HEI ICI EDUFI Monitoring Team Visit to TUDARCo for IRIS Project
On 15th January, 2019, TUDARCo IRIS Project team members received four visitors from the Finnish National Agency for Education (EDUFI). These were Annastiina Heiskanen, Saara Paavilainen, Annika Sundbäck-Lindroos and Pajala Kaija. The purpose of the monitoring team visit was to assess the implementation and impact of the IRIS project. It should be noted that IRIS Project is a collaborative project run by Turku University of Applied Sciences (TUAS) and Tumaini University Dar es Salaam College (TUDARCo) funded by Finnish National Agency for Education. Therefore, EDUFI is mandated to administrate the cooperation projects between higher education institutions in Finland and the developing world. On their arrival, they visited Deputy Provost for Academic Affairs, Prof. Godwill Mrema and later to Provost, Prof. Uswege Minga where they introduced themselves and the purpose of their visit.
The IRIS Project is in the second year since it started to be implemented. The main focuses of the project based on improving pedagogy and curricula in higher education, improving entrepreneurial skills and learning outcome among students, improving access to official information among Micro Entrepreneurs. Strategically its implementation opens opportunity for innovations in teaching and learning practices. This is done through innovative pedagogical approaches which link better TUDARCo students and teaching staff with surrounding communities in this case, Micro Entrepreneurs. It should be noted that the idea behind Reverse Innovation Model is to support simple and low price innovations which can benefit communities in a large scale.
TUDARCo project team members presented the project status to EDUFI monitoring team based on the main focus areas of the project, project administration and communication and later the interviewed students, staff and IRIS Stakeholders. After presentation of the status of the project, discussion and interviewing staff and students, the EDUFI monitoring team provided feedback to IRIS team members. They were impressed by the IRIS Project progress.
During his opening remarks, TUDARCo Provost, Prof. Minga, elucidated his gratitude to the Finnish Government for funding the IRIS Project. He revealed that, the main focus of IRIS project is what needed in most Higher Education Institutions in East Africa. He further explained that IRIS remains to be a platform for members of academic staff from both TUAS and TUDARCo to gather and disseminate the latest knowledge in pedagogical approach and in linking universities and the community He also revealed that the intellectual discourse will happen if collaborations between universities, research institutions and industry both locally and internationally will be practiced. The project, IRIS, has created learning environments that promote innovative, multidisciplinary learning which support Agenda 2030 goals by diminishing poverty, improving women’s rights and by supporting good quality learning.
