Students

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Kenya: WPP-Scangroup, KCB roll out university mentorship programme

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Africa/Kenya/11-10-2019/Author(a): Margaret Kalekye/Source: www.kbc.co.ke

Two of Kenya’s listed companies – WPP-Scangroup and KCB Group have partnered with Strathmore Business School to launch a program that provides university students with a platform to launch their marketing communications professional careers.

The talent incubation program dubbed “The Crucible” aims at creating a sustainable talent pipeline for the marketing and communication industry and equipping students with the necessary practical skills they need to launch their professional careers.

The program kicked off in August with the launch of the inaugural Crucible National Student Marketing Competition, an industrywide initiative that brought together marketing and communication students from all major public and private universities around the country to create an integrated marketing communication campaign for select KCB Group products.

The competition will give students an opportunity to put in practice what they learn in their advertising, public relations, marketing research and digital marketing classes.

The winning team will walk away with paid internships with a WPP-Scangroup agency of their choice and a purchase offer from KCB to commercially develop their campaign idea.

Additionally, the winners will receive a monetary token coupled with a scholarship for an advanced course in Integrated Brand Communications from the International School of Advertising among other prizes.

Speaking during a roundtable event organized by the Strathmore Business School, WPP-Scangroup Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Bharat Thakrar said that the partnership will help promote the industry, build skills and create a future pipeline of talent.

“Our most valuable business asset are the people working within WPP-Scangroup. Their insights, ideas, inputs and executions have helped our clients sustain and grow their business over the years,” said Mr. Thakrar.

Speaking on behalf of Strathmore Business School, The Head of Marketing Faculty Dr. James Njuguna said: “Employers often complain about universities producing marketing and communications students with little practical knowledge to solve real-world business problems. We hope this initiative will address some of these concerns and be a training ground for students to bridge the gap between academic theory and professional practice.”

All contestant teams have undergone the first round of judging after which 5 best teams were shortlisted and will be required to present to a final judging panel and representatives from the KCB Group.

This inaugural edition of the Crucible National Student Marketing Competition is also sponsored by Blaze by Safaricom, Kartasi industries and the International School of Advertising, and endorsed by the Association of Practitioners in Advertising among others.

Source and Image: https://www.kbc.co.ke/wpp-scangroup-kcb-roll-out-university-mentorship-programme/

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Wawira Njiru’s Food 4 Education draws global attention

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Posted By: bethnyaga 

“Ordinary men earn responsibility towards their family; extraordinary men earn duty towards their nation”

Photos by Jackson Mnyamwezi

This quote by Amit Kalantri ran through my mind while I interacted with Wawira Njiru, the founder and Executive Director of Food 4 Education.

Wawira is not your typical 28 year old. At this age, she has already found her calling which is to help the school going children who cannot afford your average meal per day.

food4education

HER CALLING IS TO HELP THE SCHOOL GOING CHILDREN

Food 4 Education was founded in 2012 and only fed 25 children. Her passion and dedication has seen them grow over the years and it now stands at a whopping 10,000 children.

Her campaign to feed school going children has been progressive and last year got a boost in the arm after it received global recognition from Cisco and a cash prize of KSh. 25M.

Also Read  Bookings Africa app revolutionalises gig economy

food4education

GLOBAL CITIZEN AND CISCO JOINED TOGETHER IN A UNIQUE PARTNERSHIP TO CREATE THE GLOBAL CITIZEN PRIZE: CISCO YOUTH LEADERSHIP AWARD

Global Citizen and Cisco joined together in a unique partnership to create the Global Citizen Prize: Cisco Youth Leadership Award to highlight the significant contributions made by young people around the world in achieving humanity’s common goals.

food4education

“I MAY BE YOUNG, BUT MY MIND IS OLD,”

The prize, awarded for the first time in 2018, honours one young change-maker helping to create a better world for all, every year.

As Wawira took us through her day to day life while feeding the children, she was collected which prompted me to ask her how she can be so out there and still so young…. This is what she had to say… “I may be young, but my mind is old,” she said amidst laughter.

