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Partnerships Update
As the February News Briefs went to press...
• The FY 2000 RFP was released on February 16 (see story below).
• A supplementary RFP for Education for Democracy and
Development (EDDI) funding was released for current ALO/American Association
of Community Colleges (AACC) partners.•
FY 2000 Institutional
Partnerships Solicitation Announced
The Association
Liaison Office for University Cooperation in Development (ALO) announced
the third Institutional Partnerships Request for Proposals on February
16, 2000. Partnership Awards are contingent upon expected obligation of
FY2000 funds by USAID.
ALO anticipates conducting the peer-reviewed competition for awarding
approximately ten seed-grants. Each proposal may be funded up to $100,000
for the entire grant duration to implement a cooperative partnership between
higher education institutions in the United States and developing countries
to meet specific development objectives over a two-year period. These
awards are intended to emphasize new or deeper levels of partnerships
rather than to sustain existing partnerships. The RFP is available on-line
at http://www.aascu.org/alo/IP/2000/RFP2000.pdf.
Hard copies can be requested by mail by calling (202) 478-4700 or sending
an e-mail to alo@aascu.org.
The proposals are due March 31, 2000.•
The African Virtual
University Works with U.S. Higher Education Institutions to Develop Curricula
 The
African Virtual University has broadcast over 2,000 hours of instruction
to over 9,000 students.
When Dr. Richard
R. Young, an assistant professor at The Pennsylvania State University's
Smeal College of Business, cites their Executive Program's slogan, "We
teach the world business," he knows what he's talking about.
In an initiative established in concert with Penn State Executive Programs,
Young taught a business course in early February, "Supply Chain Management
for Business and Economic Improvement," for the African Virtual University
(AVU), using the latest distance education communications technology to
reach over 100 students in five countries. AVU has broadcast over 2,000
hours of instruction to over 9,000 students in all regions of sub-Saharan
Africa (SSA).
This initiative, a project of the World Bank, is the first attempt to
use, on a grand scale, the power of modern information technologies to
increase access in SSA to desperately needed educational resources. It
has allowed AVU students to take courses given by professors from world-renowned
educational institutions such as Penn State in the U.S. and others from
North America and Europe.
AVU is currently in its pilot phase, during which the virtual university
concept is being implemented and tested in 14 English-speaking and eight
French-speaking universities across SSA. The AVU will soon transition
to the operational phase when it will begin offering full-fledged degrees
in three disciplines of study-Computer Science, Computer Engineering and
Electrical Engineering.
The AVU also offers professional development training, executive business
education, language instruction, information technologies training and
remedial instruction. The resulting increase in the number of scientifically
and technologically literate professionals will position countries in
SSA to be part of the global information age and knowledge economy.
As for the benefits to the U.S., Penn State's Young said, "As a nation
we clearly gain viable, highly capable trading partners whose peoples
can share in the prosperity that economic improvement provides. Moreover,
as for the university, we are aware that this is just one more example
of how very seriously we view our fundamental roles of the discovery and
dissemination of knowledge."
For more information, see the AVU Web site at http://www/avu.org/
or contact David Berk at Dberk@worldbank.org
or (202) 473-4897.•
Higher Ed. Helps
Basic Ed.in El Salvador
These
three boys from the San Francisco Javier Early Childhood Development Center
in the Usulután department of El Salvador have a new reason to smile.
Metropolitan Community College (MCC) in Omaha, Nebraska, has
entered into a partnership with Universidad Centroamericana "José Simeón
Cañas" (UCA) in El Salvador to improve basic education in El Salvador.
Funded through ALO, the project is part of USAID/El Salvador's Early Childhood
and Family Education Activity. An MCC representative will live in El Salvador
for three years to help implement new programs in early childhood education.
•
BACK TO TOP
Alternative Energy
in Nepal
Alternative energy sources
allow this woman in Nepal to sew after dark, increasing her economic
potential.
Tribhuvan
University in Nepal and the University of Colorado at Boulder are planning
projects that will reach out to remote areas and allow them to have
access to electricity.
In 1998, the institutions first discovered their mutual
interests at TU's Renewable Energy conference in Nepal, "The Role of
Renewable Energy Technology in Rural Development," where 200 people
from 22 countries participated.
Dr. Jagan Shrestha of TU explained that Nepal is very arid,
but has many rivers running through it. He said that even 40 feet away
from the river, the land was so dry it could not be farmed. The TU Centre
for Energy Studies has already begun working with farmers to use pumps
run with solar energy to irrigate the land away from the Nepalese rivers.
The institutions recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding
to enhance scientific and cultural relations. In October of 1999, Dr.
