quite high compared to other tracer studies. In addition, it should be noted that non -response in the survey is to some extent a technical problem. A couple of emails were not deliverable (“bounced”). The high participation rate of the intake 2006-2008 (73 per cent) results from a comparatively high number of valid email addresses.
Selected results Turning to the results of the study, one of the most interesting findings is that almost 95 per cent of all respondents work in a job which bears a relation to the field of development co-operation (Table 2).
Figure 1: Who benefits from alumni support and alumni work? And why? IEE News No. 12 | November 2010 | 5
2000 – 2002
Total number of students in the intake 21
2002 – 2004 2004 – 2006
MADM Intake
Sample 2009
Response rate in %
14
66,6
31
20
64,5
33
20
60,6
2006 – 2008
33
24
72,7
Total
118
78
66,1
A closer look at the employment structure of our alumni shows that international organisations working in the field of development cooperation (such as the World Bank or the GTZ) are the main employers of IEE graduates (39 per cent) (Table 3). A further 17 percent of our alumni work for national development organisations. The public sector is another important employer (almost 20 per cent). The largest share of graduates working in this sector is found in government departments in their home countries. About 18 per cent of the respondents work in organisations dealing with tertiary education. The range of activities of the Development Management graduates in this field is very broad. In this category one can find PhD students who have just started their studies. In addition, there is a considerable number of graduates who have already gained a remarkable professional position (e.g. Head of Department). Finally, almost 7 per cent are employed in the private sector (e.g. ESRI). It is also worth mentioning that almost 37 per cent of our graduates work outside their home country. Another important finding is that in the sample unemployment is not a problem at all. Not a single respon-
dent was unemployed at the time of the interview. However, one should be careful not to draw more general conclusions from the results of the survey. Several studies show that the willingness to participate in graduate surveys is affected by graduate’s professional success (Kühne 2009: p. 112).
Yes
73
94,8
No Total
4 77
5,2 100,0
ure of an ex-post evaluation of the M.A.-programme in Development Management, it can be assumed that the quality of teaching and research of the IEE is appreciated by our graduates.
Interest in services provided by the IEE The level of interest in alumni services and the willingness to take an active part in the provision of services among IEE graduates can be considered as high. From table 4 (next page) it can be seen that for each item in the sample the interest in rather consumption-oriented alumni services (receiving the IEE Newsletter, video content, e-job platform) is above 80 per cent. Also activities which require at least a minimum of participation on the alumni side (writing a Newsletter article, online discussion forum, attending alumni conferences, coming back as an invited speaker) are strongly welcomed by our graduates. Thus, 75 per cent of the respondents are willing to write a Newsletter article about their current occupation or activities. Another interesting aspect is that over 75 per cent of the graduates can imagine coming back to do a PhD at the IEE (Table 4, next page). If one understands this value as a meas-
International organisations of development co-operation
Current Employer (n= 77) 39
National organisations of development co-operation
16,9
Public sector
19,5
Private sector
6,5
University Total
18,2 100,0
Table 3: Type of current employer (n= 77; Results in %)
6 | IEE News No. 12 | November 2010
%
Table 2: Does the job have a relation to the field of development cooperation?
Table 1: Response rate by intake year
Employment structure of IEE graduates
Frequency
Jens Blank is a research fellow and coordinator for the South AfricanGerman Centre for Development Research and Criminal Justice. Contact: jens.blank@rub.de
References Göcks, M (2010): Hochschulübergreifende Service- und Beratungsstrukturen des Wissenschaftsstandortes Hamburg am Beispiel des Multimedia Kontors Hamburg. In: Bremer, C; Göcks, M.; Rühl, P.; Stratmann, J. (Ed.): Landesinitiativen für E-Learning an deutschen Hochschulen. Münster, New York: Waxman: 63-80 Hackl, P.; Sedlacek, G. (2001): Evaluierung als Chance zur kontinuierlichen Verbesserung der Lehre: Am Beispiel der Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien. In: Spiel, C. (Ed.): Evaluation universitärer Lehre: Zwischen Qualitätsmanagement und Selbstzweck. Münster, New York: Waxmann: 111-130 Kühne, M. (2009): Berufserfolg von Akademikerinnen und Akademikern: Theoretische Grundlagen und empirische Analysen. Wiesbaden. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften
1 = high interest
2
3
4 = low interest
...receiving the IEE-Newsletter (n= 78 )
78,2
16,7
5,1
0
...writing an IEE-Newsletter article about your current occupation or activities (n= 76)
35,5
39,5
19,7
5,3
...video content (e-lectures) (n= 78)
53,8
28,2
10,3
7,7
...having access to an e-job platform for IEE alumni (n= 78)
66,7
25,6
6,4
1,3
...an online discussion forum for IEE alumni (n= 77)
45,5
37,7
16,9
0
...attending alumni conferences (n= 78)
70,5
25,6
3,8
0
...coming back to the IEE as an invited speaker (n= 78)
62,8
29,5
3,8
3,8
...coming back to the IEE as a PhD student (n= 65)a
53,8
23,1
12,3
10,8
Are you interested in …
a. sample size is reduced because a number of graduates have already obtained a PhD Table 4: Interest in Alumni services offered by IEE (Results in %)
Change of Perspectives Waka-waka – It’s time for Africa! Charlton C. Tsodzo The year 2010 will forever be remembered as the year the FIFA World Cup tournament was hosted on African soil for the first time ever. Whether one was there in South Africa in person or in spirit (watching the games on television or online), the atmosphere and the mood were inescapable, electrifying to say the least. What with the buzzing sound of the vuvuzela horn, the much controversial Jabulani ball, the magnificent host stadiums, as well as the gracing of Africa by its highest number of foreign visitors at one go, ranging from royalty, state presidents and hundreds of thousands of other global citizens? And of course, the theme song ‘Waka-Waka ‘it’s time for Africa’ by world-renowned pop musician Shakira provided the icing on the cake for a tournament that saw an astonishing 145 world class goals scored in the matches by the world’s best football players. While the tournament could have been confined to the host nation South Africa alone, the resonance to a ‘victory for the whole continent’ was for all to see, as evidenced by the way virtually the whole of Africa stood behind their African counter-
parts who represented the continent in the football showcase. And, after all, many outside Africa perceive the continent as one big country where everyone knows everyone else (reminds me of one Englishman who asked me how his Ugandan friend John Babyire was doing when I told him I was from Zimbabwe, in Africa - he probably thought we were neighbours, after all Zimbabwe and Uganda were in Africa!). Every African can therefore take pride in this successful and phenomenal event hosted on its soil for the first time ever. Of greater significance to me in the World Cup, however, was not the avalanche of visitors who went to enjoy the hospitality of ‘mama’ Africa or the sheer brilliance of the mega-rich football stars. What caught my eye was the realisation of a dream, Africa successfully hosting an extravaganza of such magnitude to the amazement of many doubting Thomases who could not even believe it up to now that Africa did it. The fact that if with such determination a longcherished African dream was realised then begs the question whether the same levels of determination, and perhaps a little more, cannot be put into scoring more
goals, still on African soil, though this time developmental, to add to the 145 scored during the World Cup. It goes without saying, and one does not need to be a rocket scientist to decipher the fact, that Africa continues to be the worst performing continent in socio-economic development. If the indicators from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) process are anything to go by, the majority of African countries will struggle to even halve poverty in the next 20-50 years; pandemics like HIV & AIDS will continue to decimate the continent’s most economically productive population, and environmental degradation will continue to worsen food insecurity and exert pressure on dwindling natural resources among a litany of other challenges. One then wonders what lessons can be picked up from the successful hosting of the World Cup by ‘Africa’ towards promoting its own development going into the future. Do I hear you say important lessons and inspiration could be drawn with respect to the need for high-level organisation, international cooperation, the use of advanced technology and infrastructure etcetera to advance African development? All this could be true, but in this article IEE News No. 12 | November 2010 | 7
I pick up inspiration from the most ridiculous of sources. You want to find out what?? - Yes, I will tell you. - The important role of the referee!
