In early September, a transformative initiative brought together digital education experts and practitioners in Kampala, Uganda, marking a significant moment in the online students’ education journey and the advancement of higher education in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The University of Edinburgh’s Pete Evans, Inga Ackermann, and Michael Gallagher joined the twelve Mastercard Foundation Digital Education Practitioner Network (DEPN) scholarship students in the MSc in Digital Education program for face-to-face workshops in Kampala, Uganda, held 2-4 September at Makerere University.
We were also lucky enough to have the great people of the Refugee Law Project join us as well, as they too worked in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation as part of the Foundations for All program, a blended learning bridging program designed to allow more refugees to enter higher education in Uganda.
DEPN is one of the three work packages part of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at the University of Edinburgh, the other two being Program Graduate Teachers in the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, and the Wits-Edinburgh Sustainable Africa Futures Doctoral Programme (WESAF). DEPN is designed to create practitioner networks and digital capacity building for universities in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly for greater inclusion of people traditionally underrepresented in higher education: young women, forcibly displaced populations, and those with disabilities.
The twelve Mastercard Foundation Scholars on the MSc in Digital Education are all associated with Ugandan universities, namely Makerere, Kyambogo, Nkumba, Gulu, Bugema, and Uganda Martyrs University. They have just finished their second semester on the program and these workshops were designed to provide some reflection on that journey, some discussion on the pressing issues around digital education in Ugandan higher education, and some advanced training on relevant theoretical and methodological models that might assist their development both for the dissertation on the MSc in Digital Education and more broadly in their fields. Some students are well on their way in this regard, as a recent news item can attest: Project Update: Ugandan Digital Education Practitioners | Digital Education.
Alice Nakalema, a lecturer from Bugema University and one of the practitioners pursuing MSc Digital Education, reflects the transformative impact of the training:
“The MSc in Digital Education we are pursuing resonates with post-digital thinking, where technology has become integrated into our daily lives. The training sessions were practical, featuring captivating scenarios that focused on our local context in the digital education field. Some of the key highlight outcomes and benefits of the training included publishing research, scholarships, the first face-to-face reunion of Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program Alumni from Uganda, the selection of the group liaison member, and networking.
The training has equipped us with up-to-date skills in digital education research, mentorship, policy design, new modes of thinking, and the ability to bridge the gaps across continents and cultures. This has been inculcated by the fact that the program enables us to become disciplined, flexible, and self-motivated students.”
As one of the primary goals of DEPN is for the students to act as ambassadors for others in their communities and their institutions, both in their subject matter expertise also in their capacity to navigate the vast array of digital education that is on offer, bringing everyone together for three days was necessary, productive, and rewarding (we hope!).
Learn more about the project: Practitioner Networks and Digital Inclusion for Higher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Your Opportunity to Lead in Digital Education
Inspired by the story of Alice and other DEPN practitioners? Applications for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program are currently open. Whether you are passionate about using technology to improve education in your community, advancing research in digital education, climate change, or shaping policies, this program can help you reach your goals. We offer postgraduate online scholarships in 8 different subject areas.
For more details on how to apply, visit the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program website or follow us on LinkedIn .
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