prospects and challenges of building capacity for …
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PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES OF BUILDING CAPACITYPROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES OF BUILDING CAPACITYFOR SPACE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT IN FOR SPACE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICAAFRICA
Written/Presented ByWritten/Presented By
JJosephoseph O. AkinyedeO. Akinyede (Director/Chief Executive) and Kayode Adepoju (Scientific Resea(Director/Chief Executive) and Kayode Adepoju (Scientific Research Officer)rch Officer)African Regional Centre for Space Science and Technology EducatiAfrican Regional Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in English (ARCSSTEon in English (ARCSSTE‐‐E),E),Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Campus, IleObafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Campus, Ile‐‐Ife, NigeriaIfe, Nigeria
ISPRS Commission VI MidISPRS Commission VI Mid‐‐Term Symposium,Term Symposium,ITC, Enschede, The Netherlands.ITC, Enschede, The Netherlands.2nd 2nd –– 4th June, 20104th June, 2010
THEME: CROSSTHEME: CROSS‐‐BORDER EDUCATION FOR GLOBAL GEOBORDER EDUCATION FOR GLOBAL GEO‐‐INFORMATIONINFORMATION
1. Introduction
2. Relevance And Direction Of Capacity Building
3. Capacity Building Centres Of Excellence In Africa
4. Challenges Of Capacity Building In Africa
5. Areas Of Space Technology Where Africa Needs To Build capacity
and Competency
5.1 Capacity Building through Distance Learning
5.2 Educational Networking And Know-How-Technology–Transfer
(KHTT)
5.3 Capacity Building Through Basic Space Education
5.4 Capacity Building Through International Cooperation
6.0 CONCLUSIONS
PRESENTATION OUTLINEPRESENTATION OUTLINE
• Africa’s resolve to develop competence in space technology has been underscored by increasing interest by some African countries to make space science and technology (SST) part of the overall development strategy, in view of its invaluable benefits, and to contribute to its own development and knowledge globally.
• It is evident that Space technology offers a wide range of innovative and cost-effective solutions to the challenges of development, arising from the need for geospatial data acquisition and critical communication infrastructures.
• In responce to calls by Africa’s scientists, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD)’s Science and Technology objectives focus on the core challenges of food production, health, energy, informationcommunications, mining and industrial production.
• To achieve this, capacity building in SST, and education in SST as a whole,become paramount, especially towards accelerated development and achievement of the objectives of regional economic reforms andthe millennium development goals.
INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION
• Impact of the utilization of SST, particularly GI, in many sectors of the economy, such as petroleum, solid minerals, forestry, agriculture, transport and aviation, environment security, defense, tourism, population census, monitoring and control education, health and water resources management, cannot be overemphasized.
• Increasing interest in building and using a Geospatial Data Infrastructure (GDI) for decision-making and development has brought to the frontburners the need for the relevant and proactive capacity building in Africa.
IntroductionIntroduction contdcontd..
• Capacity building (UNCED, 1992) encompases country’s development of human, scientific, technological, organizational, and institutional resources and capabilities.
• Developing human skills and infrastructures to reduce the level of risk.
• Development of facilities, programmes or other related resources and ability to perform specific tasks.
• Capacity to evaluate and address crucial questions related to policy choices and modes of implementation among different options.
• To address the dearth of space scientists, engineers and technicians relevant to the development of space science and technology components in Africa, with a view of maximizing their benefits.
RELEVANCE AND DIRECTION OF CAPACITY RELEVANCE AND DIRECTION OF CAPACITY BUILDINGBUILDING
• Africa’s recent breakthrough in Earth observation technology; e. g. AlSat-1by Algeria (2002), NigeriaSat-1 by Nigeria (2003) and Sumbandilat Sat. by South Africa (2008), thereby contributing to availability of and access
to GI for sustainable development in Africa; AlSat-2a and NigeriaSat-2 are coming up soon.
• South Africa’s rich heritage in astronomy, with the development of the South African Large Telescope (SALT) and proposed hosting and construction of the Square kilometer array (SKA) radio telescope , is a major achievement for Africa.
• SALT and SKA will contribute to the study of outer space knowledge sharing in the global arena and stimulating/inspiring the youth and the general public to develop interest in science.
