NEWSLETTER

MARCH 2016 · PAGE 1

IN THIS ISSUE

1: MeettheMasters

2: DFCFlipsLearning

3: ALifeChangingDecision

4: ThereisMoretoLearningthanKnowledge

By Jesper Heldgaard, Freelance Journalist

From 1998 to 2013 The University of Copenhagen offered a Master of

International Health (MIH) Course. Every year, around 25 students from a dozen different countries completed the course, which focused on challenges in health and health systems in low- and middle-income countries. An important element was a four weeks field trip to India, where the students were given the opportunity to test theories and methods in practice.

A total of 71 Ghanaians took the MIH-degree in Denmark, and most of them are now back in Ghana working in key positions all over the country.

The following are excerpts gathered from

the Masters on the impact of their training in Denmark.

BRAVO DANIDA“The training in MIH has prepared me to take up an appointment as a District Director of Health Service.

My job description is to provide expert advice to the District Assembly on all mat-ters of health. Among other things, I am in charge of monitoring the implementation of Clinical and Public Health interventions including Communicable Disease Control and Surveillance, Reproductive, Adolescent and Child Health, Nutrition and Health Promotion.

I do appreciate the DANIDA scholarship for capacity building a lot. Most of my col-

Meet the Masters

CONTACT DETAILS:Danida Fellowship CentreHostrupsvej 22, DK-1950 Frederiksberg C, DenmarkTel. +45 3536 1322, Fax +45 3536 2095E-mail: dfc@dfcentre.dk or newsletter@dfcentre.dkwww.dfcentre.com

Editors:Anne Christensen, DirectorLene Christina Mosegaard, Programme and Communication CoordinatorJan Kjær, Journalist

NEWSLETTER

No less than 71 Ghanaian health professionals attended the 1 year Master of International Health course in Denmark from 1998 to 2013. It was a massive human resource capacity-building exercise facilitated by Danida Fellowship Centre.

NEWSLETTER

MARCH 2016 · PAGE 2

A LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE“Getting a sponsorship and getting admitted into the MIH programme has been the most life changing experience to me! Studying at the University of Copenhagen gave me a lot of opportunities. One was the opportunity to network with great minds around the globe on Global Health. In 2014, I was appointed a District Director of Health Service becoming the youngest District Director of the Ghana Health Service. Later in 2014, I was given a Consultancy job by the World Health Organi-zation to support the South Sudan Govern-ment in the area of Childhood Immunization (EPI) and Surveillance.”Emmanuel K. Sanwuok (MIH 2012)

PUNCTIALITY!“Today, I am a District Director of Health Services in Ghana managing my district’s health system. Some lessons learned from Denmark: Punctuality, accurate documenta-tion, meeting timelines, effective planning and support for the less privileged.”Gertrude Yentumi (MIH 2010)

leagues who benefited from the program are either District Directors of Health Service or Principals of Health Learning Institutions.Bravo DANIDA!”Josephine Atusfe Ahorsu (MIH 2008)

A CAREER MAKER“I am currently doing a residency pro-gramme in public health with the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons. The MIH was a partial fulfilment of the re-quirements to enter the programme. I am also a Medical superintendent and acting District Director of Health - a role that MIH helped prepare me for.”Abigail Codjoe (MIH 2013)

INSPIRING INDIA“The course gave me the opportunity to go to India. I am not saying India has a perfect health system, but India inspired me as to how to do proper community health efforts, how to get to the commu-nity and then mobilize the community to participate in health initiatives. It has also trained me in team organising, because the course taught us how to build a team. You need to recognize that everybody has a role to play. It is not like you being the big man. People saying, yes sir! No, we need to work as a team and that is what I now apply in my position as District Health Director in Sissala East.”Alex Bapula (MIH 2008)

USEFUL IN EBOLA RESPONSE“The MIH program has indeed played an important role in my career path. With the experience gained I have effectively played key managerial roles in the Ghana Health Service. In 2014, I was deployed to Liberia during the Ebola outbreak and my knowledge of public health in low and middle income countries gained through the MIH was of great use during that period.”Gifty Sunkwa-Mills (MIH 2011)

Alex Bapula (2. from left) experiencing the Danish snow with MIH fellow students.