Importance of the referee Of course, during the World Cup tournament a lot of football players and fans alike were often incensed by decisions that referees made during games. While some might indeed have been unfair or even controversial, for me the most important lesson was the ability of the referee to stop the game when in their view a footballing offence had been committed. The referee would then caution the offending players through giving them yellow or red cards (depending on the offences). The role of the referee was pretty much to ensure that the basic rules of the game were followed and all acts bringing the game into disrepute stopped and punished. This made me reflect on the need to also view development in Africa as a game, just like football; that also needed proper management, to as far as even producing yellow and red cards to aspects bringing the game into disrepute when the need arises. In this article I appoint myself the imaginary referee in Africa’s development ‘game’ and build my case from there - read along!
Refereeing in Africa’s ‘development match’ For starters, it is my view that while theories, conspiracy or theses were written on why African countries and their governments continue to wallow in cycles of underdevelopment and millions continue to be in poverty, I feel sometimes that an emphasis on basics has been lacking. In adding my voice to this discussion, I will make my own very simplified input on why African governments have been underscoring in development, arguments which even any simpleton could still make sense of. In order to avoid sounding like an old broken record, I will assume the role a football referee as mentioned above (in the spirit of the World Cup!) and issue yellow cards (warning) and red cards (dismissal) to some of the ills 8 | IEE News No. 12 | November 2010
that have been compromising Africa and bringing the game of development into disrepute. It may seem a bit awkward for a referee to begin a match with issuing a straight red card, but, unfortunately, rules are rules, and a referee has got to do what a referee has got to do.
Straight red card: the natural resource curse That Africa has got a very generous endowment of natural resources surely is without dispute. For instance, South Africa is among the top 3 gold producers in the world, accounting for an average of about 8.9% of world output. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Sierra Leone and Botswana and recently Zimbabwe are major suppliers of diamonds worldwide. Meanwhile the cluster of Nigeria, Angola, Algeria and Libya are important players in the global oil market. We will not waste time to speak about minerals such manganese, chrome and bauxite as well as products such as tropical hardwood, coffee, cocoa and rubber exports from Africa to emphasise the continent’s abundance of resources. With such an endowment, however, one then wonders why all this wealth cannot be harnessed into improving human development on the continent. I find it intriguing that of the bottom 22 slots of countries deemed to have the lowest level of human development on the UN’s Human Development Index scale, 20 are occupied by African countries, and those faring any better are at the lower end of the middle HDI rankings. One then wonders why natural resource endowment in many African countries does not positively correlate with human development. Numerous scholars and activists have long noted that natural resources continue to play a key role in the conflicts that have plagued a number of African countries for decades, both motivating and fuelling armed conflicts. Cases in point would be the prolonged activity of rebel groups UNITA in Angola and the RUF in Sierra Leone; the violent gangs in the Niger Delta; and the successful rebellions of Laurent
Kabila in Zaire and of Denis SassouNguesso in Congo Brazzaville, among others. The extraction of natural resources has provided an important basis for entrenching political control and sustaining the sumptuous lifestyles of African leaders in the endowed countries (is there anybody who remembers the opulence of Mobutu Sese Seko and a few others?); and the temptation among incumbents to remain in power (by hook or by crook) to retain control of the natural resources has been too much to resist. The same could also be said of the persistence of rebels and armed groups to continue fighting to gain control of the very same resources. Even when unstable peace came to these resourceendowed countries, in most cases it was the elites who continued to benefit from the natural resources at the expense of the majority of the population. So you have ordinary people losing their lives in conflicts related to the control of natural resources and you have countries that have remained underdeveloped as a result of the abuse of these resources by rogue regimes, as well as presidents lavishing supermodels with conflict diamonds (the Charles Taylor Naomi Campbell saga) for absolutely no other reason than to impress. And you still say a red card was too harsh here? I stick to my guns, a straight red card for the natural resource curse if Africa is to win the development match.
Red card - the yoke of liberation Of course, nobody disagrees with the fact that colonialism in Africa was a devil that needed to be exorcised, and thankfully through the sheer determination and sacrifice of African sons and daughters in liberation struggles, colonialism was shown a red card. However, it is with regret that we observe that some of Africa’s liberators have themselves turned into oppressors after assuming political power. It is sad that the majority of dictatorships in Africa arose (and still continue to do so) from liberation movements and parties when they
IE
form governments. Having been at the fore-front of liberation struggles, some of these political parties sub-consciously believe they have the right to rule forever, make ironfisted policy decisions that no-one dares question (because they feel they know what’s best for their countries). The so-called authority of revolutionaries must not - and nobody dare to - be questioned, because in their own words, they fought and died to end colonial regimes; and, in a sense, that would give them an unfettered entitlement to ‘rule’. In most cases, such governments have been breeding grounds for corruption, nonaccountability, oppression, suppression and repression, you name it. This is a thorn in Africa’s flesh, dangerous to the game of development and so, as the referee, I will not hesitate to dish out yet another red card.
