Professors Without Borders’ Post

There is a need to refocus many existing education policies, programs and practices so that they build the concepts, skills, motivation and commitment needed for sustainable development. #ArudiShule #ElimuBilaUbaguzi #ChangeTanzania

By going through most of the comments made by us, we tend to blame the government of the day for such action? Why is there so much blame being placed on the government for the current situation. The students from the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) represent a segment of the country's young elite and are expected to act with responsibility and integrity. These students are being groomed as future leaders, and their actions should reflect the values and standards befitting their position. While high levels of education are important, they are not sufficient on their own if they are not accompanied by appropriate behavior and attitudes. If we, as individuals or as a collective, do not demonstrate the qualities of effective leadership through our actions, how can we justify our aspirations to lead the country in the future or the student body as we speak?

🌍 On the Ground in Tanzania: Strengthening Inclusive Education Through Monitoring & Evaluation 🌍 I’m excited to be back in Tanzania for Shule Bora, a UK-funded programme that’s close to my heart. Over the next two weeks, I’ll be working on two key initiatives aimed at strengthening government systems and empowering evidence-based decision-making in primary education across the country. Here’s a bit of what I’ll be focusing on: 1️⃣ Finalising Major Revisions to the Programme Logframe After months of collaboration, we’re concluding revisions to the theory of change and logframe that better capture the programme’s work to strengthen government systems and deepen partnerships with local government authorities. It’s been a challenging but rewarding process, especially as conventional logframe approaches struggle to capture the complexity of system strengthening. Innovative thinking has been key! 2️⃣ Advancing a Dashboard Initiative To Support Evidence-Based Decision-Making We’re collaborating with government colleagues to migrate a dashboard to the Tanzanian government website that we developed to visualise monitoring data being collected from primary schools. This platform will empower decision-makers by allowing them to filter and analyse data from the national level all the way down to the ward level, helping to promote evidence-based decision-making at every level of governance. Starting in nine regions, our ultimate goal is to see the system adopted nationally! Both of these initiatives will make important contributions to Shule Bora’s goal to improve the quality, inclusiveness, and safety of learning for all girls and boys in Tanzania’s primary schools. I’m looking forward to what promises to be an impactful and productive couple of weeks! #Tanzania #MonitoringAndEvaluation #DataDrivenDecisions #GovernmentPartnerships #SystemStrengthening #DataVisualization #EducationReform #GlobalDevelopment #CambridgeEducation #ShuleBora #MottMacDonald

From Monday, May 3 this week to Friday, May 21, I am part of a team that is conducting a Qualitative Inquiry on Inclusive Resilience among USAID-funded Titukulane project participants that were affected by Cyclone Freddy in T/A Chowe and Namabvi in Mangochi, and T/A Mwambo and Kuntumanji in Zomba, eastern and southern region district's in Malawi. The objective of the study is to establish the determinants that influenced target participants' adaptation and copping abilities to either cope well or not cope well. As per practice, we are employing participatory rural approaches to enable rural people share, enhance and analyze their knowledge of life and conditions among others. For instance, we are using Hazard Map, Pair Wise Ranking and Vulnerability Matrix as means of actively engaging participants for their meaningful participation in the inquiry. Since the process has just taken off, I am so much interested to see how it's going to turn out and the knowledge and insights that will be drawn from the exercise to support continuous learning.

Orpul as a Place of Mind: Integrating Local Ritual into School Curriculum to Sustain Biocultural Diversity in Tanzania. https://lnkd.in/eXbQZnnq

Through a collaborative effort between Australian social scientists and farming families in Papua New Guinea, an innovative training program has been successfully adapted and implemented in the Solomon Islands, bringing about positive advancements in the lives of farming families. The Family Farm Teams project, supported by #ACIAR, had a profound impact during its 5-year tenure in PNG It facilitated significant improvements in the lives of women and their families, empowering them to enhance their overall well-being. With the conclusion of the PNG project in 2018, a new chapter began in the Solomon Islands in 2020. Early reports emerging from this endeavour indicate that the program is yielding equally transformative results in the island nation. The collaborative efforts between Australian social scientists and local farming families are creating a ripple effect, fostering a stronger sense of community and enabling these families to share their workloads and resources effectively. Read more about the project led by the University of Canberra https://bit.ly/3XiPshP #SDG5 #WomenEmpowerment #GenderEquality #SustainableDevelopment #SolomonIslands

Education is the key to life, and to unlock the full potential of our students, we need motivated and inspired teachers. That's where KiuFunza (Thirst to Learn) comes in. #KiuFunza is a cost-effective program designed and developed in Tanzania to improve learning outcomes. It provides cash incentives to public school teachers in Tanzania based on the learning outcomes of students in their classes. Currently, the program is making significant strides in enhancing foundational reading and numeracy skills in 265 primary schools in #Tanzania, thanks to support from the Hempel Foundation. This phase targets low-performing schools chosen from the poorest-performing regions and districts with the lowest Standard 4 National Assessment results. Since its inception in 2013, the program has already distributed Tsh 1.6 billion, benefiting over 5,000 teachers and impacting the lives of more than 200,000 students. Watch this video to discover more about KiuFunza and why it matters. Learn more about #KiuFunza here: https://lnkd.in/dWvABRGG

Partnerships and Learnings is key in success.

As we approach #WorldWaterDay, here’s looking at the importance of access to safe water. While working in collaboration with the International Growth Centre, The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Athena Infonomics’ report on Mandalay City (Myanmar) revealed that like other countries at similar income levels, access to safe water and #sanitation in Myanmar is correlated to both geography and income, with rural areas and poor urban citizens lagging behind. Take a deep dive into our findings here: https://lnkd.in/dD8pPgdB #WednesdayWisdom #SDG6 #SustainableDevelopment #SafeWaterAccess #CleanWaterForAll #WaterEquality

2025 Practical Field Lab: "Transformative Value Chains Development and Education" now open for this Independent Activity Period (IAP)! I assisted professor Chakanetsa M. in the first session of the practical field lab in Nyeri, Kenya, earlier this year. This first excursion, which was themed "Calbashing: Innovating with the Gourd," brought together students from Dedian-Kimathi University of Technology, Nyeri and MIT to explore sustainability through the mediums of calabshing and design. The class challenged participants to think about design and innovation from the bottom up in their final projects, which they accomplished utilizing the calabash, while exposing them to rural technologies, skills, and crafts of cultural significance After a successful pilot class ran last IAP, it returns again this time with more exciting labs for engagements in fish value addition, rural industrialization, and climate and migration. Applications are now open for this 12-units class. It will run from 1/4/25-1/31/25.  Visit https://lnkd.in/gT9H8gh2 for more information and the application. (Click on “All projects" for the specific information for the “Practical Field Lab” and the “apply now” link to the application is in the cover picture.) There are funds available for accepted MIT undergraduate students to cover the cost of round trip flight, accomodation and feeding. Undergraduate and graduate students outside MIT are encouraged to apply but they need to secure their own funding. Here to answer any question you may have!