The Pan African Planetary and Space Science Network – PAPSSN

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fulvio Franchi
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Addis Ababa ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
Space Science ◽  
Support Staff ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Pan African

<p>Planetary and Space Science, and Technology (PSST) are playing a vital role in driving the Knowledge Economy and the 4<sup>th</sup> Industrial Revolution in Africa. An actioned commitment to PSST leads to greater security, safety, and agricultural productivity and drives human capital development (HCD) in high-tech sectors of the economy. PSST enthuses young people to pursue studies and ensuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). PSST for Africa means not only blue-sky research and skilled graduates in STEM disciplines but is also linked to socio-economic development as many countries have seen already the benefits for PSS technology and industry for agriculture projects, earth observation, communication networks, monitoring/prevention of disaster and geohazard, space defence and telemedicine amongst others.</p> <p>To fulfil the ambitious goals set by the African countries in their space strategy documents, there is a desperate need of graduates in STEM-related disciplines, including PSST. Africa’s current stock of graduates with secondary- and tertiary-level skills is still highly skewed towards the humanities and social sciences, while the proportion of students in STEM averages less than 25%. Beyond the shortage of graduates in the PSST field, the development of a pan-African PSST agenda is hampered by the lack of coordination of the Higher Education Institutions that are currently offering PSST programmes and by the lack of standardization of such programmes and internationalization of the Institutions themselves.</p> <p>The Pan-Africa Planetary and Space Science Network (PAPSSN) aims to fill this gaps by implementing a continent-wide mobility scheme for students, academic staff and support staff working in any field related to PSST. The PAPSSN is a consortium composed of Higher Education Institutions and associated partners from Botswana (Botswana International University of Science and Technology, BIUST), Ethiopia (Addis Ababa University, AAU), Nigeria (University of Nigeria Nsukka, UNN), South Africa (University of the Witwatersrand, Wits) and Zambia (Copperbelt University, CBU).</p> <p>The PAPSSN project presents an innovative solution to the shortage of soft skills in Africa as it concentrates upon the consolidation of PSST in the area of remote sensing from space, planetary science, planetary geology, astrobiology, satellite technologies, astronomy and astrophysics, within the tertiary education system across the continent.</p> <p>The overarching objective of PAPSSN is to support the development of a skilled and innovative graduate students’ community and improve their job preparedness for the growing PSST labor market and foster their capacity of operating local infrastructure, generating local data and engaging with the international community of scientists and entrepreneurs.</p> <p>The PAPSSN project will sponsor a total of 65 bursaries over the next 5 years, including 36 MSc, 14 PhD and 15 for staff (academic and support staff). In conclusion, we believe that PAPSSN will improve the employability of students through a mobility programme that will prepare them for leading roles in the future PSST market that is expected to develop across Africa over the next decades.</p>

scholarly journals MODERN TRENDS OF CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF ACADEMIC STAFF IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

2018 ◽  
pp. 22-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oksana Bulvinska ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Professional Development ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Continuing Professional Development ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Educational Environment ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
High Tech

The article is devoted to modern trends of continuing professional development of academic staff in higher education institutions. The continuing professional development of an academic staff as a process of acquiring of new and improving the existing professional competencies is determined. Based on the analysis of strategic documents of the European Higher Education Area, modern trends of educating and teaching in higher education are described, according to them, directions of continuous professional development of an academic staff are determined. These areas include: development of a facilitator qualities, a coach, a moderator, a tutor, change of the authoritarian role of a teacher to a softer pedagogical support in a student-centered model of educating and teaching; improvement of foreign and intercultural competence to implement internationalization of higher education; development of own research competence and research methods usage as well as modes in conditions of organizing an educational process at university on the basis of scientific researches for the development of students’ critical thinking and reflexive analysis; developing the ability to adapt educational goals to a high-tech and mobile educational environment and creating a psychologically safe educational environment; development of some new electronic educational tools, as well as the experience of using the tools, methods and technologies of e-learning in the educational process of higher education institution.

