Paper long abstract:

In West-Africa most children go to school, benefiting from at least a primary school and Junior High School education. An increasing amount of students, including those from rural areas or underprivileged communities, are able to obtain also a Senior High School certificate and a form of tertiary education. In the ECOWAS region the educational system has been harmonized including the curriculum and joint end levels set by the West African Examination Council (WAEC). This system is giving the region a solid foundation for joint economic development and exchange of human resources between countries. At the same time the educational system still faces various quality challenges, including didactic quality by skilled teachers and lack of technical resources in the field of ICT. There is a general concern that youth are not sufficiently equipped for the future job market.

Maxim Nyansa IT Solutions foundation has been developing integrated training programs for both high school students and young university graduates to bridge the gap between the school system and the job market in information technology. For both target groups an integrated approach has been developed, where students receive practical technical training as well as training in various so-called 21st century skills such as communication, problem solving and creative thinking.

Executing multiple training programs in Ghana since 2016, Maxim Nyansa has based its approach on scientific resources and evaluation reports of similar programs in Africa. In 2020, a new methodology for impact assessment has been developed in close collaboration with the University of Utrecht. In this paper we are going to address three questions:

• how did we develop our new impact assessment methodology and what are its main characteristics?

• have the Maxim Nyansa integrated training programs in ICT been effective and why?

• how can this impact assessment methodology be used practically to support an ecosystem of educational programs to continuously learn and improve?

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Paper short abstract:

Using the case of the Regional Maritime University in Ghana, the paper addresses the well-known arguments on capacity development though practice-oriented training but also research and development where the educational institutions rely on network based synergies with external actors.

Paper long abstract:

This paper reports on examples of positive and negative industry-university/school partnerships developed over several decades and seen through the lenses of resource dependency theory. It makes references to the specialised training needs of the maritime industry (seafarers, harbour pilots and tugboat crew, and lately professionals in the oil and gas sector), highly important jobs for the further capacity development for a country like Ghana. In the paper, we address the general challenge of inadequate funding for education and training characterizing many (African) educational institutions. Inadequacy, which normally leads to frustration, difficulties, politicization and in the end a fight for survival. However, which also can lead educational institutions to be innovative. Over the years, The Regional Maritime University (RMU) has survived on innovation to sustain its unique combination of academic and vocational training, which is quite usual for Maritime Education and Training (MET) institutions worldwide. The paper addresses the well-known arguments on capacity development through practice-oriented training but also research and development where the educational institutions rely on network-based synergies with external actors. This is illustrated in the newest example in the Oil and Gas industry in Ghana and the maritime industry.

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