consultancy and thus enhance the capacity of CBU ... contribute to national human resource ...

consultancy and thus enhance the capacity of CBU to
contribute to national human resource and economic
development.
The Project was designed with intent to transform the
University’s teaching and research as reflected in the
four research thematic strands. The five Project
Objectives are as follows:
1. To develop, review and offer socially and
economically relevant programs through
staff training and curriculum reform
2. To improve the capacity of CBU to develop
and deliver quality teaching and learning in
accordance with international standards
3. To enhance quality research and consultancy
by strengthening organizational and human
capacity in the five academic areas
4. Gender mainstreaming in educational
programs, staff training, teaching and
learning, and in research and consultancy
HEART PROJECT NEWSLETTER 2013
1.
What is the HEART Project?
The Project aims to ‘strengthen Higher Education and
Research Training’ at Copperbelt University, thus the
acronym HEART. It is a Dutch-funded (NUFFIC-NICHE)
project to the tune of 1,591, 200 Euros and is being
implemented during 2011-2014 with three partners: VU
University Amsterdam and Wageningen University and
Research Centre in the Netherlands and the
Stellenbosch University in South Africa.
5. To develop labour market oriented curricula,
training programs, knowledge skills, and
demand-driven research and consultancy
aligned with needs of industry and other
segments of the Zambian economy
Objective 1 and 3 are linked to to the four thematic
areas of: (a) economic and entrepreneurship, (b)
mathematical modeling and statistics, (c) mining and
mineral processing, and (d) environmental and
chemical engineering. Four Schools of Business, Mines
and Mineral Processing, Mathematics and Natural
Sciences, and of Natural Resources are more directly
targeted. Objectives 2, 4, and 5 are broader and
encompass the whole institution.
CBU administrative block.
The project is designed to improve the capacity of the
CBU to develop and provide quality and relevant
education programmes, practical research and
2. What is the value added?
These five objectives should produce a number of
concrete results by at the end of the project:
 Links between CBU and relevant industries and
market parties in four focus areas
 Links between CBU, Dutch and South African
universities
 6 CBU lecturers trained at PhD level, 4 at
Masters, and others undertaking tailor-made
training in topics such a gender mainstreaming
 Quality Assurance instruments developed and
implemented
 Firm institutional positions of Quality
Assurance, and Continuous Professional
Development in the Centre for Academic
Development
 Entrepreneurial skills and corporate social
responsibility integrated into CBU and its
academic programmes
 A significant number of research projects,
publications and consultancy in the four focus
areas
 Research equipment and textbook provision.
3. Who makes up the local Project team?
The team is supervised by the Deputy Vice Chancellor
and is comprised of the following members
coordinating various sub-projects:
Administrative arrangements
 Dr. Exhildah Kasumu, Subproject 4 ‘Gender
Mainstreaming’
 Prof. John Lungu, Subproject 5 ‘Labour
market and Entrepreneurship’
Mrs. Petronella
Nyembele coordinates all logistics for the missions
and provides administrative and secretarial services
to the Project.
The manager and three sub-coordinators of the HEART
Project also serve in the University as the
Coordinators of Research Groups. These are
organised into four thematic groups that reflect the
desire to promote collaboration and multidisciplinary
teaching and research. The thematic groups have been
reformulated as follows:
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Mining, Engineering and Built Environment
Environment, Medical and Natural Sciences
Economics and Entrepreneurship
Mathematical Modelling
Prof. Glasswell Nkonde, Project Manager
4. How is research being enhanced?
Mrs. Petronella Nyembele, Project Secretary
Mr. Kanyanta Muyangwa, Project Accountant
Subprojects and coordinators
 Prof. Overson Shumba, Subproject 1
‘Curriculum and educational programme
innovations’
 Prof Patrick Azere Phiri, Subproject 2
‘Teaching, Learning and Centre for Academic
Development’
 Prof. Frank Tailoka, Subproject 3 ‘Research
and Consultancy’
The HEART project has infused specialist research
equipment that will significantly enhance capacity for
research and graduate teaching.