Abigail Codjoe

Alex Bapula

Gifty Sunkwa-Mills

NEWSLETTER

MARCH 2016 · PAGE 3

INTERNATIONAL INSPIRATION“There were students from other coun-tries: East Africa, Denmark, Bhutan and also from Vietnam. So it was a very diverse group, and I learned from each one of them.”Rufina Asuru (MIH 1999)

A WORD FROM THE MIH-FOUNDERThe idea of offering the MIH-course was conceived by Dr. Ib Bygbjerg, professor at the University of Copenhagen. He also headed the course from the start. The feedback from former students confirms that the idea was right, even though it also carried some risks:

“When you train people from a country like Ghana, there is always a risk that they will use their degree to leave for greener pastures like Europe. But very few have

LINKS

Back in Ghana, three of the Masters explain what they gained from the Master of International Health. Watch Dr. Zakari Bukari, Rufina Asuru and Alex Bapula in this short film http://webtv.um.dk/video/12592681/film-4eng-meet-the-masters

The Danish Embassy in Ghana has launched a study, documenting Danida’s 22 years in the Ghanaian health sector. Throughout the years, Danida has advocated for a strong pro-poor focus and advocated for primary health care interventions aimed at the poorest Ghanaians in the most remote areas and with the highest mortality rates. Danida’s support to the health sector will end in 2016.

Read more about Danida’s involvement in the Ghanaian health sector 1994-2015. http://www.netpublikationer.dk/um/ghana_a_healthy_partnership_1994-2016/index.html

Also take a look at the magazine ‘A Healthy Partnership,’ an account of 22 years of live-saving cooperation in the health sector.http://www.netpublikationer.dk/um/ghana_a_healthy_partnership_1994-2016/Pdf/ghana_a_healthy_partner-ship_1994-2016.pdf

done so. Most have gone back and now take up higher positions. Some have, of course, left their country of origin, but mainly to go to other African countries and use their new competences in the Ebola response, for example.

Another risk when you invite health staff from deprived areas like Northern Ghana to study in Denmark, is that they may not have the qualifications to really benefit from the training. But again, this did not cause problems. The students, we had from North-ern Ghana were indeed competent, which also has to do with Ghana’s strong focus on public health.”

The MIH-course closed for uptake in 2013 and the last student has graduated, but the University of Copenhagen has since 2013 offered a two years Master of Science (MSc) in Global Health course which has also at-tracted Ghanaian students. n

DFC Flips Learning

By Kamilla Frimodt Madsen, Capacity Development Advisor

As part of the action plan for the Danida Capacity Development Support Programme, a selected number of courses will feature

new learning approaches, e.g. Flipped Learning, in 2016. Flipped Learning is a pedagogical approach where parts of the

content, that is usually presented by a trainer in the traditional classroom, is made available prior to the training. Learners will be introduced to new theory and new methods individually before starting training.

When joining the training with other learners, the new theory and methods will be used, discussed and reflected upon, leaving more time and space to consolidate the learning.

This specific approach calls for new ways of organizing the learn-ing environment. Some examples could be collaborative methods,

Danida Fellowshop Centre (DFC) has invited five course providers to a series of workshops to get new ideas for redesign-ing courses.

Jane Bech Larsen, Inge Schou and Henrik Borgtofte from course provider Niras during a Flipped Learning workshop.

Rufina Asuru

NEWSLETTER

MARCH 2016 · PAGE 4

peer-to-peer dialogues where trainers become facilitators and learners become important peers to one another in the learning process.

HIGH IMPACT LEARNINGAt DFC, we consider it to be very important, that course partici-pants learn new things which is linked to and implemented as part of their tasks at work. The purpose of the courses is to sup-port the participants to become change agents at their work-places.

In order to enhance learning, both on an individual level, and on an organizational level, five course providers will now introduce Flipped Learning in their courses. This is one of DFC’s actions taken to improve High Impact Learning. When striving for High Impact Learning in the didactical design, the time before and after the training are just as important as the face-to-face time actually spent on a course. A clear connection between strategic learning and everyday life at the workplace is also important to include in the didactical design.