Total Rewards and Its Influence on Job Satisfaction and Organisational Commitment in Higher Education

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Calvin Mabaso
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Systematic Sampling ◽  
Organisational Commitment ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Total Rewards ◽  
The Relationship

The shortage of academic staff and the inability of higher education institutions to attract and retain highly qualified talent are critical problems in tertiary education. With the aim of addressing these issues, this article investigates the relationship between total rewards, job satisfaction and organisational commitment in higher education institutions in South Africa. A survey design was used in the study that was conducted. The systematic sampling technique was used to obtain the sample (N = 279) from two universities of technology. The measuring instruments used were the Total Rewards Questionnaire based on the World at Work Total Rewards Model, the Job Satisfaction Survey and the Organisational Commitment Questionnaire. Using the SPSS 24 and AMOS 24 software programs, structural equation modelling (SEM) was performed to analyse the data set. The results revealed that some elements of total rewards had a strong relationship with job satisfaction and organisational commitment among academic staff. The contribution of this study was to enhance the comprehension of existing literature on the relationship between the predictor variables (total rewards elements), job satisfaction and organisational commitment. The findings provided evidence that total rewards played a major role in influencing both job satisfaction and organisational commitment in higher education institutions. Therefore, the rewards specialists in universities of technology could apply a total rewards system to maintain, or even promote, academics’ job satisfaction and organisational commitment.  

PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS: APPLYING US EXPERICENCE TO UKRAINAN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

2020 ◽  
pp. 80-85
Author(s):  
Olha Pavlenko
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education Research ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Cost Reduction ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Research And Innovation ◽  
Current State

The article discusses the current state of professional training of engineers, in particular, electronics engineers in Ukrainian higher education institutions (HEIs) and explores best practices from US HEIs. The research outlines the features of professional training of electronics engineers and recent changes in Ukrainian HEIs. Such challenges for Ukrainian HEIs as lack of collaboration between higher education and science with industry, R&D cost reduction for HEIs, and downsizing the research and academic staff, the disparity between the available quality of human capital training and the demanded are addressed. The study attempts to identify successful practices of US HEIs professional training of engineers in order to suggest potential improvements in education, research, and innovation for training electronics engineers in Ukraine.

Examining Academic Dishonesty

2019 ◽  
pp. 159-183
Author(s):  
Philmore Alleyne ◽  
Renée M. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Academic Dishonesty ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Accounting Students ◽  
Internet Search ◽  
Accounting Firms ◽  
Arthur Andersen

Academic dishonesty (AD) has plagued many higher education institutions (HEIs). This chapter examines AD among accounting students in business schools and discusses possible mechanisms to reduce misconduct among students, as well as staff. Today's students are tomorrow's accounting professionals. Yet, some HE students strive to succeed at all costs by using unethical means including being aided by dishonest academic staff. For example, the unethical and corrupt practices in Enron, and the subsequent closure of one of the leading international accounting firms, Arthur Andersen, raised questions pertaining to codes of conduct, ethics, and morality being taught in business schools. This chapter reviews the literature, identifies issues from an internet search of actual cases, and then offers recommendations for reducing such detrimental behaviors.

Higher Education Environment

2017 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Management ◽  
Total Quality Management ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Knowledge Society ◽  
Total Quality ◽  
New Era ◽  
Education Environment

Tertiary education faces a new era as expectations for good quality education are increasing. Globalization and knowledge Society formed new conditions on the global economic and geopolitical scene, and led higher education ahead to new challenges which require a redefinition of its role. These challenges have created new opportunities, new collaborations and new ways of managing Higher Education Institutions. In response to the demand for higher quality products and services, a growing number of Higher Education Institutions worldwide are implementing Total Quality Management (TQM) and the Deming Management Method. The first chapter is designed to provide the reader an overview of the role of Higher Education Institutions and the implications of globalization and knowledge society on tertiary education. Furthermore, this chapter deals with the strategic challenges of Higher Education Institutions and their strategic response to those challenges, focused on Deming and Total Quality Management.