The following specialist research equipment has been
received and is meant to be accessible to all
researchers and Schools:
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HEART Project vehicle – Reg. No. ALD 3844
Camfar Software
Broad Communications – Survey equipment
Carbolite equipment
Autoclave equipment
Rover & PSION Controller (Survey equip.)
Labogene Safety cabinet
160 books ordered for participating schools
(SMMS, SMNS & SNR). These arrived in April
2013.
While the HEART Project was designed around the four
schools Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Business,
Natural Resources, Mines and Mineral Sciences, the
equipment and education and training is meant to
benefit all Schools in the University. .
5. HEART supports development of expertise
in the University
The HEART Project complements the University Staff
Development Policy and thus contributes towards
development of needed expertise through graduate
studies. Four Doctoral students are in various stages
of their field work and research by institution and
progress update.
Stellenbosch
University
PhD (Modelling of industrial
processes): Mrs Baweni Mtonga
and Mr Mwandawande Ikukumbita
started their studies mid-July
2011. Now in their 2 nd year of the 3
year programme, their PhD
research proposals have passed
successfully all required levels at
Stellenbosch and their research is
going well
VU University
Amsterdam
PhD (Entrepreneurship): Mr
Mwansa Chabala and Mr Progress
Choongo started in February 2012
in a sandwich programme.
Following 5 months of studies and
preparing the research proposal,
they began with identifying the
research population and preparing
the first round of field work in July
2012. Good progress is reported
by their supervisors.
Wageningen
University
Research
PhD (Natural resources, fisheries
and forestation): Mrs Justina
Ngoma and Mrs Concilia Tembo
started in February 2012. They
returned to Zambia for an initial
round of field work in August 2012.
By the end of the year their
equipment needs had been
finalised.
The HEART Project supports fieldwork by topping up
University support ($5000) to a maximum of 3000
euros. In addition, specialist equipment for current
doctoral students will enhance research capacity in
the University. Departments and Schools benefit from
injection of specialist research equipment previously
not in the University, e.g,:
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Dendrochronology analytic equipment
Fish tanks
Mr. Benjamin Mubemba recently joined the University
of Pretoria to pursue the MSc Veterinary Science
(Tropical Diseases).
6. Centre for Academic Development (CAD)
For two years, Carmen Peters of VU University
Amsterdam has been involved in preparations for
establishing the Centre for Academic Development
with the Director, Prof Patrick Phiri. With a view to
training future CAD trainers, two workshops on
didactical skills and active learning were conducted
at CBU for groups of about 18 – 20 lecturers. In
addition, three teams of these (6 at a time) came to
the Netherlands for a 1-week workshop on teaching
and learning and curriculum development.
Further involvement of the VU team will contribute to
sustaining the adopted teaching techniques and the
development of a quality assurance system at CBU.
The CAD
now occupies this block, once the inaugural home of
the School of Graduate Studies.
Under the Directorship of Prof. Patrick Azere Phiri, the
CAD conducts various internal professional
development workshops. From 18th to 24th March 2013,
Dr. Carmen Peters supported teaching and learning
workshops conducted in the newly assigned premises
of the CAD. In all 37 lecturers attended.
Prof. Phiri says “It is exciting to see very good
participation and leadership from the academics who
travelled to the Netherlands for training in curriculum
development. Dr. Peters has assured participants
completing the curriculum workshops with CAD will be
awarded Certificates”.
7. Capacity enhancement required for
Mathematics Department
The Mathematics Department identifies challenges and
solutions as lying in capacity enhancement. Use of ICT
in University Mathematics and in particular the use of
simulation software, financial modelling and
Econometrics, use of neural-network (Non-linear)
techniques in modelling, environmental modelling
including water resources forecasting and climate
change, and statistical modelling focussing among
others on quality education and school effectiveness,
road traffic, and in poverty and health issues.