Red card - the Dark Continent image Let me quickly make a disclaimer before I become accused of Afropessimism here; I am totally panAfricanist and believe in the total emancipation of the continent. However, no emancipation will ever come Africa’s way for as long as the continent continues to exude all this negative energy and portrays the ‘dark continent’ image continually which is the result of never-ending strife and instability. If it’s not negative news headlines about sectarian violence and murders in Nigeria or Kenya, it is a coup in Madagascar or Guinea. If it’s not genocide in Rwanda or the never-ending strife in Darfur, then it’s the pirates in Somalia or endemic sexual violence against women in the war-ravaged Democratic Republic of Congo. If it’s not electoral violence in Zimbabwe then it has to be the violent repression of political opponents and human rights defenders in Swaziland, Cameroon, Gambia, Chad, and Djibouti, the list is endless. I will not even get into fraudulent electionrigging, violent crime and lawlessness in many other African countries, it’s too depressing. For all the good that comes out of Africa and the need for the continent to have
an improved image in future, this sure deserves a straight red card. One might argue that this also happens on other continents. But that does not mean it can be taken as an excuse for what is happening in Africa? Straight red card, I still maintain!
Yellow card - stifling of media freedoms & civil society The important role of institutions such as the media and civil society in democracy can never be overemphasised, particularly their being watchdogs to ensure that governments may be held accountable to their pre-electoral promises. It therefore becomes worrying when numerous countries in Africa have increasingly been legislating to ‘regulate’ the functions of the media and civil society, yet in real teal terms the idea was to muzzle these institutions and keep critical eyes away. While no-one disputes the need for sound functionality and responsibility in these groups, if ‘regulation’ involves incarceration and exile for media practitioners and activists who are seen as antagonistic to the government, precedents set by countries such as Gambia, Eritrea, Rwanda, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia among others, then a yellow card should surely be produced at this point. A few more examples would simply increase the exasperation, but the point remains - independence of the media and civil society are pivotal for democratization in Africa, the same as anywhere else for that matter.
Yellow card - ‘die-inoffice’ syndrome It is with regret that for generations, many African presidents have had the warped thinking that the gods created them to be presidents for life, and so they would be doing ‘their’ people some favours if they ‘died-in office’. I will not go into names, but many African countries’ constitutions are all patched and bandaged up with amendments to extend presidential terms of office. One former president of an African country, an attempted term-ofoffice extender famously said
‘power is sweet’ upon being asked why he wanted to extend his term of office beyond the constitutional provisions. Of course, such precedents certainly undermine democracy and are fertile grounds for the breeding of dictatorships. A yellow card and a place in the hall of shame are therefore in order for African presidents currently attempting to subject their countries’ constitutions to this ‘medical procedure’ (amendments to extend terms of office). I personally see a lot of sense in the person who quipped that politicians are like baby diapers; and after a while they have to be changed for the same reasons! Leadership renewal, new political parties forming governments bring in a fresh impetus and new ideas that would be necessary to propel the national development forward. Very simple, that doesn’t even require one to have a degree in robotics to figure out!
The conclusion For all the developmental success stories and pleasant things that the African continent can take pride in from the past to date, I believe that taking the much-needed giant leaps forward cannot happen for as long as all we do is to continue to pat each other on the back without poking at the shortcomings. As a developmental referee, I have highlighted a few offenses which I believe continue to bring the game of African development into disrepute; and I have issued cards to that effect. For now I will leave other critics and pundits to question my decisionmaking on the pitch. But what brings me happiness is that in this case, just like in a game of football, the referee’s decisions are final. I rest my case.
Charlton C. Tsodzo, PhD IDS (09) IEE News No. 12 | November 2010 | 9
Master of Arts in Development Management Happy Birthday: 10 years MADM Meik Nowak Ten years after the launch of the Master's programme in Development Management (MADM), the 2010 intake for this programme in Bochum and the 9th Summer School started on Monday, 13 September 2010 with an opening celebration in the Euro-Eck in Bochum. A total of 41 students from 26 different countries are taking part in the 2010 Bochum Programme of Development Management at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa and the MADM at Ruhr University of Bochum. Between 13 September and 8 October all these students participated in the Summer School in Bochum. During these four weeks the students had classes in statistics and research
logic, made a trip to the House of German History in Bonn and spent four days in Berlin, encountered various experts from German or-
ganisations in the field of developmental cooperation and attended an intercultural Awareness and Teambuilding Seminar in Olpe.
Grand opening of the MADM Summer School at the Euro-Eck in Bochum (photo: IEE)
Seminar “intercultural communication and team building” Mariam Sargsyan During the summer school of the MADM programme the IEE organised a special seminar for the students of the new intake, under the heading ‘’Intercultural communication and team building’’, which took place in Olpe - an attractive little town not far from Bochum. The aim was to bring together the new students and to give them the opportunity to get to know each other bet-
ter. The seminar lasted only one weekend (24-26 September); but after the seminar we could say that we really learned million things about each other. It was our first step on the way of discovering each other. 41 different students from 25 countries - a mix that no one of us had ever experienced before. ‘’Olpe was fun! We learnt more about each other and had the opportunity to encounter each other’s
First day - during the game the group had to built a bridge between two villages (photo: IEE)
10 | IEE News No. 12 | November 2010
cultures. It was a really good experience for me!’’ says Callistus Akachabwon Agbaam, a student from Ghana and member of the Cape Town group. Before going there we didn’t even know the names of all the students, but on our return from the seminar we could even say who liked to eat what dishes. Our three trainers - Tobias, Salma and Tamara took us on a journey of tolerance, mutual understanding and team-building in the literal meaning of the term. Despite a lot of differences in cultures and in our ways of thinking we learnt how to work together and how to achieve a certain goal together. On the first day we were asked to write about expectations, and most of us wrote ‘’fun’’. However, at the end, when we wrote about what we were taking with us from this experience, most of us wrote ‘’tolerance’’, ‘’understanding’’, ‘’dealing with a multi-cultural atmosphere’’ and so on. ‘’I liked the friendly atmosphere which helped us to achieve the main
goals of the seminar: intercultural communication and team building’’, says Mariam Urdia, a Bochum group student from Georgia. The conditions of the seminar also helped us a lot to discover each other. Most of us didn’t bring laptops and we stayed with six people in one room, which made us spend more time together and talk to each other more. Different simulation games and discussions, a night walk with the trainers despite the very bad weather and a special barbeque organised for us helped a us lot to relax and to have some real fun before starting the statistics course. One of the games which required the group to fulfil a task with the eyes totally blindfolded was really a challenge for us. During the game we had to rely on each other and to believe in the skill of the leader to take us to the final destination. Natalia Rojas, a Bochum Group stu-
Jimmy Carter, American statesman. 39th President of the USA.
