1 IRNEWS

International Relations ▶ Poly Heights, Room 101 ▶ Tel: +264 61 2072250 email: ctlhabanello@polytechnic.edu.na

Prof Ayewoh: advices the Polytechnic

to venture in fund raising

Gloria Karita: at Georg Agricola

University of Applied Sciences, Germany

Polytechnic of Namibia: International Relations Department

Newsletter 2014 ▶ FEBRUARY Issue

Frinda Uunona My experience in Finland

RheinMain’s Colaboration extends Beyond Engineering

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ANNOUNCEMENT: International Relations recently moved into new offices...

...on the first floor of Poly Heights, Room 101

Stop by and say hello!

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Ms Gloria Veindira Karita, a junior lecturer in the School of Management Sciences, became the first visiting lecturer from the Polytechnic of Namibia (PON) to lecture at Georg Agricola University of Applied Sciences in Germany. During her two week visit, she taught courses in marketing and conducted research on “Awareness of students in Germany of Namibia as a tourist destination.”

Ms Karita’s exchange was made possible under the Memorandum Agreement between Georg Agricola University of Applied Sciences and the Polytechnic of Namibia, signed in 2011.

The marketing lecturer, who recently returned from her two-week assignment, said she found students at Georg Agricola University to be active and eager to learn and discover.

“They were interested in areas of marketing and how it is applied in an African context” she said.

“We discussed at length marketing ethics and how they relate to the context of globalisation,” she narrated. Adding that students were keen to learn how products and services are marketed in Africa.

She said many students were interested to learn more about Namibia and that she was able to share some cultural and social aspects of Namibian life.

Karita said she will treasure her experience and the opportunity given to her by PON to lecture to students from different backgrounds, an opportunity she said “certainly equipped me with added confidence

to provide better service to my students”.

When she was not teaching, she visited some of the tourist attraction sites and went on excursions which were arranged by the host university. Amongst these excursions were a tour of the German Mining Museum in Bochum and a visit to Cologne, Düsseldorf and Saarbrücken amongst other cities.

Karita lectures at Georg Agricola University of

Applied Sciences

Ms Gloria Veindira Karita and the Vice-President of Georg Agricola University of Applied Sciences, Prof Dr Christoph Dauber

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RheinMain’s Colaboration extends beyond

Engineering

RheinMain University of Applied Sciences, one of the Polytechnic of Namibia’s active partners, has extended its collaboration activities to the Schools of Human Sciences and Management Sciences.

Since the Polytechnic and RheinMain University signed a memorandum of understanding five years ago, the collaboration was confined to student and faculty exchanges in the Department of Civil Engineering in the School of Engineering.

The extension of the collaboration to other schools followed a high ranking visit to the Polytechnic of Namibia in February 2014. The visiting delegation included: the Head of International Relations, Ms Birgit Klose; the Adviser to International and Exchange Students, Ms Silke Schuster; and Professor for Construction Management, Stefan Plaum.

During their one week visit to the Polytechnic, the RheinMain visitors consulted with various schools such as the School of Human Sciences and the School of Management Sciences. They agreed to collaborate in curriculum development, student exchange programmes, staff exchanges and joint research.

During the meeting with staff in the Accounting, Economics and Finance departments in the School of Management Sciences, the institutions compared notes on their internship programmes. The Polytechnic was especially interested in RheinMain’s Bachelor in Business Law programme, which they want to emulate for the new programme in Accounting. The programme at the Polytechnic has a compulsory work integrated learning component, which the Polytechnic needs RheinMain’s assistance to implement.

During their stay, the RheinMain delegates presented a certificate of partnership to the Polytechnic, making the Polytechnic the preferred African partner for RheinMain University. While handing over the certificate, Ms Klose pledged her university’s commitment to deepening the cooperation it is sharing with the Polytechnic.

 

UNZA STUDENTS VISIT PON: Sixty (60) engineering students from the Engineering Society of the University of Zambia (UNZA), recently, visited the Polytechnic of Namibia campus. Their aim was to familiarise themselves with PON Schools of Engineering and Natural Resources and Spartial Sciences activities, specifically how their counterparts at the PON participate in various engineering activities in the industry while still studying. The students were addressed by staff from the International Relations Department, School of Engineering and Natural Resources and Spartial Sceinces.

At UNZA they are enrolled in the following programmes: Agricultural Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Geomatic Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering.

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The Polytechnic of Namibia (PON)needs to explore other sources of funding to supplement the government resources allocated to the institution on a yearly basis.

While there are various funding sources, the most accessible and easy targets in Namibia are fund raising, grants and planned giving.

This was the observation of Prof Michael Ayewoh, Fulbright Specialist for Research and Sponsored Programs Administration for the US Department of State, who spent three weeks at the PON, in an interview with IR News.

Prof Ayewoh was quick to point out that Namibia has no history of giving, added that it is PON’s responsibility to educate both internal and external stakeholders on giving to the institution as part of their social responsibility.

According to Prof Ayewoh, PON can utilise its alumni database both locally and internationally either to raise funds or to support current and future students in kind.

“All over the world, alumni steer their former universities to high levels through various ways such as allowing students to shadow them at

work, holding free workshops aimed at encouraging students to overcome challenges, and also advising them on appropriate fields of study” the Specialist Fulbright added.

Prof Ayewoh said a spirit of philanthropy can be instilled into a nation and that institutions of higher education are in a good position to lead the way.

Planned giving is a fund raising method where citizens contribute to an institution by means of bequests, wills and insurances.

This can be done in exchange for one’s name being permanently engraved on an institution block or building, a practice Prof Ayewoh said is common in the USA.

