SSHRC Partnership Development Grant Workshop
Speke Conference Centre, Kampala, Uganda

June 30 – July 1, 2011

Kampala 2011 Workshop Report

The Provision of Higher Education for Refugees, Dadaab Camps, Kenya
I. Welcome and Overview
II. Background
III. Potential Programmes
IV. Curricular Collaborations
V. Participatory Action Research in the Dadaab Camps
VI. Follow-up July 2nd Breakfast meeting: Organizational/Institutional Approvals & Arrangement
VII. Follow-up July 2nd Breakfast meeting: The Development of Funding Initiatives

THANK YOU
We would like to thank the following agencies and institutions for their very generous support of this Workshop:
The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada Partnership Development Grant Program
The MasterCard Foundation (MCF)
The SSHRC funded Refugee Research Network (RRN)
The Centre for Refugee Studies (CRS), York University
The Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, York University

The Workshop would not have happened without the financial assistance and ongoing encouragement of these donors. Please acknowledge their support in any publications that are prepared for or are related to this Kampala Workshop and/or the Borderless Higher Education for Refugees (BHER) project.

The goal of this Workshop is to define, specify and commit to the components of this initiative. The outcome will be a plan that specifies what we expect to accomplish in order to achieve success (as defined by the team).

THURSDAY, JUNE 30TH, 2011 – DAY 1

Session I: 9:00 – 10:00 am | Welcome and Introductions
Wenona Giles will give a brief overview of the project, including the goals of the SSHRCC research project, on the one hand and the feasibility study on the other and the ways they are interrelated. She will briefly discuss governance frameworks, thematic areas and responsibilities of colleagues and partners.

Session II: 10:00 am – noon | Background
Chair: Sarah Dryden-Peterson (U of T/YU):
Presenters: Josephine Gitome (KU)/Marangu Njogu (WTK)/Irene Njogu (KU); Sammy Tumuti (KU)/Stephen Njoka Nyaga (KU), Jennifer Hyndman (YU), Negin Dayha (YU)
The Chair will begin with a brief overview of the global movement for tertiary education both in countries of the South generally and in the new UNHCR education priorities. This will be followed by 4 papers (no more than 10 minutes presentation each) that focus on the context/ history/background in the Dadaab camps as this pertains to education and the following issues:

An Introduction to Education in Dadaab Camp
Chair: Dr. Sarah Dryden-Peterson
This session will provide a background to education in Dadaab camps, including an historical and theoretical overview of migration in the region; a portrait of education in the camps through statistics on participation rates in primary, secondary, and tertiary education, by gender; a review of other tertiary education programs in the camps, both historically and at present; an analysis of experiences of education in Dadaab by students who are now studying in Ontario; and a forward-looking view of the needs and interests related to education in Dadaab.

Overview and Introduction from the Chair (10 min)

Presentations:

  • Border Crossings (10 min) – Jennifer Hyndman
  • Background of Education in Dadaab (10 min) – Njogu Marangu, Josephine Gitome, and Irene Njogu
  • [Title TBD] (10 min) – Stephen Njoka Nyaga and Sammy Tumuti
  • Learning and Teaching in Dadaab – Negin Dayha

Guiding Questions from the Chair (5 min)
Full-group Discussion (1 hour)
Concluding Thoughts from the Chair (5 min)

Noon – 1pm: Lunch

THURSDAY, JUNE 30TH, 2011 – DAY 1

Session III: 1 – 4pm | Potential Programmes
Chairs: Don Dippo (YU) and Negin Dahya (YU)
Presenters: Catherine Wangeci (AVU), Tim Goddard (UPEI)
Introduction (10min)
Don Dippo will give a brief overview introduction to the panel (please also check the password protected area of the website for explanations of each of the four potential “phases” listed below). Negin Dahya will introduce the issue of English for Academic Purposes. This discussion is based on topics discussed during our focus group session with the WUSC scholarship students from Dadaab living in Toronto. From this discussion, it has been suggested that low participation rates in secondary school and even lower participation rates in post-secondary are often related to low levels of English language proficiency. This likely also has gendered dimension and if we hope to work towards gender balance in our BHER programmes, we will need to provide opportunities for all students to improve proficiency in English.

20 – 30min open discussion following introduction
This will be followed by 2 presentations that focus on potential programmes

  • 1:40 pm – Tim Goddard – Bridging iDiploma in Education (part-time, 2 yr. 30 credit)

Followed by 30min for discussion
15min break

  • 2:45 pm – Catherine Wangeci – Secondary School Additional Qualifications (part-time, 2 yr. 30 credit) 30 university credits focussed in a cluster of subject areas (not unlike like a Major but with more flexibility). This will enable people to become credible (but not yet certifiable) high school teachers. Need some examples of how one might populate a cluster. All or partial on-line format.
  • Arts and Humanities
  • Social Sciences
  • Natural Sciences
  • Health and Physical
  • Education

AND

  • Ordinary iBA/iBSc Degree (part-time, 2 yr. 30 additional credits, 90 credit total) 30 additional upper level university credit courses concentrated in a subject area or academic field. Need to make sure courses satisfy ordinary degree requirements. Examples. All or partial on-line format. These could be KU, AVU, YU specializations/majors.