was very cold to stay outside, interesting conversations at the barbeque fire and tasty ‘’Würstchen’’, prepared by Sebastian Gaissert, a Bochum group student from Germany, made us stay outside until late in the evening. After the seminar we came back with a feeling that together we really built our golden bridge of understanding which will help us to work together for another year and a half.
‘’Quite definitely, it was challenging to reach our goal. Nevertheless, the people supported me as a leader, which made me feel more secure, confident and able to overcome any problem’’, says Natalia. She is sure that the seminar gave her a chance to stop overgeneralising and stereotyping and an awesome opportunity to work in a team. On the last evening a nice barbeque was organised for us. Although it
Mariam Sargsyan, MADM (2010)
dent from Colombia, who was also the leader of the Bochum group during the game, says that at the beginning of the game she was very nervous and scared.
‘’We become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.’’
Berlin, Berlin Meik Nowak As for every intake of the MA Development Management programme the IEE organised a trip for all the students to Berlin as part of the first Summer School. These four days were intended to contribute in different ways to a successful programme start (for the Bochum students who begin with the Summer School) or continuation (for the Cape Town students who had already completed their first semester) of their studies in Development Management. Firstly, the trip to Berlin was meant to establish a sense of belonging together, to contribute to the “family identity” of the IEE Students and to foster some of the relationships the students had already experienced during their intercultural teambuilding seminar in Olpe. Secondly, the trip was intended to give the students an insight into different aspects of German history – i.e. the glory of Prussia, the cruelties of Nazi-Deutschland, the two German states during the cold-war period, the reunification and the new role of a united Germany within
the European Union. This is important since the students are participating in a German programme and most are grant-holders of a German institution. For international students in Germany it is essential to understand the recent history and current affairs of Germany and how this possibly reflects on German motives in development cooperation. After their completion of their programme the international grantholders should also be able to act as ambassadors of the German approach to development cooperation; so they must also have an idea of the German society and its history.
Part of the MADM group in front of the Brandenburger Tor (photo: private)
And last but not least it gave the students the opportunity to have a few days off from their course programme in Bochum in order to broaden their horizon, to be stimulated by and to relax in another urban environment. After all even a trip of this kind to experience German history and culture can be a coin with two sides. On 1st October 39 students from both groups and Dr. Meik Nowak together with two student assistants met at Uni Center at 7.00 a.m. and headed off to Berlin. After a break at the memorial of the former border post between the two German stat es in H elms tedtMarienborn, where the students gained a first impression of the reality of the separation of Germany during the cold war, we arrived in Berlin. The hostel was located directly at the central station and in the evening the students were free to explore Berlin on their own. Many students purchased the Berlin card, which allowed them to travel freely using the public transport system and be flexible and mobile in their attempt to discover the one big German metropolis that is called IEE News No. 12 | November 2010 | 11
Berlin. Most of the students took a walk along the Spree through the Regierungsviertel to the Hackesche Höfe, and also visited some of the museums along the way. In the evening an informal gathering with
ping trip and on Sunday for a diverse mixture of activities like visiting the flea market at the Mauerpark, visiting exhibitions about the separation of Berlin by the Berlin Wall and attending the festivities for
swered all the questions our international students had. Afterwards we enjoyed the sight from the public dome of the Reichstag over Berlin and than headed back to Bochum where we all arrived safely in the evening of 4 October. Special thanks go to all of the students, who made this trip really interesting; their questions about Germany showed a lot of interest and they were eager to know more about the specific issues of Germany´s past; furthermore they were always accurate on schedule and made it easy for the staff to coordinate the trip. And of course, great thanks go to our driver, who was very flexible and made the trip very comfortable for us. Thanks a lot for being that curious and open-minded.