Shrestha conducted a seminar at the University of Colorado on renewable
energy technologies.
With the help of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, TU has already
made contacts with the U.S. Department of Energy, UNDP, the Nepalese
government, and other regional government to share its emerging ideas
for alternative energy sources. •
 Hands-on
Development Education
The
University of Maryland, College Park’s Darryl Newman discusses the feasibility
of mahogony as an agrobusiness in Honduras with the Pan American School
of Agriculture’s (Zamorano, in Honduras) Sergio Narva. Newman was one
of 10 UMCP students to attend a three-week course on sustainable development
in Honduras in January. Students collaborated on the Zamorano students’
theses.
BACK TO TOP
 International
Higher Education Linkages Project Database Spotlight
The
International Higher Education Linkages Project database (IHELP) contains
information on international partnerships between higher education institutions
and includes program areas, cooperating institutions, contact information
for U.S. institutions, project outcomes, and more. For more partnerships
or to list your institutional linkages, see http://www.aascu.org/alo/ihelp.
Follows is one example of an IHELP partnership.
Furman University/University
of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Jamaica
Program Description: A Software Development Training
Program for Jamaica In the fall of 1998, the Caribbean Institute of Technology
(CIT) was established as a collaborative venture among seven partners
to design and deliver high-quality certificate-based computer programming
training in Jamaica in order to supply software developers to fuel the
creation and growth of a software development industry in Jamaica.
Program Outcome: CIT graduated its first class of 53
students on December 5, 1999. Indusa, LLC opened a software development
center in Montego Bay in July 1999 and offered employment at this center
to 43 of the graduates of CIT's first class. The second class of 105 students
entered CIT on January 4, 2000.
Linkage Type: Academic Exchange, Collaborative Research,
Instruction/Training
Emphasis Areas: Economic Growth, Human Capacity Development/Education
Funding Source: USAID, Own Institution, HEART NTA/Trust
(Jamaican training agency)
Program Contact: Dr. Ken Abernethy, Furman University,
ken.abernethy@furman.edu
Web Link: http://s9000.furman.edu/cit/
•
Partnership
Profile Spotlight on...
Houston Community College System/University of Delhi, India
 The
Houston Community College System is working with the University of Delhi
in creating workforce development programs in health. Shown are Project
Director-India Dean Dr. S. Neelamegham, Advisor of Health Planning Commission
Dr. Prema Ramchandran, Advisor Voluntary Health Agencies-Planning Commission
Dr. Sarojini, Chancellor-HCCS Dr. Ruth Burgos Sasscer.
With a population
of nearly a billion people, India is the world's largest democracy, and
thus a country of enormous economic potential. While India's higher education
system has grown significantly, it has not met the increased demand for
a qualified, skilled workforce in family and child welfare, nutrition,
and health education.
With a two-year partnership grant from the Association Liaison Office
for University Cooperation in Development (ALO) under a cooperative agreement
with USAID, the Houston Community College System (HCCS) and the University
of Delhi (UD) are developing an international model of cooperative training.
The project, initiated in the fall of 1999, enables students in India
to enter the workforce earlier with certificates and associate degrees
in allied health while continuing their degree programs, thereby supporting
economic and health reforms. It also enables U.S. students to gain an
awareness of global health issues through study and internships in India.
The partners are essentially restructuring Indian higher education. In
the U.S., Texas Medical Center, Spantran Educational Services, Inc., and
the East End Chamber of Commerce are providing support; in India, the
Delhi Center for Women's Studies, the PHD Chamber of Commerce, and the
Centre for Professional Development in Higher Education are assisting.
The first phase of the project will involve two primary objectives, the
first of which is to design at least five need-based, job-oriented curricula
in Family and Child Welfare HIV/AIDS, Nutrition, and Health Management
for UD, including international credit hour requirements and transfer
procedures. The second objective will be to train six teachers and two
administrators from UD to design and implement the customized health careers
curricula. HCCS will conduct a three-week Institute, providing professional
development training for six faculty and two administrators selected by
the University of Delhi.
The partners established a databank of Health Experts by contacting 52
health professionals such as doctors, deans and professors, and businessmen.
Project staff conducted a needs survey among faculty and students in various
disciplines in the University of Delhi. The vice-chancellor, Dr. V. R.
Mehta of the University of Delhi and the chancellor, Dr. Ruth Burgos-Sasscer
signed the "Memorandum of Understanding" on January 14, 2000. This formally
established the commitment of the partners for activities leading to sustainable
development.