Five courses are selected for the Flipped Learning Project, among them Public Private Partnership and Addressing Climate Change in a Development Context.

The idea is to implement Flipped Learning in very different types of courses. With the experiences from the Flipped Learning pilot projects, DFC plans to recommend some of the designs to other courses in the future.

COURSE PROVIDERS INSPIRE ONE ANOTHERTo get inspiration for Flipped Learning Ms. Zakia Elvang from Spark

DFC staff Kamilla Frimodt Madsen, Maya Lindberg Brink and Annette Kaalund-Jørgensen discussing details of Flipped Learning during a workshop.

Copenhagen, has facilitated two workshops at DFC for the course providers and DFC staff.

Many new ideas on how to implement Flipped Learning has been presented by Zakia. One idea is to integrate the use of mobile phones in the DFC courses e.g. using the Socrative Teacher, which is an app for making simple quizzes and surveys.

Another idea is to make a ‘pocket movie’. By using very simple technology, trainers can make videos and introduce new theory and methods, and learners can make videos where they present new knowledge to their peers - It is when you teach others you learn the most. The specific content for the videos could be the content that learners usually find difficult.

During the workshop, some pretty innovative pocket movies were produced and shown at the end of the day accompanied by big applause.

BEFORE AND AFTER THE COURSEOther ideas and reflections were shared. One course provider is very keen on the peer-to-peer aspect and wanted to elaborate on the idea of having participants preparing small videos, where they present themselves, their workplace and one of the key challenges they are facing in their work with reference to the upcoming course theme.

Another reflection is how to keep in touch with the participants after they have returned to their workplace.

During the next four months, the Flipped Learning pilot project will be implemented and evaluated, and we will bring more news on this matter at a later occasion. n

NEWSLETTER

MARCH 2016 · PAGE 5

Why go to Denmark three days after your wedding to study? Daniël van Schouwenburg from South Africa explains how he benefitted both pro-fessionally and personally.

27 year old computer engineer, Daniël van Schouwenburg decided to

change his career path and broaden his horizons.

He went to Denmark in September 2010, three days after his wedding, to pursue a full-time Master of Business Administration (MBA) through the Emerging Leaders Schol-arship Programme (ELSP) administered by Danida Fellowship Centre (DFC).

This was a life-changing decision.

How did you decide on pursuing studies in Denmark?

For a long time, I have been considering studying for an MBA. Realistically, I thought another South African university was my only option. To be 100% honest, I never really thought about pursuing international studies, especially not in Scandinavia, pri-marily because of the costs involved.

I was, however, contacted by Lee Milligan from Copenhagen Business School (CBS), who told me about the Emerging Leaders Scholarship Programme (see fact box). I decided to do some research. Denmark, the Danish way of doing sustainable busi-

A Life Changing Decision

ness, their entrepreneurial spirit and also the quality of the school really caught my interest.

Were your studies in Denmark useful?

Oh yes! This can be answered from an aca-demic and personal perspective.

The studies were definitely worthwhile, although you would expect to develop the more usual ‘business related’ competen-cies from an MBA such as economics and corporate finance. The aspects I felt were really value-adding were those the Danes pride themselves on, which include entre-preneurship, sustainability, corporate social responsibility and international mind-set in business.

From a personal development point of view, a major part of the studies focused on self-leadership and developing one’s leadership style. Skills such as coaching, ap-preciative feedback and reflection are tools I use extensively, and I have changed how I interact with people on a daily basis.

Finally, and even though it was not financed by the Danida programme, I was privileged to take my newlywed wife with me to Denmark. Although there were as many tough times as there were sweet, we had an unforgettable and life-changing experience and brought many good habits from the Danish culture back to our home in South Africa.

How are you applying what you have learned in Denmark to your life in South Africa?

I believe the studies and experience gained in Denmark has had a massive impact on me as person.

From a professional point of view, I am an advisor in the electricity industry. Part of my role is to ensure that technical solutions are sustainable from a business and economic point of view, while considering affordabil-ity and the social impact. As such, there are many academic theories and models that I apply on an ongoing basis. I believe the Danish culture for sustainability, account-ability and responsibility all are elements that are very important in this industry.