Reception by the president of the German parliament Dr. Norbert Lammert (photo: IEE)
most of the students and the IEE staff accompanying them took place in a pub at the Oranienburger Str. and later on in a classic Berlinstyle club. The Saturday started with a guided tour of the city in English which took us to the most important places in Berlin like Palais Charlottenburg, the Olympic Stadium, the Ku´damm, the “Topography of Terror” and Mitte. Afterwards we were free to explore the city on our own without any formal program until Monday morning. Some students and staff used the Saturday for an extended shop-
the German national holiday at the Brandenburg Gate. After the fireworks some students and staff members gathered in Kreuzberg to experience the true taste of the famous Currywurst. On Monday after checking out of our hostel we had the real highlight of our trip, which was a guided tour through the German parliament (the Bundestag) with a reception by the president of the parliament – Dr. Norbert Lammert of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) – who gave us nearly half an hour for a discussion with our students and an-
Dr. Meik Nowak is a research fellow at the IEE and coordinator of the M.A. in Development Management (MADM). Contact: meik.nowak@rub.de
Research Activities Crime and energy use mix in South Africa Volker Jacobs After my first part in 2009, where I started with interviews and a detailed field analysis in Cape Town, the second part of my research took me across half of South Africa. From the very start of my PhD I have been concentrating on energy issues, but the topic of the thesis finally emerged in early 2009. The final title of my research is 12 | IEE News No. 12 | November 2010
“Relation between crime and energy use mix in metropolitan areas in South Africa based on the example of Cape Town”. The intention behind it is to show in how far the high crime rates in South Africa influence the settlement structure and the individual choice of people for different traffic modes which will, ultimately, have an impact on the energy mix in a metropolitan area. Having completed my field research
in Cape Town in 2009, where I talked to people from the Spatial Planning Department of the City of Cape Town and also to energy consultants from different organisations and made visits to Eskom power plants, I then shifted to more in-depth analyses. The time schedule was very tight as I spent approximately three weeks in Cape Town, but started in Johannesburg and returned to Pretoria at the end
of my stay. As I travelled on my own in a rented car I nearly covered a distance of 7.000 km in about six weeks’ time. In order to get everything done on this tight schedule I already organised meetings for Cape Town when I was still at the beginning of my field research in Johannesburg and Pretoria. As I had realised in former years and again during my stay this time most of the relevant organisations and interview partners were based in Gauteng (province where you find the conurbations of Johannesburg and Pretoria). From today’s perspective the talks in Gauteng were very informative; and for any future research activities in South Africa I would strongly recommend students to start there. My interview partners belonged to a wide range of different organisations which mainly concentrate on crime and security issues. As for my interest in settlement structures I interviewed top property analyst from Seeff Properties (biggest South African real estate company), First National Bank and Absa Bank in Johannesburg and Sandton. Interestingly I had tried to get in touch with several people in important positions from Bochum via email and telephone, but in most cases I had never received a reply. However, when I contacted these people directly from South Africa I was really amazed that they remembered my requests. As South Africans are very relaxed they will not be pushed too hard by any requests. Once you are in their country they start to take your topic seriously. I had to wait for the two top property analysts in South Africa, John Loos (FNB) and J. du Toit, for hours in the lounge of their banks’ headquarters
Graffiti in Cape Town (photo: private)
Guesthouse in Kimberley (photo: private)
in Johannesburg, but I was very surprised that in both cases such well paid analysts spent 2 hours to talk to me. Once I had contact with people such as these two it was much easier to arrange subsequent meetings. Further interviews in Gauteng involved people from Business Against Crime, Lightstone Risk Management, Greenpeace etc. A very special invitation came from Knowledge Factory, which is one of the biggest market research companies in South Africa. As this company belongs to a big conglomerate of companies, I was invited to the annual seminar for estate agents in Pretoria which was held in a cinema in the Brooklyn Shopping Mall. As most of the cinemas belong to this conglomerate, these facilities a very often used for seminars. The seminar gave me a detailed insight into the South African property market. At the end of my conversation with
the presenter, Dieter Deppisch, who is the leading statistics manager of Knowledge Factory, we spontaneously decided to start a small survey among waitresses working in the shopping mall to find out, how much people must earn to be able to run their own car. The nonrepresentative result was approx. 7.000 to 8.000 ZAR for people in Pretoria or Johannesburg. After 10 days in Gauteng I drove to Cape Town to conduct a few interviews and to run a field survey with a previously prepared questionnaire. After the first interviews with specialists from the Medical Research Council, UNISA Criminology Faculty, Prof. Gordon Pirie from the UWC and the City of Cape Town, I started my survey in the suburbs of Table View, Bloubergstrand and Melkbosstrand. Running out of time a little bit due to the unwillingness of many pedestrians and visitors to the shopping mall to answer my questionnaire; it was hard to gain the expected 50 interviews done. Due to time constraints I sourced the second wave of interviews in Belhar out to a former MADM graduate. This helped me indeed to save a lot of time. Probably due to the relaxed attitude of people at the coast, and especially in Cape Town, everything took longer than expected, quite in contrast to Gauteng. Talking to officials from the City of Cape Town proved to be IEE News No. 12 | November 2010 | 13
quite fruitless and, even today, I have not yet received any of the promised maps. As I do not have to rely on these maps I can really do without them now. For me the highlight in Cape Town definitely was the interview with the Chief Police Commander Vosloo from the Table View Police Station. I caught him directly in his office in the morning at 8 a.m. and for nearly 2 hours he talked about police work and strategies in Cape Town. His experience of more than twenty years (of which 8 years in Khaeylitsha), his CSI perspective and analytical way of explaining things made this interview unforgettable. After three weeks in Cape Town I drove back to Pretoria via the N12 which, after several years, took me to Kimberley again. I stayed in an impressive old three star guest house from around 1840 which represented pure history. The room I stayed in had been used by Cecil Rhodes as well; and other parts of the house had accommodated highstanding politicians of former times. Back in Pretoria the other highlight
of my field research, beside the discussions with John Loos and J. du Toit, were the interviews with the GIS and Crime Intelligence Team from CSIR. CSIR stands for Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and is a major research institute in South Africa. The team around Peter Schmitz (he had come to South Africa from Marl in Germany at the age of six), Anthony Cooper and Tinus Kruger have been conducting research on crime issues in South Africa for more than two decades now and definitely enjoy a high reputation regarding this issue. Their support was very helpful indeed and did much to compensate for the continuing unwillingness of people from the S.A.P.S. (South African Police Services) headquarters to find time for any interviews or provide any data. Within the approx. 6 weeks in South Africa my rental car was broken into twice. The first time I made the effort to call the police to report the case in Pretoria. When the police appeared the first thing they told me was that it must be very danger-
ous in Germany. They filled in a form about the break-in and called me 4 or 5 days later to take finger prints from the car which was in Cape Town now. The second time my car was broken in I decided to save the time to do more useful things and did not report the incident to the police. Apart from these annoying mishaps everything went fine during my stay in South Africa. Currently I am writing up my PhD dissertation and hope to have it finished in late December or early January.
