IT teachers and many students at computer workstations

7. August 2023

7. August 2023

Computer skills training rooms – learners, teachers and local community benefit

A hospital, schools, vocational courses, meeting facilities and water and electricity supply – our project partner KIUMA has built up an extensive municipal infrastructure in southern Tanzania. Shops have sprung up around the large-scale site, and the neighbouring town has grown in size. KIUMA enjoys an admirable reputation nationwide. So far, however, no option has existed for offering computer skills training in the entire region; this includes a total lack of technical possibilities, such as computer rooms for teaching skills or an internet connection. As a result, only a meagre number of students and relatives of KIUMA employees had computer skills. Also, residents in the district, only in rare and exceptional cases, are familiar with information technologies and have PC competences. Together with wortundtat, KIUMA has now created a model solution, making the world’s knowledge available on the Internet a tangible reality.
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wortundtat project coordinator Jakob-Adolf explains the benefits of the computer training rooms.

Computer skills training – people interested from around the region have access

In recent months, we have set up three computer skills training rooms in KIUMA, each equipped with 30 computer workstations, and they were finally officially opened in Spring 2023. The project was funded by the DEICHMANN Foundation and part-financed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

An IT training centre offering so many places, and a concept benefitting not only the students and teachers but also the community in the area is unparalleled in the south of the country. A jury made up of Tanzanian citizens recently awarded it as a significant innovative flagship project.

Now people can search the “library of the world” here.

Jakob Adolf, wortundtat project coordinator

Across-the-board impact – people benefit in numerous ways

From the time of the project inception, the computer skills training rooms were designed in such a way that they can theoretically be used both during daytime, as well as at night. In this way, we can obtain a maximum return on investment. A few examples include:
  • Teaching students computer skills: the approximately 1,600 pupils, students and apprentices at the KIUMA site learn how to undertake information searches using the Internet, use Office Suite programs and message using e-mail or messenger services. This equips them with skills for a job market outside the region and multiplies their skill-sets in an increasingly digital professional world.
  • Training teachers: 72 72 teachers from the various educational institutions at the KIUMA site receive computer skills training. They are then in a more favourable position to take advantage of further education and vocational training opportunities via the Internet. This enhances the knowledge level of the teaching staff. At the same time, the offering increases the attractiveness of KIUMA schools as a workplace in a very remote region of the country.
  • Digitalising KIUMA management: with Internet access, we will be able to digitalise the entire management of KIUMA. The school administration will be able to use cloud-based services and receive or make online wire transfers. This makes it easier to track payments and collect receivables. School fees are increasingly accepted using cashless payment methods. Tanzanian society has the knowledge and the technical resources to make this possible. KIUMA now also contributes by offering the relevant processes.
  • Enabling residents across the region access to computers and the Internet: employees and the population living in the neighbourhood are invited to use the computer skills training rooms. They are able to take computer skills courses against payment of a small fee covering expenses. Learning and search opportunities contribute to improving the general knowledge of the inhabitants and to enhancing the quality of life in the region. On specific topics, people are able to search purposely for solutions on the Internet; for example, farming methods, repairing machinery and tools or helpful “life hacks” for coping with life in the region.

Further reports from the project in Tanzania

Weitreichende Auswirkungen – Menschen profitieren sehr vielseitig

Von Beginn an sind die Computer-Schulungsräume so angelegt, dass sie theoretisch durchgängig Tag und Nacht genutzt werden können. So können wir mit der Investition eine maximale Wirkung erzielen. Einige Beispiele:
  • Lernenden Computerkenntnisse vermitteln: Die rund 1.600 Schülerinnen und Schüler, Studierende und Auszubildende auf dem KIUMA-Gelände lernen, im Internet zu recherchieren, Office-Programme zu bedienen und Kommunikation per E-Mail oder Messenger-Diensten. Das bereitet sie auf einen Arbeitsmarkt außerhalb der Region vor und erhöht ihre Kompetenzen, in einer zunehmend digitalen Berufswelt.
  • Lehrkräfte weiterbilden: 72 Lehrkräfte der verschiedenen Bildungseinrichtungen auf dem KIUMA-Gelände erhalten Schulungen im Umgang mit Computern. Anschließend können sie über das Internet Fort- und Weiterbildungsangebote wahrnehmen. Das verbessert das Know-how des Lehrpersonals. Zugleich erhöht das Angebot die Attraktivität der KIUMA-Schulen als Arbeitsplatz in einer sehr abgelegenen Region des Landes.
  • KIUMA-Verwaltung digitalisieren: Mit dem Zugang zum Internet können wir nach und nach die gesamte Verwaltung von KIUMA digitalisieren. Die Schulverwaltung greift auf Cloudservices zurück und empfängt oder tätigt Onlineüberweisungen. So lassen sich Zahlungen leichter verfolgen und Forderungen besser eintreiben. Das Schulgeld wird zunehmend auf bargeldlosen Wegen entgegengenommen. In der tansanischen Gesellschaft sind die Kenntnisse und technischen Mittel dafür vorhanden. Nun bietet KIUMA auch die entsprechenden Prozesse an.
  • Bewohner der Region den Zugang zu Computer und Internet ermöglichen: Angehörige der Angestellten und die in der Nachbarschaft lebende Bevölkerung sind eingeladen, die Computer-Schulungsräume mitzunutzen. Sie belegen dort Computerkurse gegen kleine Aufwandsentschädigungen. Die Lern- und Recherchemöglichkeiten tragen mit dazu bei, das Allgemeinwissen der Bewohner zu verbessern und die Lebensqualität der Region zu steigern. Bei konkreten Fragestellungen können die Menschen im Internet gezielt nach Lösungen suchen – beispielsweise, wenn es um Methoden zum Ackerbau, um die Reparatur von Maschinen und Werkzeugen oder hilfreiche „Lifehacks“ für das Leben in der Region geht.

Computer skills training rooms – one of a kind in the region

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