• Key factors in these processes are adequate provision of critical mass of skilled manpower, improved organizational capacity and institutional reforms, through know-how-technology-transfer (KHTT) and capacity building in general.
RELEVANCE AND DIRECTION OF CAPACITY BUILDINGRELEVANCE AND DIRECTION OF CAPACITY BUILDING
• The African Resource and Environmental Management (ARM) Satellites constellation project: a collaboration among African countries (4), with defined user requirements and to be implemented under a Steering Committee and Technical, Applications, Legal and Capacity Building Subcommittees
RELEVANCE AND DIRECTION OF CAPACITY BUILDINGRELEVANCE AND DIRECTION OF CAPACITY BUILDING
• South Africa’s rich heritage in astronomy, with associated capacity builing institutions of excellence in astronomy spanned more than180 years of history
• United Nations (UN) Regional Centres for Space Science and Technology Education in Morocco and Nigeria and their mandates
• Regional Centre For Training In Aerospace Surveys (RECTAS), Nigeria and the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD), etc.
• Universities/institutions across Africa with curricula for capacity building in space science and technology, especially photogrammetry, RS and GIS, as well as departments of electrical/electronics and communication engineering
• Capacity building programmes of the space agencies integrated into the satellite development programmes; e. g. the KHTT to Nigeria and Algeria by SSTL
• Pulling together the existing infrastructure and skilled workforce in institutions and industries, as well as developing links with emerging initiative such as the proposed ARM satellites
CAPACITY BUILDING CENTRES OF CAPACITY BUILDING CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE IN AFRICAEXCELLENCE IN AFRICA
PGD/MSc PROGRAMME IMPLIMENTATION OF ARCSSTE‐E AS AN EXAMPLE
• Courses offered are RS and GIS, Satellite Communication, Satellite Meteorology and
Basic and Atmospheric Sciences (will soon include Space Law and GNSS)
• PGD/MSc programme is run in modular form; UNOOSA provides the curricula.
• During the first two months, core modules are delivered covering
fundamental aspects of the courses and are common to all the course options.
• In the following four months, participants follow‐up their different course options.
• During the last three months, participants concentrate on their pilot projects,
with some elements of data gathering and integration and field research, which
are chosen by the participants in line with their special areas of interest.
• The M. Sc. Programme is run concurrently on successful completion of the PGD
course. It comprises a research project implementation for a duration of 12
months usually in participant’s home country and in collaboration with the
relevant institutions.
Yearly distribution of participants since commencement of studies in 2000
• Constraints to capacity building in Africa as addressed by various authors include:
i. Obsolete and rigid curricula and facilities
ii. Difficulty of releasing many officers for long-term training even when majority require retraining to update their knowledge in the emerging newtechnologies.
iii. Lack of cooperation and networking among relevant departments even in the same institution:
iv. Lack of financial resources for overseas training:
v. Absence of uniform academic standard and lack of networking:
vi. Lack of provision for continuing education and training:
vii. Inadequate enabling technologies: i.e poor ICT infrastructure
CHALLENGESCHALLENGES OF CAPACITY BUILDING IN AFRICAOF CAPACITY BUILDING IN AFRICA
• Hi-Tech principles and equipments such as telescopes and accessories for astronomical studies, solar terrestrial physics, cosmology and origin of life, meteorology and climatology, ionosphere physics,geomagnetism, communication physics, remote sensing, rocketry and balloons, satellite science and technology.
• Ground stations technology for tracking and telemetry and command, satellite data applications, acquisition and processing of satellite data from various satellites, Operation of multi-choice satellite archiving station,
• Geodesy and geodynamics: surveying and mapping, monitoring of coastal deformation and subsidence, monitoring of sea level rise, monitoring of seismic and geodynamic phenomena, application of Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR), Very Long Interferometery (VLBI) and GPS network.
• Development of Geospatial Data Infrastructure (GDI) for GI acquisition,management, disemination and sharing for decision-making purposes.
AREAS OF SPACE TECHNOLOGY WHERE AFRICA NEEDS TO AREAS OF SPACE TECHNOLOGY WHERE AFRICA NEEDS TO BUILD BUILD CAPACITY AND CAPACITY AND COMPETENCYCOMPETENCY
• Educate high-level policy-makers through short-term intensive training on the benefits and spin-offs from space technology and GI.