Volker Jacobs is a research fellow and lecturer at the IEE. Contact: volker.jacobs@rub.de
Cooperation with Afghanistan Afghan Lecturers: Trip to Bonn Basir Ahmad Asifi A really unforgettable journey planned by the Institute of Development Research and Development Policy (IEE) of the RUB and Lieutenant Commander Tariq Hakim (Bundeswehr). The trip took us (that is a group of Afghan lecturers of economics on a residential training course at the IEE in Bochum) to Bonn on a visit to the Ministry of Defence, to the German National Museum (Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland) and finally to the most important place for Afghan citizens in Germany, and that is Petersberg near Bonn. We were all so highly interested to visit these places, partly because of the insight they provide into past events which are still highly relevant for Germans and also for Afghan people and, of course, also be14 | IEE News No. 12 | November 2010
cause such occasions give us the chance to broaden our horizon and experience other aspects of life in Germany and German post-war history. Therefore when we set out on our trip to Bonn we were all very excited. Dr. Martina Shakya from the IEE accompanied us and gave us some tips and general information before we reached our destination. In Bonn we first visited the Ministry of Defence where Mr. Tariq Hakim who is Afghan-born with German citizenship led us on a guided tour through the Ministry of Defence and gave us general information about the Ministry of Defence and more specifically talked about the friendly cooperation and close relationship with institutions in Afghanistan. We had a very pleasant time there. In the afternoon we visited the German National Museum. We saw
many informative exhibits there which gave us an insight into the history of Germany, the Second World War, the developments after the war and also an idea of the hard -working German people and some of the important German inventions during the last century. Finally we went on to visit Petersberg, the place where one of the most important conferences in the recent history of Afghanistan was held which ultimately led to the election of the first president of Afghanistan (His Excellency Hamid Karzai) after the Taliban regime. We had a great time in Petersberg and were so happy to be given the opportunity to visit such places which played a highly important role in Afghanistan history. During our stay in Bochum we have been concentrating mainly on our learning programme. Such occasions which give us the chance to
broaden our horizon, to visit and experience other aspects of life in Germany are really most fruitful. And therefore we hope to be given the opportunity to visit other important and historical places during our stay in Germany. In the long run we are so grateful for all the efforts undertaken by the administration of the IEE, and also by Mr. Tariq Hakim for planning such a fantastic trip for Afghan lecturers studying at the RUB. Vielen Dank an die RUB und an Kapitänleutnant Tariq Hakim.
Dr. Martina Shakya and Lieutenant Commander Tariq Hakim together with Afghan lecturers in front of the German National Museum (Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland) in Bonn (photo: private)
Now Online: eCampus Afghanistan Ralf Otto Martina Shakya As reported in the last issue of the IEE News, the “eCampus Afghanistan” project was launched recently to support Afghan universities with a common platform for internetbased teaching and learning. The eCampus Afghanistan has now gone online and is ready for use by a vibrant and growing community of internet users among Afghan university lecturers and students.
Background and Objectives In 2002, the Institute of Development Research and Development Policy (IEE) re-launched its longstanding academic cooperation with Afghanistan. Together with the Faculty of Management and Economics of the Ruhr University Bochum (RUB) and with the continuous support of the DAAD, the Science Ministry of North-Rhine Westphalia and the World Bank, the IEE has been assisting its Afghan partner universities by training their lecturers, becoming involved in the curriculum development and also the production of teaching/learning materials. English textbooks for eleven subjects of Management and Economics were produced, translated into Dari and distributed among the Afghan partner universities. Pashto translations of these voluminous books are under way, too. In addition to these important achieve-
ments, alternative means to provide access to international-standard teaching and learning materials via the internet had to be explored to meet the demands of a rapidly growing body of students at Afghan universities. As internet coverage in Afghanistan used to be restricted to very few, mainly urban areas only, NATO’s Science Committee in 2009 began to extend its “Virtual Silk Highway Project” to Afghanistan, equipping universities and government buildings with high-speed internet connections via satellite. As a result of the continuously improving avail-
ability of high-speed internet access, the technical requirements for the country-wide use of an online Learning Management System were thus fulfilled. With the financial support from NATO’s “Science for Peace and Security Programme,” the Afghan Ministry of Higher Education, the IEE and the eLearning department RUBeL at the RUB jointly initiated the “eCampus Afghanistan” project in 2009 to establish a central platform for internet-based learning in Afghanistan. The aim of the project is to provide lecturers and students at Afghan universities with a state-of-
Figure 1: Home page of eCampus Afghanistan
IEE News No. 12 | November 2010 | 15
the-art Learning Management System that makes course materials and interactive tools for communication and collaboration available online. While the IEE and RUBeL will initially provide the contents for the new BSc in Management and Economics in Afghanistan, the eCampus is open for use by all Afghan universities and faculties. The funding for the project was approved by NATO in November 2009. The eCampus Afghanistan will be implemented and maintained by the RUB for the three-year duration of the project (2010-2012). The RUBeL team has already started to offer training workshops for future course administrators, and the maintenance of the system will gradually be shifted to Afghan lecturers.
Identification of a suitable system When the IEE approached the RUB eLearning department in order to identify a suitable learning management system for Afghan universities, the RUBeL team already had experience with several eLearning platforms, including “Moodle” (modular object-oriented dynamic learning environment). For a country with severe financial restrictions such as Afghanistan, the fact that Moodle is an open-source software appeared quite important. Apart from maintenance costs, no follow-up costs such as licence fees would thus accrue to the Afghan universities even after the phasingout of the RUB/NATO support. Another advantage of Moodle can be seen in the fact that the software is easily adaptable and allows administrators to adjust the system to the specific needs of the users and to extend its functionality with little effort. As an appropriate, cheap and easy-to-use learning management system, eCampus Afghanistan was therefore established on the Moodle platform.
afghanistan.org. Users first have to create a user account and enter their login information in the lefthand area of the start page (Figure 1). They are then directed to the Moodle system. With just a few clicks, users can access their university campus, their study programme and their courses. Users find the name of their university (with a link to the university’s homepage, if applicable) at the top of each Moodle course (Figure 2). An online course on the Moodle system is equivalent to a module of a study programme and can consist of one or more courses. For instance, the Moodle course “Statistics” corresponds to the course module “Statistics” of the Afghan BSc curriculum in Management and Economics. It is further subdivided into two courses, namely “Descriptive Statistics” and “Inferential Statistics” (Figure 2). Currently, courses on eCampus Afghanistan are offered for all subjects of the new BSc programme in Management and Economics at the eight Afghan partner universities of the RUB (Balkh, Bamiyan, Faryab, Herat, Kabul, Kandahar, Khost and
Nangarhar). When accessing courses for the first time, users will need an enrolment key which will be provided by the system administrator and/or the course instructor (s).
Special features A special feature of eCampus Afghanistan is the integration of a professional Management and Economics dictionary in four languages (Dari, Pashto, English and German). The dictionary, which was recently published by the IEE in a twovolume printed edition, can now also be accessed online from the start page of eCampus Afghanistan as well as from any Moodle course (Figure 3). A “Teachers’ Corner” (Figure 4) was created as a common platform for communication and exchange among lecturers from all universities. This space can also be used for the exchange of additional teaching and learning materials. As the shortage of adequate textbooks in Afghan university libraries demonstrates, the availability of such materials will continue to be a major
Structure of eCampus Afghanistan The entry point for all users of eCampus Afghanistan is the internet address http://www.ecampus16 | IEE News No. 12 | November 2010
Figure 2: Example page for the online course “Statistics” at Balkh University
Figure 3: Online dictionary of Management and Economics in Dari, Pashto, German and English
bottleneck. Therefore it is hoped that the Afghan lecturers and their mentors at the RUB Faculty of Management and Economics will stay in touch via the “Teachers’ Corner.”