The University of Delhi has already received the approval of the University
Grants Commission of India for launching courses in health sector. The
University is in constant communication with the Indian Ministry of Health,
to strengthen employment-oriented courses in the health sector. During
the second phase, the primary objective will be to conduct a professional
development training program in India for faculty and administrators at
the affiliated colleges of UD. Based on shared information and expertise,
HCCS faculty and staff will produce a report for UD on how to design,
implement, and evaluate customized health career curricula. The participants
in the Institute will train their counterparts during professional development
workshops in India.
The ALO grant of $99,778 will be complemented by approximately $86,513
from the partners. Watch for new developments on this story and others
on the ALO Web site, http://www.aascu.org/alo.•
- Geneva 2000: The Next Step in
Social Development, a
conference sponsored by the United Nations Research Institute
for Social Development (UNRISD), will take place in Geneva, Switzerland,
June 26-30. See http://www.unrisd.org/engindex/cop5/forum/
for more information.
- Making Aid Work: Innovative Approaches
for Africa at the Turn of the Century,
a book by the University of Montana-Missoula's Peter H. Koehn
and the University of Port Harcourt in Nigeria's Olatunde J. B.
Ojo, brings together a variety of creative approaches to successfully
utilizing aid in sub-Saharan Africa. The book was published in
September 1999 by the University Press of America, Inc., and can
be ordered by calling (800) 462-6420.
- The International
Education and Training Coalition Reports That the Administration
Released its FY 01 Budget Request on February 7. The request
for Foreign Operations was for $15.085 billion. Of that amount,
development assistance was increased by $207 million over last
year to $2.141 billion. Most of the increases were for family
planning, debt relief and HIV/AIDS response. The request for human
capacity development was $146 million, the same level as last
year. Within that amount, $98 million was requested from the child
survival account for basic education.
- The Humanitarian Assistance Training
Inventory, maintained by the ReliefWeb
project of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs, contains descriptions of training materials and activities
offered by United Nations Agencies, Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement,
IGOs, NGOs, Bilateral Aid Agencies and Academic & Training Institutions.
See the Web site to list your information or to search at http://www.reliefweb.int/training/.
- Global Conference on Peace
will provide a forum for dialogue on establishing peace and stability
in the world at the dawn of the 21st century. The conference will
take place August 16-19 in Ottawa, Canada. See the Web site at
http://www0.delphi.com/peaceportal/
for information.
- The World Bank's Global Distance
Learning Network offers development-oriented
courses using technologies ranging from print to two-way video
conferencing. See the Web site at http://www.worldbank.org/distancelearning/Services/services.htm
for information.
- The Internet and the Public's
Health: Impact on Individuals, Communities, and the World, presented
by the Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School,
will take place on May 30-31, 2000, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The conference will explore the promise of the Internet for partnerships
new to health care. For up-to-date information, see the Web at
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/health-internetconference
or call (617) 432-1025.
- The National Center for Education
Statistics has added a resource section to its Web services
at http://www.nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/.
Fast Facts, Did You Know?, and Inside the Stats! were combined
into one location, and the categories of highlighted fast facts
include higher education.
- Infusing Global Education in
the Third Millennium: Systems, Strategies and Support for Community
Colleges, the American Council on International Intercultural
Education's Fifteenth Annual Conference, will be held at the Hilton
in Crystal City, Virginia April 6-8, 2000. See http://www.aciie.org/events.doc
for details.
- Third World and Global Development:
Continuing the Search for a New Paradigm,
sponsored by the Third World Conference
Foundation, will take place March 15-18, 2000, in Chicago. See
the conference Web site for details at http://twcfinternational.org/conference.html
- Agribusiness in Sustainable Natural
African Plant Products Roundtable,
sponsored by organizations including Purdue University,
USAID, and the Herb Research Foundation, will be held April 4-6,
2000, in Cape Town, South Africa. Participants will attempt to
create and develop successful African businesses in the natural
products sector. See http://www.herbs.org/africa
for more information.
- InterAction's Forum 2000,
will take place April 17-19, 2000, at the
Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington D.C. More than 500 leaders of
relief, development and refugee organizations are expected to
participate in skill-building, advocacy and networking. See http://www.interaction.org/forum2000/
for details.•
NEWS BRIEFS
Association Liaison Office for University
Cooperation in Development
Established in 1992, ALO coordinates the efforts of the nation's six
major higher education associations to build their partnership with
the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and to help their
member institutions plan and implement development programs with colleges
and universities abroad. Copyright 2000 by the Association Liaison Office.
All rights reserved. Use of this publication in full or partial form
is encouraged, but requires the permission of the publisher. Send comments,
requests for addition to list, questions, and ideas for stories to
ALO.
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