8. Anticipated missions by external experts
In 2013, several expert missions are expected to
support capacity development in several areas.
So far the following are confirmed.
The first series of workshop gave an opportunity for
self-assessment (audit) of the staff who attended.
Issues already highlighted for further training are:
 making balanced tests and exams based on
Blooms’ taxonomy using the right level of
questioning
 improving course outlines based on a
model example from the School of
Business.
 Using interactive boards in teaching.
Further training needs will surface at each workshop.
The CAD programme and team of facilitators will
address these, so improving teaching and learning on
campus, supported by policies in schools or CBU.
 Project Support (Clair Jacobs, May
2013)
 Gender Policy and Mainstreaming (June
2013)
 Environmental modelling, climate
change, hydrological research methods,
extractive mining activities, and
statistical modelling tools and open
source software such as ‘R’ and GIS
tools (July 2013, Erik Querner, Alterra
Institute)
 Modelling, curriculum and biodiversity
(October 2013, Bob Planque, VU)
9. Completion of 2012 annual report
The 2012 annual report has been successfully
completed and due for submission to NUFFIC in
May 2013. So far the Project is on track to deliver
its terms of reference as reflected above.
10. HEART Project External Audit
Mr. Muyangwa
is in charge of project finances, monitoring and
reporting, variance analysis and arranging
external audits at year end.
The Heart Project had a total amount of eligible costs
of €163,108 over the period 1 January 2012 to 31
December 2012. In February-March 2013, Grant
Thornton Chartered Accountants conducted an audit of
the HEART Project and reported. The external auditors
expressed the opinion that the external funds provided
have been used in accordance with conditions of
relevant financing agreements, the project activity
document and for the purposes for which the
financing was provided.
be handling for the upcoming academic year
(beginning approximately two weeks from then).
Discovering university teaching
I am very excited and looking forward to my first day
in class and as a lecturer. I scrounge around to look
for the school handbook so as to acquaint myself with
the content of the material. I manage to find one dated
2010 and seems to be the latest edition. I am quite
disappointed with my discoveries. On the content of
my course is just a title, a few lines on the contents, 3
recommended books (of which are not available in the
library) and nothing on how I should conduct my
classes or lecture.
I ask the people around me and I am told that everyone
just teaches using their own technique and that I
should just ensure I teach and produce results at the
end of the academic year.
This was the experience that I first had when I started
lecturing at the Copperbelt University and I knew there
was something wrong with this kind of approach and
that something needed to be done about it. Little did I
know the great opportunities that awaited me in my
professional career from the Heart Project under the
then Academic Development Centre (ADC) now Centre
for Academic Development (CAD).
11. Personal reflections on value added?
Early impact of pedagogical training
Ms. Yaki C. Namiluko,
I was invited to attend a workshop on pedagogical
skills training facilitated by Carmen Peters from the
Netherlands and a lot of knowledge and skills came out
from this workshop and a new flicker of hope and
enthusiasm was triggered off in my mind as I now had
a new positive outlook to my professional career.
Lecturing could be exciting after all for both the
lecturer and the student.
Ms. Yaki C. Namiluko,
School of Natural Resources reflects on the
Pedagogical Training experiences
I have just been employed by the Copperbelt University
as a Lecturer and told the courses that I am going to
At this workshop, the audience interested me so much
and exceeded my expectations throughout the entire
programme. During the workshop, I was gratified to
find that almost all the lecturers present had similar
challenges as the ones I had first encountered at the
institution.
work, role playing and debates using power point
slides and video clips.
It goes without saying that I did not initially expect to
gain so much from this workshop as various facets of
pedagogical skills and training were revealed to me
daily. In point of fact, I went away from that workshop
with various techniques such as interactive teaching
and student engagement which I started utilizing in my
classes almost immediately since the classes were
still in session at that time
Reflections and anticipation for publishing
Among the people who first participated in the
workshop on pedagogical skills, I was one of the 18
participants that were selected to undergo some
training in pedagogical skills in the Netherlands in
February 2013. I was in the final trip in the three
groups that had been picked. My experience in the
Netherlands was even more interesting and
exhilarating as we were exposed to actual real life
instances of a classroom setting with various
lecturers facilitating on the various aspects of
teaching and learning.