“Food 4 Education is not just feeding the kids but giving them dignified, nutritious meals,” says Francine Katsoudas the Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer Cisco.

food4education

Wawira has so far employed 35 employees from the community who help her achieve her goal of feeding the 10,000 children.

As the children from Ruiru Primary school were being served lunch, I couldn’t help but notice a wrist band which was donned by all the students.

food4education

“FOOD 4 EDUCATION IS NOT JUST FEEDING THE KIDS BUT GIVING THEM DIGNIFIED, NUTRITIOUS MEALS”

“Tap2Eat is a digital mobile platform that uses cutting edge FinTech to enable public primary school children access nutritious food for education,” explains Wawira.

Parents pay Ksh 15 for the subsidized lunches using mobile money. The amount is credited to a virtual wallet linked to an NFC smart wrist band which students use to then Tap2Eat in under 5 seconds.

The meals are cheap because of international and domestic grants and donations.

food4education

“TAP2EAT IS A DIGITAL MOBILE PLATFORM THAT USES CUTTING EDGE FINTECH TO ENABLE PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN ACCESS NUTRITIOUS FOOD FOR EDUCATION,”

How it works

Food 4 Education has four head chefs and eight assistant chefs working around the clock to prepare enough food for thousands of children.

The kitchen only hires locally and partners with local farmers who supply their crops, which enables community members to earn more income. At the moment, the organization has one kitchen.

Every day, the kitchen loads up a truck with vats of cooked food. The truck then makes rounds to 11 different partnering schools in Kenya to deliver lunch by 12:40 p.m

Video courtesy: food4education.org

Source and Image: https://www.kbc.co.ke/why-wawira-njirus-food-4-education-is-making-international-headlines/

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Kenya: You can be anything you desire, President tells learners

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Africa/Kenya/03-10-2019/Author: Rose Welimo/PSCU /Source: www.kbc.co.ke

President Uhuru Kenyatta has assured students across the country especially those seating for the ongoing national examinations of the government’s commitment to facilitate them to realise their full potential.

The President said his administration takes seriously its responsibility of ensuring that all Kenyan children are accorded equal opportunity to all aspects of life including education without discrimination.

“There is no place called far in Kenya. Everywhere in Kenya is part of Kenya. And it is the responsibility of any decent government to ensure that our children wherever they may be feel that they are treated in exactly the same way as their colleagues and counterparts in other parts of the country,” the President said.

The President spoke Friday at State House Nairobi when he donated buses to three schools.

The three schools that received the vehicles were Thika School for the Visual Impaired (Kiambu County), Archbishop Eliud Wabukala ACK Malakisi High School (Bungoma County) and Nyiro Girls’ Secondary School from Baragoi, Samburu County.

The Head of State emphasized that the government will not dither in its efforts to support students to achieve their dreams in life.

“You can be anything you desire to be as long as you dedicate your every effort to it. Each one of you has the ability and capability to become great men and women in this country,” the President said as he handed over keys for the buses.

He said the government serves all parts of the country equally in terms of development as he challenged the students to work hard in their studies and uphold values of integrity, honesty and discipline.

“I want you to love yourself, work hard and be disciplined so that you can be what you desire,” the President told the students from the three schools.

President Kenyatta at the same time wished all candidates success in the ongoing national examinations and cautioned against cheating, saying his administration will ensure the policy of 100 percent transition to secondary school is fully adhered to.

“As government, we are determined to fulfill our promise and ensure that every primary school pupil who sits for national exams joins secondary school. If that is our promise, why do you have to cheat?” President Kenyatta said.

He said the government continues to construct and equip technical and vocational institutions throughout the country to absorb those who finish their secondary education but are not able to join universities.

“There are some who will join universities. Others are gifted in other areas and will join the TVETS that we are building all over the country,” the President said.

The Head of State challenged all Kenyans to use their God given gifts to make a difference in life noting that some of the most successful and prominent personalities never went to university and yet they have managed to impact society positively.

Besides the buses, the President presented each of the three schools with 100 indigenous tree seedlings suitable for their localities as part of the ongoing sustained national campaign to increase forest cover.

Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua, Samburu Woman Representative Maison Leshomo, Samburu West Member of Parliament Naisula Lesuuda, nominated senator Isaac Mwaura and members of the boards of management of the three schools were present during the award ceremony.

Source and Image: https://www.kbc.co.ke/you-can-be-anything-you-desire-president-tells-learners/

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Zombie-based Learning?

Sofía García-Bullé

North America/USA/27-10-2019/Author(a): Sofía García-Bullé/Source: observatory.tec.mx

By: Sofía García-Bullé

To escape a zombie apocalypse, one has to have notions of geography.

Teaching geography is not easy. In previous articles we have covered the issue of the silent crisis of geographic illiteracy, especially when there is a growing need for professionals who can perform in fields of work where geographic knowledge is important. Geographic educational programs face a major challenge in keeping students motivated to learn hard data like country names, states, capitals, and resources that each has.

David Hunter, a geography teacher in Seattle, Washington (USA), might have found the key to capturing the interest of the students in the subject through a survival game. Hunter’s two greatest passions are things that would not normally come together, but with the right approach, they could become a creative educational strategy never before seen.

Outside the classroom, the teacher is a loyal follower of zombie fiction. Movies, series, video games, anything that has any version of the undead in its content is eagerly consumed by the professor. However, his pastime never mingled with his teaching side until he wondered, for fun, where he would flee in the event of a zombie apocalypse and why. How would it be located? What resources would the places have for them to be attractive to a group of people fleeing monsters in search of their brains?

«When I started with zombie-based learning, I wanted to create a meaningful example of how you can teach creatively still using established standards,»

It was then that he realized that the narrative of a zombie epidemic would be an excellent platform for teaching his students the value of a sense of direction and the places they can discover and map with it. «When I started with zombie-based learning, I wanted to create a meaningful example of how you can teach creatively still using established standards,» explains Hunter.

Hunter’s main goal was to get the attention and motivation of typically apathetic students. He used gamification elements to challenge his students to develop escape strategies, contingencies, and selections of places for possible refuge and reconstruction under a fictional narrative about a zombie apocalypse.

This narrative is developed in a graphic novel written by Hunter himself to fulfill the purpose of a friendlier textbook. The teacher was concerned about having written documents and resources that he could share with other teachers who might like to apply this method to revitalize geography classes or adapt it to other environments of gamification and project-based learning.

The principal advantage of Hunter’s project is that it allows students to apply geographic knowledge in a practical situation. Not only are they memorizing data, they are applying what they have learned to solve problems that are fictional, but also concrete and which provide an element of entertainment. Importantly, an intriguing scheme of gamification is one that provides immediate feedback and gratification while the narrative or storytelling behind it keeps students interested. This lengthens the useful life of the project, allowing it to be used throughout its time or with different classes, without losing its effectiveness.

If you want to know more about the bases and applications of gamification, check out our Edu Trends report that delves into this attractive educational trend.

Source of information: https://observatory.tec.mx/edu-news/zombie-based-learning

Image:  ahmadreza heidaripoor en Pixabay

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EE.UU.:Community colleges open the door to selective universities

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North America/United States/27-10-2019/Author(a) and Source: theconversation.com

When it comes to getting into a selective university, high school GPA and test scores typically play the most important role.

But in a recent study, we show another way to attend a selective university: transfer from a community college.

This alternative option is important for students who are minority, low-income, and underprepared academically for higher education. Students from these particular groups are less likely to gain admission and enroll at a selective university.

As researchers who specialize in the study of higher education, we know that going to a selective university often gives students a competitive advantage on the job market.

Students who didn’t attend selective universities – especially racial minorities – face disadvantages when they compete for jobs with students who do. For instance, students who graduate from a highly selective university get more responses from employers when they’re on the job market – which could be due to the perception that students at prestigious universities receive a better education than students at other institutions.

A way in

Our study included 7,110 college students nationwide. We found that students who transferred from a community college were 24% more likely to attend a selective university than students with similar background characteristics who began at a four-year institution. In general, selective universities admit students based on criteria related to past academic performance and test scores. Selective universities differ from open-admission institutions, which admit nearly anyone who applies.