“Be good to students. Do not mistreat them while on campus, because you do not know where they will end up after their studies” he advised, adding that alumni can end up being a significant source of funds for a university.

“Raising funds” he noted,“ should be based on a strategic goal, activities such as promoting school spirit by selling memorabilia to students, are easy to handle and a reliable source of income for a university”.

During his stay at the PON, Prof Ayewoh spoke to the executives and deans and conducted workshops and trainings on how to set an agenda for grant proposals and how to manage grant awards.

His visit culminated in an establishment of a Grantsmanship Learning Community (GLC). The purpose of the community is to create a resourceful campus based environment for sharing and nurturing best practices in successful development, receipt and effective management of external grants to support professional and institutional development initiatives.The GLC will be sustained via a “GLC Listserv” moderated by Ms Olivia Louw the PON Webmaster.

Prof Ayewoh said he was happy he could contribute to the PON’s institutional capacity building in grants, contracts and cooperative agreements.

The Fulbright Specialist, who left for his duty station at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, is scheduled to return to the PON in September this year for another three weeks as part of his responsibility to continue his capacity building mission.

Prof Ayewoh advices the Polytechnic to venture in fund raising

Prof Ayewoh (far left) pictured with staff of the Communication and Marketing Department at the Polytechnic. (L-R) Mr Kaitira Kandjii: Director, Victoria Kangombe and Veiwe Shempe.

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Frinda Uunona is spending a semester as an exchange student at Hämeen Ammattikorkeakoulu (HAMK) University of Applied Sciences in Forssa, Finland. In her own words, she shares her experiences.

IMPRESSIONS OF FINLAND

Finland possesses a wealth of beautiful long trees and lakes. Here people are living so close to nature and are constantly learning more about the plants, trees and animals. Finnish people are very kind, helpful, open, sincere, and reserved in public. Most of my friends here are curious to know about Namibia, especially the natural geography and cultures.

Compared to Namibia, Finland has efficient services such as public transportation, education, health care, banking, safety and technology. However, goods are very expensive here, particularly the food. Something I noticed is that pedestrians have designated paved paths separate from the vehicles road. That makes it very easy to get through the town of Forssa and other towns as well.

A breathtaking experience is that of going to the sauna, a cultural favorite of the Finnish. After an hour in the sauna, one goes outside and jumps in cold weather or rolls in snow to refresh and then goes back in the sauna again. After each visit to the sauna I felt good, slept better and my skin just felt fresh and nourished.

ACADEMIC MATTERS

The education system here is really technical, but classes are going well.

For the time being, we receive theoretical knowledge in the courses we enrolled and after that we will go for our work placement to apply our practical skills. Some of the courses at HAMK are online. The University encourages their students to go for exchange studies in other countries and to do the research for their thesis abroad. Infrastructures such as the library and lecture halls are excellent. I encourage other students who want to do their masters abroad to consider Finland Universities as their future academic destination.

Frinda Uunona: My experience in Finland

The Walt Disney Cultural Representative Program has selected five Polytechnic of Namibia students to participate in a 12 month long internship at Disney World Resort in Florida, USA. Of the selected students, Vincent Kahiha, Prosper Mageza, Stephanie Eichas, and Beatrice Mgbangson are studying tourism management, while Christine Simasiku is studying hospitality management.

The five students will work at either Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge or Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park

where they have options to work as: savannah guides, food and beverage host/hostess, lobby greeters, or attraction host/hostess. In addition to gaining professional experience and practical skills through their work placements, students will also have access to library services, computer based learning, and career resources.

The students will depart to take up their attachments in August and October 2014, giving them ample time to prepare for an opportunity of a lifetime.

Pictured (L-R): Christine Simasiku, Vincent Kahiha, Ms Wanjaru Muhoho-Minni (Lecturer & Program Coordinator), Prosper Mageza, Stephanie Eichas,

and Beatrice Mgbangson.

Disney selects Polytechnic Students for Internships

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The Polytechnic is currently hosting hospitality and tourism exchange students from Karinthia University of Applied Sciences in Austria. Stefan Reschke, Sebastian Gritzner, and Michael Zajc share their experiences exploring Namibia’s tourist attractions.

When we landed at Hosea Kutako International Airport, we could not believe we were in Africa. Everything was green, with mountains and hills. This was not what we expected! When we entered Windhoek we began to see more of what we expected, and prepared to enjoy our six month stay here.

Our first Braai and KapanaOur Namibian friends prepared a welcome braai for us. There was all kinds of meat: kudu, zebra, oryx, ostrich, springbok and of course various salads and side dishes. At the braai we had a chance to meet more Namibians, who told us a lot about Africa, Namibia and Windhoek.

The next day, local friends took us to have real kapana in Katutura. We didn’t know what it would be like, but when we arrived in Katutura we were impressed. We had never seen anything like it before. We recommend everyone should try kapana and visit Katutura to see another side of Windhoek.

Trip to SwakopmundWe travelled to Swakopmund by minibus, a new experience for us. Although it was hot and crowded, it was a great experience to ride together and talk with local people. When we arrived in Swakopmund we went to see the Atlantic Ocean. The view was so beautiful we decided to eat dinner at a restaurant on the waterfront.

The following day we went sand boarding (sliding down the dune on a

wooden plank) in the Namib Desert. Afterwards we went swimming in the ocean while a DVD of our sand boarding was being made. In the evening, our friends from the sand boarding company showed us the night life in Swakopmund.

Austrian Exchange Students enjoy sights

Left: Students enjoying Namibia. Above: Pictured with a cultural dance

troupe that performed at the student’s welcoming.