Exposure visit to MSM to strengthen WASH in Sierra Leone
From 02 until 06 December a group of six participants from Sierra Leone visited Maastricht School of Management (MSM) for an exposure visit to learn about the Dutch TVET and water facilities. The study visit supports the project’s primary objectives of strengthening WASH education in Sierra Leone and making the Government Technical Institute (GTI) fit for purpose in this endeavor.
On the first day of the exposure visit the participants were welcomed by MSM CEO Meinhard Gans and Project Manager Patrick Martens. The focus of this one-week program was on giving the participants new handles in strategy and implementation and a good look into how Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) is organized in the Netherlands. Therefore, it was of importance to first learn about the Netherlands and its systems. Dorus Evekink provided the group with a presentation of the Netherlands which was followed by a lecture on Strategic Formulation & Implementation by Oliver Olsen.
The following day Oliver Olsen, who is Senior Lecturer of Marketing and Strategy at MSM continued the lecture and gave the group an insight on how to improve their strategies and how to implement this. The group also learned about Marketing Strategy and Human Resource Management Strategy which was taught by Patrick Martens.
A work visit to Brabant Water in Eindhoven was conducted to learn about how WASH is being organized in the Netherlands. Brabant Water is a climate-neutral drinking water company that supplies drinking water to 2.5 million inhabitants and companies in North Brabant. The group was very satisfied with the visit as it provided them with information and understanding about education at Brabant Water.
Dr. Wynand Bodewes facilitated a lecture on Small Business Management & Entrepreneurship Cooperation which also included a discussion session to share knowledge that can be implemented in the “Sister TMT” project with Fourah Bay.
The packed program finished with 20 minute presentations where they talked amongst others about challenges, needs and development in the Sierra Leone WASH Education. To close the exposure visit a closing ceremony took place where the participants were awarded a certificate of participation.
Through this informative exposure visit the participants gained knowledge on multiple topics that they can now implement and share in Sierra Leone to improve WASH Education.
Strengthening WASH Expertise in Sierra Leone
For the project, ‘Strengthening WASH Expertise in Sierra Leone’ MSM supports GTI’s transition from a TVET college to a Polytechnic college making relevant strategic inputs to MEST policies, taking a strategic view of the TVET sector in WASH and develop the capacity to undertake relevant applied research. The WASH focused vocational and technical training and education is geared to the needs of students in the context of Sierra Leone’s current WASH development priorities and the requirements of the private sector, Government and NGOs.
Nuffc Orange Knowledge Programme
This project is part of the Orange Knowledge Programme. Nuffic OKP contributes to a society’s sustainable and inclusive development by providing access to education and training for professionals and organisations in technical vocational education and training (TVET) and higher education. It is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs as part of its development cooperation policy. The subsidy programme is managed by Nuffic, a Dutch non-profit organisation for internationalisation in education. It offers funding for long-term, demand-driven partnerships between Dutch knowledge institutions and organisations in 19 participating countries, as well as individual scholarships and Tailor-Made Trainings in all 53 selected countries. The € 195-m, five-year programme ends mid-2022, enabling tens of thousands to change their future. From the Dutch development cooperation policy, 4 priority themes have been selected on which to focus in the programme: Food and Nutrition Security; Water, Energy and Climate; Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights; and Security and Rule of Law. Cross-cutting themes in this programme are inclusion, employability and environmental sustainability.
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