The students in our study who transferred from a community college to a four-year university were more likely to be minority, low-income, and academically underprepared students with low high school GPAs.

Based on the academic characteristics of these students, starting at a selective university out of high school was likely not an option. But community colleges can open the door to selective universities.

Our study accounted for differences in students’ race, family income, academic preparation and other characteristics. We don’t know, however, whether certain types of students, such as immigrants, were more likely to transfer from a community college to a selective university.

Practical benefits

There are practical reasons to begin at a community college that can help to explain our findings. For instance, students who start at a community college can save money due to the low price of community college courses. For price-conscious students who may have been wavering on the decision to pursue a bachelor’s degree at a university with high tuition, community college offers a chance to make progress toward their degree at a low price.

Community colleges also offer more remedial course options than four-year universities. Remedial courses can benefit students who are not prepared for college-level work.

Students who transfer from a community college may be more likely to get into a selective university due to factors beyond their own academic development in college. Simply put, high school grades and SAT scores are less important for transfer students than students who are seeking admission directly out of high school.

While starting at a community college might be a good way to make college more affordable or help students develop their academic skills, it doesn’t always lead to a positive outcome.

Students who transfer from a community college to a four-year institution are 37% less likely to earn their bachelor’s degree than students who start at a four-year university. And when they do complete their bachelor’s degree, it takes them about three months longer to graduate.

Career consequences

Students who transfer from a community college to a four-year university may experience a wage penalty as they begin their career. One reason these students might earn less early in their career is that community college credits don’t always transfer to a four-year university. This loss of credits leads to a delayed entry into the workforce. Meanwhile, their peers have a head start to become eligible for promotions and raises.

Community college students don’t have to lose credits when they transfer to a four-year university. All states could implement “articulation agreements” to ensure that community college credits are accepted at four-year universities.

Only 30 states have articulation agreements that guarantee the transfer of core community college credits and the associate degree upon enrolling at a state university.

Articulation agreements are a common-sense measure that would allow transfer students to avoid unnecessary hurdles and graduate sooner.

Community colleges educate 55% of low-income college students in the United States. Only a small portion of these students transfer to a selective four-year university.

But the small share of low-income students at selective universities would likely be even smaller without the community college pathway.

Source and Image: https://theconversation.com/community-colleges-open-the-door-to-selective-universities-122978

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China promotes public scientific literacy

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Asia/China/20-10-2019/Author (a) and Source: www.xinhuanet.com

The young generation has been inspired to explore the world of science by activities from science and technology competitions to science camps.

The proportion of scientifically literate citizens in China has increased from 0.2 percent in 1992 to 8.47 percent in 2018, Huai Jinpeng, vice chairman of the China Association for Science and Technology, said at the 2019 World Conference on Science Literacy concluded Thursday in Beijing.

China has released a series of regulations and plans to popularize science and technology and boost scientific literacy among the public by expanding platform channels, promoting infrastructure construction and encouraging social vitality, according to Huai.

Children participate in BASF Kids’ Lab at Shanghai Science and Technology Museum in east China’s Shanghai, July 3, 2019. (Xinhua/Ding Ting)

Scientific education outside the classroom has been widely practiced in China, which has become a good supplement to the nine-year compulsory education.

The young generation has been inspired to explore the world of science by activities from science and technology competitions to science camps.

Both the urban and rural population enjoy science museums in different ways. A total of 1,500 «science buses» have provided mobile laboratories for students in remote regions for 18 years.

The annual National Science Day has been held for 16 consecutive years to showcase new technologies, with almost 300 million people participating online and offline across the country each year.

Source and Image: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-10/18/c_138481804.htm

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Opinion: Universities Don’t Prepare Students for Freelance Life (and They Should)

Sofía García-Bullé

By: Sofía García-Bullé

Universities should prepare students for independent work and the gig economy.