3:00 – 3:30 pm: Discussion

END DAY

7 pm: Dinner together at the Speke Hotel restaurant

FRIDAY, JULY 1st, 2011 – DAY 2

Session IV: 9:00 – 12:00 pm | Curricular Collaborations
Facilitators: Don Dippo and Negin Dahya
We return to the four programmes discussed, modified, revised, added to, subtracted from, and go through each one asking the question, “How can you and your organization/institution contribute to bringing this idea to fruition?” This is a brainstorming (no presentations) session where we make a commitment to follow up with institutional/organizational arrangements.

English for Academic Purposes

  • Workbooks, community radio, face-to-face
  • YUELI, DLL , York University (YU) internships
  • Kenyatta University (KU)?, African Virtual University (AVU)

Bridging iDiploma in Education

  • Print, CD, face-to-face, web-based
  • York University, University of Prince Edward Island, University of Alberta
  • Kenyatta University?, African Virtual University?

15 min break

Secondary School Additional Qualifications

  • Web-based, face-to-face
  • York University
  • Kenyatta University?, African Virtual University?

Ordinary iBA/iBSc Degree

  • Web-based, face-to-face
  • York University, Kenyatta University?, African Virtual university?

Noon – 1:00 pm: Lunch

FRIDAY, JULY 1st, 2011 – DAY 2

Session V: 1:00 – 2:30pm | Participatory Action Research in the Dadaab Camps
Introduction: Wenona Giles
Presentation: Sarah Dryden-Peterson will make a brief presentation on Participatory Action Research (PAR) – a methodology that will guide our research in both theme areas.
Followed by Two Theme Break-out groups. These two groups were initially defined in the SSHRC proposal and many of you identified with one or the other (or both!). Each group will brainstorm how, what and when to initiate each theme area of research in the Dadaab camps during 2011-12. The sub themes below are draft ideas for discussion – you may decide to add/revise in your group discussion.

I. Qualitative Contextual Research
Chair/Facilitator: Joseph Mensah & Stephen Njoka Nyaga (KU)
Education as development: Exploration of this theme from multiple perspectives including teachers, parents, students to better understand the goals for education and what needs can be met through BHER program.

  • Community capacity building
  • Sustainable Communities: from Camp to Community
  • Access to African and other universities
  • Portability of skills
  • Context and history (“refugeehood”, gender, identity, education, health, “earning while learning” etc) – data collection

II. Pedagogical Research – Curriculum Design/Development
Chair/Facilitator: Tim Goddard & Irene Njogu

  • Knowledge transfer technologies & learning outcomes
  • Pedagogical Innovation in distance learning
  • Localization/Globalization
  • Learning in remote areas
  • Teaching and learning with limited resources
  • Community Engagement and inclusive curriculum
  • Refugee learning outcomes
  • North/South collaboration

2:30 – 3:30 pm: Report Back from Groups

3:30 – 4:30 pm: Next Steps and Closing – Josephine Gitome and Wenona Giles

Follow-up Saturday breakfast meetings:
**There will be breakfast follow-up meetings on 2 important topics. We would like team members to attend one or the other meeting as relevant**

SATURDAY, JULY 2ND, 2011

Session VI – 8:00- 9:30 am | Breakfast meeting at Speke Hotel dining room: Organizational/Institutional Approvals & Arrangements
There should be representation from KU, AVU, UPEI and YU at this meeting and any others who wish to join.
Chair/Facilitator: Don Dippo

  • Non-degree diplomas, certificates
  • Degree credit courses
  • Diplomas and degrees
  • Admissions, tuition, degree credit
  • Conferring degrees
  • Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs)
  • Joint degree programmes

SATURDAY, JULY 2ND, 2011

Session VI – 8:00 – 9:30 am | Breakfast meeting at Speke Hotel dining room: The Development of Funding Initiatives
This is an important brainstorming session (in the form of donor mapping exercise) to prepare us to build towards the development of substantial funding proposals during 2011-12 for programs that begin in 2012-13 onwards. The advice of our Partners (IRC, KU, WUSC, UNHCR, WTK, YU, AVU) and Co-Applicants is key to this discussion and all are welcome.
Chair/Facilitator: Marangu Njogu, Aida Orgocka