Analysis of financial sustainability indicators of higher education institutions on foreign direct investment

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-99
Author(s):  
Faris Nasif Alshubiri
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Oecd Countries ◽  
Order Theory ◽  
Sustainability Indicators ◽  
Financial Sustainability ◽  
Education Expenditure ◽  
Pecking Order Theory ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of financial sustainability indicators of higher education on foreign direct investment (FDI) using empirical evidence from 26 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. The basic criterion for determining the financial sustainability of higher education institutions included indicators of income generated by higher education institutions being greater than the operational costs. However, this requires financial sustainability, which depends on financial self-sufficiency without seeking external financial assistance. This situation is affected by investment attractiveness. Design/methodology/approach Three quantitative proxies were used in this study to explain the financial sustainability indicators in higher education institutions of OECD countries: financial expenditures proxy measured by current tertiary education expenditure (CE); efficiency proxy measured by university-life expectancy (ULE) and endogenous growth proxy measured by gross enrolment tertiary ratio (GETR) to show the effect on FDI. Also, this study used six control variables considered an important part of experimental design and refers to contributing factors that were eliminated to clarify the independent variable and a dependent variable nexus. The quantitative data was collected from World Development Indicators (WDI). This study applied a STATA version using panel data techniques for over 15 years from 2001 to 2015 and also used fixed effect (FE) and random effect (RE) estimations to address problems of heterogeneity. To mitigate the endogeneity problem, the generalized method of moments (GMM) was also used. Findings The results of this study were derived from the adoption of financial models applied in higher education institutions to test the financial sustainability indicators. Based on the RE and FE results, a one per cent increase in the current tertiary education expenditure caused about 0.19 and 0.18 per cent increase in FDI in the OECD economies. This positive and significant impact was higher when considering the problem of endogeneity by applying the GMM estimations. FDI grew by about 0.22 per cent when the CE increased by one percent. Meanwhile, there was a significant and negative relationship between FDI and the GETR variable for the FE results but this previous relationship was insignificant for RE estimations. The FDI in OECD economies decreased by about 0.0006 per cent when the GETR increased by 1 per cent. This negative effect became larger when applying the GMM estimations. Finally, the ULE results showed there was a positive and insignificant relationship between ULE and FDI for all estimators. Practical implications The management and analysis of the financial health indicators is necessary to evaluate educational activities but is not sufficient to achieve financial sustainability, which extends beyond the indicators of financial health to encompass factors such as student achievements; research and scientific output; community engagement; productive capacity; quality inputs; risk and infrastructure; and systems. Originality/value This study is considered one of the few existing studies examining the ways in which to achieve financial sustainability in higher education institutions using quantitative financial methods. Specifically, this study adopted Pecking order theory in its analysis of the financial sustainability indicators to clarify whether the financial sustainability indicators of higher education institutions lead to an improvement in the attractiveness of foreign investment in OECD countries in the long run. The findings contribute to the necessity of adopting internal financing sources in accordance with the Pecking Order theory to help achieve financial sustainability growth.

scholarly journals Antecedents of Growth in Higher Education Institutions of North Cyprus: Resource-Based Approach

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Mehmet Ali Ekemen ◽  
Gozde Inal Cavlan
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Human Resources ◽  
Developing Country ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Developed Economies ◽  
North Cyprus ◽  
Marketing Resources ◽  
The University ◽  
Different Cultures

<p>This study aims to reveal the antecedents of growth in Higher Education Institutions of North Cyprus, using Resource Based Approach. Research in this field is limited to developed economies and there is a need for more research in the developing country settings. North Cyprus is a unique location for this study since it is a developing country which is geographically located in between Europe, Africa and Middle East harmonizing several different cultures in its unique settings. An explanatory research design was adopted using a questionnaire survey to collect data and test the hypotheses. Data was collected from 343 respondents, consisting of 172 administrative and 171 academic staff, in five universities which have 10 years of history in higher education sector. The results of the study showed that Marketing resources, Human resources, Research and Development resources, Organizational resources and accessibility of these resources have been shown to positively influence the university growth.</p>

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