The labor market has been transformed in the last decade to such an extent that today, self-employment and independent workforce dominate its structure. Recruitment and staff management practices are pointing to a severe reduction in permanent job positions. The backbone of the workforce today is made up of freelancers, also known as independent or autonomous workers.

In Mexico, 14 million people are classified as self-employed or freelancers; in India, they totaled 15 million in 2016 and the number is currently estimated to 20 million; in the United States, self-employed workers number up to 57 million. As for the share of their respective national economies, the informal Mexican workforce produced 22.7% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) during 2018; US freelancers contributed 1.3 trillion dollars; amounting to 6.7% of GDP (2018), and in India, the informal labor market is estimated to grow from 20 to 30 trillion rupees by 2025.

Despite the steady growth of global independent workforces, there is still no formal effort in universities to prepare students for the freelance life and the gig economy. True, there are many educational courses and programs focused on instructing and inspiring young people to start their own businesses as entrepreneurs. The problem is that often, educational institutions do not discern that undertaking their own business is not the same as working independently.

The difference between an entrepreneur and a freelancer

An entrepreneur is a person who starts a company and takes financial risks intending to make economic profits; a freelancer is an independent professional who offers his/her services by projects to a specific company or organization.

In theory, the definitions look very different; in practice, not so much. Both figures, the entrepreneur and the freelancer, have to make their own schedules, respond to their clients, manage their finances, and in some cases, manage staff. The biggest difference would be that the entrepreneur owns and is responsible for the business, while the freelancer is an outsourced person who operates independently. This is why the preparation given to each one should also be different. What skills should a freelancer possess to have a successful career in the non-traditional workforce?

The skills of a good freelancer

The road to any successful career trajectory begins by learning and knowing yourself. The starting point for a stable platform of independent work is to know which skillsets are useful in the chosen workforce, to investigate how much they are worth in economic terms, which companies are soliciting people with those skills, and whether the skills will continue to have value in the future.

Mastering the formation of business relationships or “networking” is crucial to maintaining stable sources of work in the independent sphere; to achieve this, constancy and cultivation of emotional intelligence are indispensable tools. Time management and task organization are also vital to ensure a manageable workflow that allows tending to multiple projects at one time and maximizing the profits of the freelancer.

Independent work has the advantage of allowing the freelancer to manage their time as they see fit, but the disadvantage is not having the stability of a plant job. Many freelancers live on unequal income receipts that they must distribute throughout the year. For this reason, financial education should be an essential subject for all people who want to pursue independence and work as a freelancer.

Knowing how to sell and value their own work would help self-employed workers to make a profit commensurate with the time they invest and the quality of their work. To stay up to date, independent workers need to commit to lifelong continuing education to provide themselves with new skills and increase the economic value of their work.

These are all notions that most freelancers learn on the fly, but these considerations are not included in programs of higher education. Most of the efforts of educational institutions focus on the formal labor market, with things such as job fairs, entrepreneurial startups, business incubators, grants, and networking events.

What are the areas of opportunity for universities?

It would be wrong to say that universities have made no effort to prepare students for the independent job market; however, these initiatives need a wider lens. Most of the educational bodies that offer training outside the formal labor market focus on business professionals and entrepreneurs.

Today, one of the most populated markets in the freelancer sphere is computer science, which encompasses cybersecurity, equipment repair, technical support, and so on. Due to the constant need for information systems and equipment in companies, these careers have a very close relationship with business and entrepreneurship. However, writing, editing, and proofreading (or correction of proofs) are more perceived as niche services, despite the growing need for content that establishes a brand presence. Universities have therefore failed to see the need to educate professionals in this area for the management of self-employment and freelance work.

There are many agreements between companies and universities to help students integrate into independent work. Still, there are very few associations that higher education institutions have intending to connect students to project work, give them an idea of how to value their work and point them to which companies have best practices and more job opportunities.

Until independent work is regarded as a widespread trend, students will not be well prepared for the management of self-employment and will have fewer tools to assure themselves opportunities for the non-traditional workforce.

Source: https://observatory.tec.mx/edu-news/universities-do-not-prepare-students-for-freelance-professional-life

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