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 An African and Asian Perspective 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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Comparing Capacity Building Frameworks for Computer Science Education in Underdeveloped Countries: An African and Asian Perspective Jandelyn PlaneIsabella.
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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
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