• Mid-career (re)training for professional and technical support staff to keep pace with the advancing technology
• Awareness/sensitisation of the general Public through mass media and public lectures on the benefits derivable from space technology.
• Space also inspires young people: include space education curricula in primary and secondary schools
Accelerated development of critical mass can be achieved in these areas through the following:
AREAS OF SPACE TECHNOLOGY WHERE AFRICA NEEDS TO BUILD AREAS OF SPACE TECHNOLOGY WHERE AFRICA NEEDS TO BUILD CAPACITY AND CAPACITY AND COMPETENCYCOMPETENCY
• Provision of ICT backbone, especially space-based communications networks, as an important component of distance education/e-learning (tele-education).
• Tele-education provides opportunity to educate a large number of students spread over wide geographical areas, including interactive learning between teachers and students.
• NASRDA’s pilot projects on tele-education and tele-medicine based on the first Nigeria’s communication satellite, NigcomSat-1(with 40 transponders in C, Ka, Ku and L bands; launched in 2007 and failed in 2008) is a good innovation.
• NigcomSat-1R (a replacement for NigconSat-1) will provide a critical and innovative collaboration for capacity-building in SST in Africa. To be experimented by ARCSSTE-E for distance education among member states.
• ARCSSTE-E’s lecture will be uplinked to the satellite, and then it can be received over other regions in Africa where the transponder’s ‘foot print’is covered
(i)(i) Capacity BuildingCapacity Building TThrough Distance Learninghrough Distance Learning
A typical example is the tele-education pilot project as demonstrated in Nigeria to be implemented in collaboration with the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN)
(Odimayomi, 2007 and Akinyede and Boroffice, 2008)).
• Strengthening educational networking promotes knowledge and facilities sharing among experts, similar to existing ITC – RECTAS cooperation.
• Has the advantage of regular update of curricula especially in distance education mode including north-south staff and student exchange programmes.
• Educational networking provides enhanced opportunity for interaction between the experts at home and in diaspora.
• Follow-up programmes to Know-How-Technology–Transfer (KHTT)through the appropriate networking assist in building competence.
(ii) (ii) Capacity Building Through ECapacity Building Through Educational Networkingducational Networking
(iii) Capacity Building Through Basic Space Education Governments of many space‐fairing nations place great importance
on developing and maintaining the skills base needed for the economy
of tomorrow.
Space is a key hub for training highly skilled scientists and engineers and also
inspires young people and society at large.
A useful tool in achieving government’s wider priority of increasing enrolement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics‐related subjects and careers by young people.
Through a coordinated programme of outreach, awareness and space‐related education activities with links to the curriculum and teachers.
Along this direction, ARCSSTE‐E has been promoting space education awareness and outreach activities, as well as developing curricula for space education in primary and secondary schools in Africa.
Photographs of events at the 2009 World Space Week celebrations in Abuja
• The Africa reference Frame (AFREF) project is fundamental to the production of a uniform, reliable and co-ordinated geo-spatial information and will require a continuous international cooperation in Africa
• The proposed African Institute of Space Science (AISS) would promote cross-cutting and multidisciplinary research and development in SST to address the development needs of Africa.
• The ARM satellite project is a collaborative efforts invloving four (ormore) African countries and will be facilitated through collaborative efforts, including knowledge development, generation and sharing.
• GEO, a global initiative to coordinate and promote use of Geo-information globally, includes capacity building through international cooperation; many African countries are registered members.
(iv) Capacity Building Through Regional/International Cooperation
• The need for proactive capacity building in GI production and SST development in Africa has become more critical than before in view of the invaluable benefits, direct and indirect, derived from GI/GDI andSST applications
• To overcome the challenges of building critical mass of GI/Space scientists and engineers, the relevant and cost-effective ICT infrastructure must be put in place to support the appropriatedistance learning and educational networking programmes,
• In addition, regional and international cooperation provides theopportunuty for knowledge development, generation and sharing,including the know-how-technology-transfer follow-up programmes.
• Because space also inspires young peaple, effort is being made to promote science education and develop the knowledge-base through appropriate space education curricula for primary and secondary schools in Africa.
CONCLUSION.CONCLUSION.
