SuGIK’s first set of activities aimed at strengthening administrative and technical capacities of the African partner universities (University of Cabo Verde - UniCV-, and University of Mozambique - UCM) and facilitate an efficient implementation of a distance-learning Master’s programme in GIS&T.
The African partner institutions conducted a regional and local needs assessment on professional capacities in areas of geographic information. The needs assessment served as basis to design the curricula and the specific competencies that the GIS&T postgraduate course should promote. Subsequently, the first and second editions of the Master Courses were promoted with success.
Generally speaking, the plan outlined for the first year of the project’s implementation was not modified in a significant way, and almost all activities foreseen were implemented.
The highly positive collaboration during this first phase is giving shape to a regional and national partnership network that will guaratee the project's sustainability through the promotion of good practice, skills transfer opportunities, and thereby encouraging economic development and cooperation through the use of Geographic Information Science teaching and learning applied to sustainable development.
Since the beginning of its implementation (and until March 2010), SuGIK has accomplished the following results:
1. Computer hardware and software (15 computers and 1 server) for the University of Mozambique (UCM)'s laboratory, acquired and installed,
2. Laboratory at the University of Cabo Verde (UniCV) installed,
3. First and second editions of the master’s courses in both partner institutions were promoted with the following number of candidates and enrolled students at each one of the institutions:
| Institution | Applicants | Approved Applicants |
| UniCV 1st edition | 40 | 20 |
| UniCV 2nd edition | 22 | 20 |
| UCM 1st edition | 22 | 16 |
| UCM 2nd edition | 32 | 23 |
It is interesting to highlight that the partner institutions established contacts with local authorities in order to attract qualified professionals in key development sectors and motivate them to apply for the Masters Course implemented within the framework of the SuGIK project. As a result, the profile of the candidates shows a strategy of personal growth, reinforcing the importance of lifelong learning, the need to increase awareness and training opportunities in the areas of Geographic Information Technologies, as well as to support local entities' initiatives to promote training of qualified human resources in sectors considered strategic for development (territory planning, natural resources management, teaching, etc.)
4. Project Associate ESRI-Portugal made the software licenses available, both to the institutions and to the students admitted at the course. ESRI also provided the relevant technical support.
5. Following a needs identification exercise and in line with its results, the curricular units were created:
- Geospatial Databases and
- GIS for Local Communities
6. Teaching and evaluation activites of the SuGIK courses were undertaken at the partner institutions:
| Edition of the GIScience Master Program | UniCV | UCM |
|---|---|---|
| First Edition |
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| Second Edition |
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It is worth mentioning the inclusion of an additional module to support student’s dissertation work : Research Methodologies. This module was possible due to the support received from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation ensuring teacher’s travel costs to both partner countries.
7. Students developed projects involving local communities. This allowed for a first assessment of the GIS application in several relevant areas and domains:
- Public health (namely strategies for the control and combat of dengue fever and malaria),
- Marine and Coastal Management,
- Heritage preservation,
- Biodiversity and conservation;
- Public security and crime fighting policies, among others.
8. E-learning platform was installed and access to it granted to the relevant users. With the support of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, SuGIK moodle administrator could travel to Mozambique and give direct support to the local teams, installing and configuring the Moodle platform at UCM. This visit was also the opportunity to organise a training session addressed to local teachers and administrators.
9. The Postgraduate and Master Course in Geographic Information Systems and Science was recognised by local institutions.
10. A survey on geographic information technology and geographic information technical staff requirements started in both countries.
11. The courses' second edition also triggered a closer collaboration between SuGIK’s teachers and local faculty members, preparing the path for knowledge transfer and capacity building, as foreseen by the project documents. The main concern being to allow for a gradual course transition, based on quality criteria and adequate resource and technology use, sustainability of the process and, in doing so, to ensure the continuity of GIScience advanced teaching in the partner institutions after project-end.
enerally speaking, the planning outlined for the first year of the project’s implementation was not modified in a significant way, and almost all activities foreseen were implemented. However, it must be mentioned that at the start of the project it was necessary to review the Plan of Action because of the school calendar of the partner institutions did not allow for the beginning of the courses to coincide with the foreseen project’s startup date and consequently to proceed with the implementation schedule initially proposed. In fact, some activities began before the official beginning of the Project (29 of August 2009), but it was not possible to carry out the set of activities necessary for the launch of the course’s first editions in both partner institutions, so as to ensure that the beginning of the academic year and the GIScience master course could coincide (as foreseen in the Plan of Action). In that sense, the Plan of Action was revised in order to integrate the changes that stem from the dates defined for the startup of the first edition of the course at Cape Verde University (UniCV) and Catholic University of Mozambique (UCM).
Although, in the first year, a discrepancy between the dates initially set for some of the actions was registered, along the second and third years that deviation will be progressively diminished, none withstanding the fact that the ending of the course’s third edition at UCM is foreseen for December 2011, that is, four months after the expected final date of the Project.
Of the main activities developed and accomplished results we should mention:
- Acquiring and installing computer hardware and software (15 computers and 1 server) for the UCM’s laboratory.
- Installing a laboratory at the UniCV.
- Promotion of the first and second editions of the master’s courses in both institutions, with the following number of candidates and enrolled students at each one of the institutions:
