Comparing Capacity Building Comparing Capacity Building Frameworks for Computer Science Frameworks for Computer Science

Education in Underdeveloped Education in Underdeveloped Countries:Countries:

An African and Asian PerspectiveAn African and Asian Perspective

Jandelyn Plane Isabella Venter

University of Maryland College Park University of the Western Cape

Department of Computer Science Department of Computer Science

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Purpose of this PresentationPurpose of this Presentation

• Summary of the state of Computer Science Education in underdeveloped countries as we have seen it in our work

• Introduction of programs we have been involved with

• Frameworks used in these programs for comparison

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Current Computer Science Education Current Computer Science Education challenges in these countrieschallenges in these countries

• Less technological background as students enter a program

• Wider variety needed within a program• Stricter university wide rules on what

else needs to be taken• Lack of required practice, due to

emphasis on theoretical

• Teaching• Who to teachWho to teach• Curriculum choicesCurriculum choices

• Technique• Face-to-face• Distance Education

• Support• Institutional questionsInstitutional questions

Framework options Framework options

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Review of projects and Review of projects and programmes that we participate in: programmes that we participate in:

• Rwanda• Afghanistan• South Africa• AVOIR

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Summary of the project:Summary of the project:

RwandaRwanda

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Teaching and support

• Teaching of courses• Course support• Curriculum design• The University of Maryland College Park

– one-on-one support

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Expanding the SupportExpanding the Support

Technique

• Committee design of curriculum with consultation from UMD

• Face-to-face meetings• Asynchronous distance education

methods–Email, web page. …–DVDs with “tutor assisted video

instruction”

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Summary of the project:Summary of the project:

AfghanistanAfghanistan

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SupportSupport• Curriculum

development • Faculty

member development support from a worldwide alliance of universities

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KU CS Faculty Members and me KU CS Faculty Members and me (Kabul, October 2005)(Kabul, October 2005)

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Afghanistan professors, Johnson and Afghanistan professors, Johnson and me at UWC, South Africame at UWC, South Africa

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Face-to-face classes were given in both Kabul, Afghanistan and Cape Town, South Africa.

Alliance members presented classes in programming skills, engineering principles, research, etc.

TeachingTeaching

( Worst case scenario is during the winter in Maryland, USA)

Meeting time is at:3:30 am (EST) in USA11:30 am in Cape Town1:00 pm in Kabul7:30 pm in Sydney

SupportSupport Synchronous communication through video conferencing and the web

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Support - graduate seminars Support - graduate seminars through desktop video conferencingthrough desktop video conferencing

• Weekly seminar on Thursday afternoon (Kabul Time)

– thesis writing skills

– computer science content

– schedule and events

– presentations by all participants

• Branches were created later for a weekly

– seminar for English language development

– meetings with thesis supervisor and individual student

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Summary of the UWC Summary of the UWC programme:programme:

South Africa

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TeachingTeaching

• The three year (taught) BSc degree is followed by an Honours degree

• Students are taught core and elective courses at Honours level

• The elective courses are chosen to inform the topic of the student’s Honours research project

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TeachingTeaching

– Course work is not, per se, part of the MSc, program.

– The graduate program is very individualized and students do the necessary course work needed to fill in the gaps in knowledge considered essential for their research project.

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Masters at UWCMasters at UWC• To be accepted into the masters program,

offered at the UWC computer science department, a student must have completed a four year degree.

• In South Africa this will typically mean that a student would have passed both a Bachelors degree and an Honours degree.

• The requirement for the UWC MSc is a successfully accepted, externally reviewed thesis.

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TechniqueTechnique

• Students with different backgrounds are accepted into the Honours and Masters programme.

• Course requirements are personalised depending on the topic of research.

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SupportSupport

• in language and writing skills development

• as workshops which reflect expressed academic needs from students and staff

The Post-graduate Enrolment and Throughput project (PET project) offers support:

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SupportSupport

• Individual coursework requirement, and

• research/writing support • make it possible for students from

much less technologically advanced countries to pursue a master’s degree

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AVOIR AVOIR African Virtual Open Initiatives African Virtual Open Initiatives Resources (AVOIR) NetworkResources (AVOIR) Network

Red: AVOIR nodesBlue: Collaborating partnersYellowYellow: Supporting partners

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AVOIRAVOIR

Continent-wide support for the AVOIR Masters

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What is AVOIR?What is AVOIR?

African Virtual Open Initiatives African Virtual Open Initiatives Resources (AVOIR) NetworkResources (AVOIR) Network

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AVOIR vision• A pan-African Free and Open Source

Software ecosystem originating in Africa so that African IT professionals can respond - with local solutions - to the needs of African universities, businesses, government and civil society while also tapping global business opportunities.

• To achieve this vision, AVOIR was established as a network for capacity building in Free and Open Source Software engineering

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Teaching and SupportTeaching and Support

• All participants will teach courses

• AVOIR node universities, collaborators and supporting parties will provide the necessary support

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TechniqueTechnique• Each university will accept students

into the AVOIR Masters programme according to their own entrance requirements

• Course requirements depend on the university that will confer the degree

• All collaborating universities will provide courses to participating universities

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Comparisons – Lessons LearnedComparisons – Lessons Learned• Technique

• Progress in Internet reliability• Distance Education Methods allow Constant

Interaction

• Teaching• Curriculum – maintainability and consistency• More widely spread effect• Retention of Students

• Support• Individual relationship• Remote alliance• Local alliance

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Thank youThank you

Questions…Questions…