Training of Afghan lecturers Afghan lecturers who come to the RUB for their Bachelor training, Master-level studies or short-term fellowships will be offered short training workshops on Moodle and eCampus Afghanistan. Already more than 40 lecturers from eight universities have thus been trained on eLearning and Moodle; and we expect that they will be championing the use of eCampus Afghanistan at their home faculties after their
return. The workshop sessions and the face-to-face interaction in Bochum have been very valuable for the RUBeL team to get feedback and suggestions from the Afghan lecturers. If technically feasible, additional online trainings will be arranged for lecturers who have not had the chance to come to Bochum for further training. Through the ongoing dialogue with the lecturers, eCampus Afghanistan will be improved on a continuing basis and adjusted to the specific needs of the users.
Achievements and perspectives Apart from providing server space, setting up and maintaining the plat-
form, the RUB has made course materials available on eCampus Afghanistan for the different subjects (modules) of the Afghan BSc in Management and Economics. The course contents largely coincide with the eleven textbooks that the RUB has compiled as part of its efforts to support Afghan Faculties of Management and Economics. The documents were digitalised, adjusted for online use and moulded into the structure of the new BSc curriculum in Afghanistan. Currently, users can access the course contents in English and Dari; Pashto versions will become available in the near future. The implementation of the project since its inception has been smooth. What is especially noteworthy is the strong support and motivation of the Afghan lecturers, their constructive feedback and the fruitful cooperation between the IEE and the RUBeL team. Considering that the technical facilities are still insufficient in some parts of the country;and it will probably take some time for online learning to gain ground in Afghanistan. However, awareness about the eCampus Afghanistan project is building up among the lecturers who participated in Moodle trainings at the RUB. The first lecturers have expressed interest to use eCampus Afghanistan for class work with
Figure 4: Teachers’ Corner
IEE News No. 12 | November 2010 | 17
their students in Afghanistan. They have been assigned use rights as course instructors and can thus independently manage online courses at their university. It is envisaged that towards the end of the project period the responsibility for eCampus Afghanistan will be transferred completely to the Afghan universities. With access to state-of-the-art study materials and learning and communication tools - from any computer with internet access, at any time - lecturers and students in Afghanistan will then become fully integrated into the global campus.
Ralf Otto is IT specialist at the RUB's eLearning department RUBeL. Contact: ralf.otto@rub.de
Dr. Martina Shakya is a research fellow at the IEE and coordinator for the lecturer training and MSc programmes in Economics for Afghan universities. Contact: martina.shakya@rub.de
PhD in International Development Studies The PhD IDS goes Europe Katja Bender The DAAD will provide financial support to further promote the internationalisation of doctoral studies at the Institute of Development Research and Development Policy, Ruhr-University of Bochum. The funds are made available by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The structured three-year PhD programme in International Development Studies (PhD IDS) is offered by the Institute of Development Research and Development Policy on behalf of the Faculties of Economics, Law, Geography and Social Sciences. It is embedded in the framework of the RUB Research School which is one of the successful projects of the German Excellence Initiative. At present, 20 doctoral candidates from Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America are working on their PhD projects. Eight newly admitted PhD students will be joining the programme soon. The PhD in International Development Studies enjoys great popularity both in Germany and also in many developing countries. Since its inception in the winter of 2007/2008 the number of prospective PhD candidates applying for the programme has been increasing considerably. The PhD IDS attracts people from very diverse study and regional backgrounds. The former is 18 | IEE News No. 12 | November 2010
indicative of the multi-disciplinary nature of the programme and the latter reflects its high degree of internationalisation. But while the PhD IDS reaches potential PhD candidates in various Asian and African countries as for example China, Indonesia, Ethiopia or Ghana, only a relatively small share of the total number of applications is received from prospective PhD students in Europe.
Enhancing visibility throughout Europe In this context, the DAAD funded project “PhD IDS goes Europe” aims at enhancing the visibility of the PhD in International Development Studies throughout Europe. In addition, it is targeted at strengthening the integration of doctoral students in European research networks and fostering the inter-European mobility of postgraduate students. The financial support provided by the DAAD will make it possible for us to promote the PhD programme at international education fairs and to arrange mutual exchanges of visiting lecturers and postgraduate students with other European universities that offer similar PhD programs. The annual conference of the European Association for International
Education, which took place on 1518 September 2010 in Nantes offered an excellent platform to promote the PhD IDS with a broad range of higher education professionals and explore possible links to other research institutes. First contacts have already been established with the School of International Development at the University of East Anglia, United Kingdom and the International Institute of Social Studies at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Further activities such as joint workshops are expected to follow in 2011. The formation of these new research networks in Europe provides a welcome addition to our current international networks, for example in Southern Africa within the framework of the South African – German Centre for Development Research.
Dr. Katja Bender is a research fellow and coordinator of the PhD in International Development Studies (PhD IDS). Contact: katja.bender@rub.de
News The IEE mourns the death of Prof. Dr. Heiner Dürr Wilhelm Löwenstein Prof. Dr. Heiner Dürr accepted a call on the chair for Economic and Social Geography at RUB’s Geography Department in 1990 and accepted IEE’s invitation to join the institute as one of its directors. He was one of the supporting pillars of the interdisciplinary PhD-School (Graduiertenkolleg) “System Efficiency and System Dynamics in Developing Countries”, which – with funding from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) – started its work in 1995 and was granted by DFG with the maximal number of two extension periods (project period: 1995 – 2005). This Graduiertenkolleg can be seen as
the conceptual predecessor of IEE’s PhD-program in International Development Studies which started in 2007. In the late 1990ies Prof. Dürr was one of the engines of an interdisciplinary multi-country research project on the “Potentials of Change in Subsahara Africa” that – again with DFG-support – started in 1998 and served as a conceptual basis for a number of successful research proposals submitted in the early years of the new millennium. Strongly committed to reform in academia Heiner Dürr actively supported the establishment of one of the first English-speaking Master-programs at the RUB, IEE’s MA-program in Development Management.