Will your studies in Denmark benefit South Africa?

I am fortunate to be able to work on pro-jects that result in energy infrastructure de-velopment or optimisation in South Africa, and other African countries. The realization of these projects does benefit the people.

Has the international studies and experi-ences made it easier to work in the globalized economy?

It definitely has. Our studies focused a lot on doing business in BRICS countries and bottom-of-the-pyramid. Also, it focused on

Daniël van Schouwenburg is now working in the multinational company Aurecon after he and his family left Denmark and returned to South Africa.

NEWSLETTER

MARCH 2016 · PAGE 6

the relationship of European companies within these countries and the cultural dif-ferences and how to overcome these. Inter-estingly enough, I am now on the other side of the table, often engaging with European service or technology providers wanting to do business in Africa. I am thus relatively comfortable in engaging with various stake-holders understanding their point of view..

Also, the opportunity to be in a truly diverse and international environment for a year of full-time studies has definitely pre-pared me well for the global engagement and interaction.

Was studying in Denmark different from your previous educational experiences?

There are definite differences. The Danish system is much less focused

on individual performance of the learner, and thus I believe it is less competitive. I do think the Danish system encourages dialogue, discussions and collaboration which is a definite strong point. The Danish education system further provides vast and modern resources to assist and enable their students.

How did DFC contribute to your stay in Den-mark?

Firstly, and most importantly, the DFC through the ELSP made it possible for me to study in Denmark. Apart from this, the DFC

played an essential role in assisting me to settle in Copenhagen and provided a sup-port network. Small things they did made a big difference like the fact that I was greeted at the airport and was provided a CPR card (Danish social security number) on arrival which enabled me to immediately open a bank account, telephone contract etc.

The DFC further encouraged social interaction between fellows through social events and talks. It assisted us in under-

IN SOUTH AFRICA

Prior to studying in Copenhagen, Daniël graduated as a Computer Engineer from the University of Pretoria in South Africa special-izing in developing thermo-dynamic models and control system simulations for thermal power plants.

Daniël now works as a business and engineer-ing consultant for Aurecon, a multinational engineering consulting firm with operations in Africa, Middle East and Australasia. His primary focus is Energy Advisory. He currently utilises his acquired MBA skills together with his engineering background to develop recommendations to a variety of Government and Private Sector clients in order to achieve sustainable electricity and energy operations.

EMERGING LEADERS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMME

The programme started in 2007 and ended in 2012. Over the five-year period funding was put aside for scholarships to assist selected entrepreneurs and emerging business leaders from Danida’s programme countries to take the full-time Master of Business Administra-tion (MBA) at the Copenhagen Business School (CBS), the full-time Sustainable MBA at Aarhus School of Business, Aarhus Univer-sity or the Master in Science in Agricultural Economics with a focus on agribusiness at University of Copenhagen.

Read more about ELSP herehttp://dfcentre.com/emerging-leaders-scholarship-programme/

standing the Danish culture and way of doing things.

Essentially, the DFC provided a home-base away from home. I was overwhelmed at the interest that the DFC took, with particular reference to Lene Mosegaard and Annette Kaalund-Jørgensen, in the progress of our studies and wellbeing.

What are your main takeaways from your time in Denmark? Has it changed your life?

It has definitely been a defining year for me and change the direction and trajectory of my life.

Professionally, it has opened various doors to me and the opportunities I have is currently limited only by barriers I impose on myself. The Danes have a mind-set that anything is possible and there are no limita-tions, which is something I aim to follow. I am energised by their innovative and entre-preneurial outlook on business. I will long treasure the opportunity to attend lectures by Roberto Verganti, one of the pioneers of Design Thinking and Innovation.

Personally, the opportunity my wife and I had to spend the year in Denmark is irreplaceable. Danish cultural aspects such as appreciation for design and quality, their minimalistic lifestyles and the appreciation and respect that they have for one another are main takeaways. n

Daniël was satisfied with both the studies and the DFC services. Here he is celebrating his graduation with DFC Pro-gramme and Communication Coordinator Lene Christina Mosegaard.