Every evening after attending my lecture I took down
points that I thought I could immediately implement in
my individual capacity upon returning to my job. My
goal was to make sure that I did not miss out any
important aspect and that I always learned something
new about how to be a good lecturer and conduct
productive lectures. The training programme would
not have been so successful without excellent
logistical and physical arrangements, and for this we
thank Dr. Mike Cantrell. Venues varied greatly, but
were mainly at VU University. Major benefits of using
the clubs were ample parking and on-site restaurants.
It has been great fun and a real privilege to learn so
much and benefit from the HEART project.
My thanks to all involved! We also made some great
new friends along the way and long lasting networking
via the Moodle programme. I have since been involved
in facilitating pedagogical skills training workshops
within the institution in various faculties
I am also proud to be part of a group of researchers
who shall be soon publishing research papers in the
international journal of educational development.
12. Reflections on PhD Experiences
Posing with other participants outside the Vree
University building in the Netherlands
At his workshop, we were exposed to skills such as:
 Handling of large classes
 Developing a curriculum and course contents
 How to set assessments such as test
questions and assignments
Each facilitator came with a different way of lecturing
which was a way that appealed to different
participants depending on preference such as group
Bawemi Sichinga Mtonga
I am currently a PhD student in the Process
Engineering department at Stellenbosch University. My
research area is in mineral processing; in particular,
the modelling of hydrocyclones using computational
fluid dynamics. My research journey began in July 2011
- a new phase in my life. Leaving my family and work
place to come to South Africa was exciting. When I
first arrived in the Cape it seemed a different world
altogether - even the weather, since I came in the
winter period.
At the beginning I was so overwhelmed with the
research tasks ahead. Working on the proposal was
the first major milestone as it had to meet the high
standards required by Stellenbosch. However, the
department provided seminars and workshops
imparting skills for the preparation of my research
proposal. Working with a supportive research team
and supervisors, the proposal was eventually
completed and accepted. At this point, the journey to
obtaining the PhD with all its challenges began to seem
possible. In my view, the education and skills acquired
along the way will not only improve me as a lecturer
and student research, but will also give me the
confidence to identify new research areas in my home
country and to carry out much needed research. For
the time being, the journey continues.
Ikukumbuta Mwandawande
I am currently studying for my PhD in the Process
Engineering Department at Stellenbosch University. I
came to South Africa to carry out research in
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), particularly on its
application in the flotation concentration of minerals. I
actually arrived at Stellenbosch University without any
prior knowledge or experience of CFD. However, I have
integrated into a very helpful research environment in
which regular meetings with my academic supervisors
have made my research burden somewhat lighter. For
example, the department organised a very good
training seminar in CFD which served as a good
foundation for my research work. There are also a
number of other training programmes on scientific
writing, design of experiments and research skills, all
of which contribute to an exceptionally good academic
environment.
The Process Engineering Department is a wellequipped department in terms of academic personnel,
laboratory equipment and resources. We have access
to high performance computers that are capable of
handling the type of simulations that have to be
carried out in CFD. Stellenbosch University also has
very good facilities, including postgraduate sections in
the library, tailored specifically to meet the needs of a
postgraduate research student. In addition, the library
has an intranet server with a huge database of
scientific publications which I have found useful in my
research work. I am hopeful that the knowledge and
research skills that I will have learned by the end of
my PhD programme will also be beneficial to the
Copperbelt University, who nominated me to come and
pursue studies under the NUFFIC-Heart Scholarship
programme. Thank you very much for giving me an
opportunity to share my PhD experience on this forum.
Compilers: Overson Shumba & Mike Cantrell, May 2013