Prof. Dürr was a passionate researcher oriented towards highest quality standards. At the IEE he concentrated his work mainly on the effectiveness of resource use regimes in Subsahara Africa and in Asia, was successful with an impressive number of research proposals submitted for peer-review to external donors and guided the research process of groups of doctoral candidates. Despite his other numerous activities at the RUB and beyond, Heiner Dürr served two terms as IEE’s Managing Director and steered the institute through periods of reform and new orientations. Prof. Dr. Heiner Dürr passed away on 24 August 2010.
IEE starts cooperation with “University Meets Microfinance” and PlanetFinance Marco Rimkus Since the late 80s a functioning financial sector has been considered an important prerequisite for the economic development of a country. Access to finance such as the mobilisation of savings and the availability of loans for investment purposes today is an essential tool to fight poverty in developing and threshold countries. Microfinance has been receiving considerable attention from the public ever since the International Year of Microcredit in 2005 and after Muhammad Yunus with his Grameen Bank had been awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2006.
Contribution to microfinance innovation In an attempt to contribute to microfinance innovation, the “University Meets Microfinance” programme fosters cooperative ventures between university students in Europe and microfinance
practitioners. In 2009, 720 practitioners, students and professors from 14 universities participated in the programme which is co-financed by the European Union. Among other forms of support the programme offers scholarships and mentorships to master students for their field research, awards for outstanding final theses on microfinance-related topics as well as knowledge-sharing workshops with academics, students and microfinance practitioners. PlaNet Finance, one of the initiators of the programme in 2009, is a leading international aid organisation with the mission to alleviate poverty through the continuing development of microfinance. Based in Paris, PlaNet Finance's international network involves activities in close to 80 countries around the world. As a first measurable contribution
to this newly started cooperation the IEE will offer a microfinance seminar for the current intake of the English-language Master Programme in Development Management. The seminar will be made available for the Bochum group and for the MADM students at the University of the Western Cape
Practical relevance Both, the seminar as well as the cooperation are in line with the IEE core principles of practical relevance and innovativeness. The IEE undertakes research on the development policy programmes and projects that are essential for system transformation. The research is therefore inseparable from contemporary trends in policy-making. This practical orientation of the IEE opens up new professional opportu-
IEE News No. 12 | November 2010 | 19
nities in development cooperation for the members of the institute and the students in its programmes. While it is obvious that the IEE will derive considerable benefits from this newly established cooperation, it is also clear that with all its contacts with the world of international development cooperation it can further stimulate close ties between the scientists and practitioners engaged in the various facets of development work.
New Publications Shakya, Martina: “The impact of non -farm economic activities on risk and vulnerability in remote mountain regions: The case of tourism.” Contributed paper prepared for presentation at the international symposium "Sustainable Land Use and Rural Development in Mountainous Regions of Southeast Asia," Hanoi, 21-23 July 2010
(online publication). Shakya, Martina: “The impact of tourism on the risk management and coping capacity of rural communities in Nepal.” In: Building sustainable rural futures. The added value of systems approaches in times of change and uncertainty. Proceedings of the 9th European IFSA Symposium, 4-7 July 2010, Vienna, pp. 2097-2107 (online publication).
IEE on Tour Gabriele Bäcker was responsible for the “Economic Tutorial” from 3 to 7 May at the UWC in Cape Town. Katja Bender and Iris Vernekohl taught a course on "Institutions and Development" from 17 to 28 May 2010 at the UWC in Cape Town. From 31 May to 09 June 2010 Meik Nowak and Stefan Buchholz offered the course "Social Science Perspectives" in Cape Town. Wilhelm Löwenstein taught the course "Economic Perspectives" from 10 to 23 June 2010 at the UWC in Cape Town. Martina Shakya presented a paper on "The impact of tourism on the risk management and coping capacity of rural communities in Nepal" at the 9th European Symposium of the International Farming Systems Association in Vienna, 4-7 July 2010. From 5 to 9 July 2010 Uwe Andersen offered the seminar „Development Cooperation: Actors & Roles“ in Cape Town. Meik Nowak hosted the workshop "Development theories, models and practice” which took place at the Gustav-Stresemann Institute in Bonn from 8 to 11 July 2010. Martina Shakya presented a paper on "The impact of non-farm economic activities on risk and vulnerability in remote mountain regions" at the international symposium "Sustainable Land Use and Rural Development in Mountainous Regions of Southeast Asia" which took place within the framework of the Uplands Program in Hanoi from 21 20 | IEE News No. 12 | November 2010
to 23 July 2010. From 2 to 8 August Meik Nowak offered the course "Public Sector Management" in Cape Town. Within the framework of the Science CareerNet Ruhr (SCNR) Katja Bender and Katja Serova presented a course on ‘Quantitative Empirical Research’ (8 October). The SCNR is targeted at doctoral candidates and Post-Docs and is offered by the University Alliance Metropolis Ruhr. At the 4th international conference on "Responsible tourism in destinations", hosted by the Ministry of Tourism of the Sultanate of Oman in Muscat, from 10 to 12 October 2010, Martina Shakya gave a presentation on "Tourism, rural development and human capital in Nepal" and participated in a panel discus-
sion on “Tourism, livelihoods, local economic development and human resources." On invitation of the Tokyo Foundation Wilhelm Löwenstein participated in a conference and workshop series on the future format of the Sasakawa Young Leaders’ Fellowship Fund in Beppu and Tokyo between 1 and 4 November and chaired a session on effective program management together with Carlos Azzoni, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. As invited speaker Wilhelm Löwenstein presented a paper in the frame of the bilateral conference “Pakistan-Afghanistan: Towards Mutual Security, Stability and Trade” organized by the KonradAdenauer Foundation in Islamabad (12 and 13 November).
Imprint Institute of Development Research & Development Policy Institut für Entwicklungsforschung & Entwicklungspolitik (IEE) Ruhr-Universität Bochum Universitätsstrasse 150 44780 Bochum Germany Phone: + 49 (0) 234 / 32-22418, - 22243 Fax: + 49 (0) 234 / 32-14294 E-Mail: ieeoffice@ruhr-uni-bochum.de Internet: www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/iee Editorial Board: Wilhelm Löwenstein, Marco Rimkus Language Advisor: Dieter Wessels IEE News is published twice a year and can be ordered free of charge.