NEWSLETTER

MARCH 2016 · PAGE 7

FACTS

The Chaire UNESCO des Droits de la Personne Humaine et de la Démocratie is a highly respected academic institution that reaches throughout the West African region. It runs several master courses with a particular focus on fundamental liberties. From 2013 to 2015, with funding from Danida Fellowship Centre, it has held three courses of two weeks on an HRBA to development programme with the technical support of the Danish Institute for Human Rights. The conceptual framework of an HRBA to development programme dates back to 15 years ago. A few bilateral cooperation frameworks including Denmark, Sweden and Germany have adopted it, joined by the EU in 2014. The need for quality courses on HRBA is growing and it the hope that with this workshop, la Chaire UNESCO will be able to continue to offer such a course for development actors of the francophone region in the coming years.

Learning as a means to bring about change and more respect for human rights, is the main focus of a course for the francophones in the West African region, that has taken place every year since 2013 in Cotonou.

By Una Verdel, Senior Advisor and Program Manager for Capacity Development at the Danish Institute for Human Rights

“What can I be taught about teaching that I do not already know?”

This is what many were thinking to themselves on the first day of a five day workshop on adult education technique and Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA) to development programming facilitation which took place in Cotonou, Benin, from the 8th to the 12th of February 2016.

The course was co-managed by la Chaire UNESCO and the Danish Institute for Human rights and funded by Danida Fellowship Centre.

COMPETENCIES FOR ACTION Professor Noel Gbaguidi, appointed by the Chaire UNESCO, a long time believer of adult education technique, had invited magistrates, the attorney general and president of civil court, and 8 enseignants cher-cheurs (research teachers), all Ph.d holders in law, to the workshop.

The participants were well experienced in teaching at a high academic level and individually recognized and respected for their oratory skills. Mesmerizing their audience with their teaching and their expertise in their substance matter, they were very inspiring.

But there is more to learning than knowledge. The challenge to me as course manager, was to bring this group

of respected academic experts to see their role and their students differently; They had to realize that it is different to teach adults and focus on competencies for action using human rights education principles and HRBA to human rights education methodology.

RESPECT AND BUILD ON EXPERIENCES, KNOWLEDGE AND VALUESProfessors, Marie Epiphane Sohouenou and Florentine Akouete facilitated two days on adult education techniques covering the principles of adult education.

The last three days facilitated by myself, focused on defining learning objectives based on the competencies of the learner and

match it with the overall logic of the HRBA to the development programming course.

Each session should contribute to the overall learning goal of the two week course.

After the course, participants expressed that their perception had changed, having realized that an adult has experiences, knowledge, values that need to be respected and built on. Using traditional pedagogics with adults will thus not enable learning and won’t lead to the building of competencies.

In short, learning as a means to bring about change and more respect for human rights will have failed otherwise. n

There is More to Learning than Knowledge

The latest issue of the Technical Univer-sity of Denmark’s (DTU) newspaper

features an article about the ‘Building Stronger Universities’ programme.

DTU assists the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana’s second-largest town Kumasi to reinforce interaction between the industry and the universities.

Despite a huge pool of resources, uni-versities in developing countries rarely

develop contacts with their respective business communities. This is where Andres Permin, DTU Senior Executive Officer at the Office for Innovation and Sector Services, comes into the picture. Together with his colleagues Christine Rich and Balder Onarheim from DTU Management, Anders travels around Africa promoting innovation.

The objective of the Building Stronger Universities programme, is to strengthen

the research capacity of the universities in selected Danida priority countries. Support is provided to their research environment and research processes. The programme is administered by Danida Fellowship Centre (DFC). n

Read the full story herehttp://www.dtu.dk/english/News/2016/02/DTUavisen-Innova-tion-assistance-for-university-in-Ghana?id=07fc115d-4693-4029-b87d-bacdbbd872ac

Read more about ‘Building Stronger Universities’ programme herehttp://dfcentre.com/research/building-stronger-universities-bsu/

Course participants learning Human Rights Based Approach to development program-ming in Benin in West Africa.

Innovation Assistance for University in Ghana