HE, industry and students win through sandwich programmes

Higher education sandwich courses present a win-win situation for graduates, industry and universities, an online dialogue hosted by the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), headquartered in East Africa, heard.

Students on sandwich programmes benefit from enriched life experiences and professional connections, industry gets access to young talent and universities build a network, according to participants.

Sandwich programmes, which happen at higher or tertiary education level and involve practical work experience in addition to academic study, were discussed by representatives of ICIPE, the Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund (RSIF)’s regional coordination unit, in collaboration with Mohammed VI Polytechnic University and other partners actively involved in building capacity for science, technology and innovation in Africa. The event was hosted on 16 and 17 November 2021.

“It is a win-win situation for the university from which the student originates and the candidate [host] university. It promotes diversity within [the population of] students and gives an opportunity of establishing a research programme between universities,” said Professor Abdelghani Chehbouni from Mohammed VI Polytechnic University.

“The RSIF currently hosts 15 universities and 19 international partner institutions, which is the flagship initiative of the Partnership for Skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology, or PASET, and led by African governments. It gives its postdoctoral students a chance to participate in a sandwich year, but also allows opportunities to work in industry,” he said.

A win-win situation

Donavin Hattingh, from the technical and production division of Nestlé, agreed: “We believe it is a win-win situation as, in this partnership, the industry [where students work] can drive innovation and, in doing so, offer real-world solutions for the many challenges that we face globally.”

Nestlé partners with RSIF to offer African students at higher education institutions industry placement.

In another development, the East African Business Council (EABC) signed a memorandum of understanding with the Inter-University Council of East Africa (IUCEA) in November geared to spur on job creation and to address skills matches through internship placements across East African countries.

“The MoU is set to boost academia, public and private partnerships collaboration on science, technology and innovation and business development and will enhance linkages and synergies between higher learning institutions and the private sector in unlocking trade and investment challenges across the East Africa community region,” said John Bosco Kalisa, the executive director of the East Africa Business Council.

“A new collaboration programme by the IUCEA and EABC will support skilling and placement for university students in the EAC and is intended to address concerns raised by the private sector that many graduates and youths lack employable skills and it takes them close to six months to perform to their expected levels once employed,” said Professor Gaspard Banyankimbona, the executive secretary of the IUCEA.

The two parties will collaborate to deal with curriculum gaps through a private-public partnership.

Banyankimbona said: “Academia and institutions of higher learning have a duty to steer the EAC integration agenda by producing graduates who can anchor economic and social growth.”

Banyankimbona explained that the IUCEA is committed to mobilising universities to interact with the business community from the benchmarking process up to the curriculum and training.

Kalisa further urged the private sector in the region to open up for training placement and skilling of graduates.

Professor Stephen Kiama Gitahi, the vice-chancellor of the University of Nairobi, urged young people to think beyond employment to job creation in the various fields of study and think “streetwise” to offer right solutions to community and industry needs.

Student experience

Sylvia Maina is an RSIF PhD student at Sokoine University of Agriculture in Tanzania and currently doing her sandwich experience at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST).

Through her studies, she hopes to solve human health issues related to food security, and her research focus is on determining the potential health benefits of under-utilised African leafy vegetables.

Going to Korea and joining KIST on a placement, she says, has given her a wide range of technical skills and training.

“I’ve also been able to perform my analyses for my research as well as publish, which has opened opportunities for me to apply and get a scholarship or grants through the Samsung Global Scholarship Programme.”

As a student in a foreign country, Maina has also been able to benefit from the Korean culture, learning the language and the work culture which is work-oriented, disciplined, orderly and structured with the respect of peers in the work they do, she says.

“The benefits of this sandwich programme are that it has given me access to the best experts in the field, which has exposed me to current trends in methods in handling equipment as well as facilities in the lab. I have also received strong support in the way I have been designing my research,” said Maina.

She said one of her challenges was the duration of the study, considering that she had to learn a new language and do her research at the same time. She recommended prior remedial language training and a need to upgrade equipment and facilities in home countries “so that, when we get back, we can use our skills and not lose what we have acquired,” said Maina.

However, Andrea Johnson, a programme officer of higher education and research in Africa of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, pointed out that sandwich programmes away from the students’ home institutions can also breed discontent.

For instance, they may not be sure what to tackle next when they return home.

For Maina, her fears are the risk of not using the skills she acquired considering the different level of equipment or facilities in her host and original countries.

Johnson said the Carnegie Corporation looks at issues such as the retention of early career researchers in African institutions.

“As a funder, I think about how sandwich programmes can be designed to best contribute to the retention of graduates in African institutions, so that they can make long-term contributions in their home countries,” she said.

But, while it is easy to imagine the benefit for the African-owned institutions, what about the host institutions?

Andries W Coetzee from the University of Michigan, United States, queried what these programmes mean for international partners and company CEOs.

In response, Athol Swanepoel, the human resource director for Nestlé in East and Southern Africa, said: “I don’t think it is a difficult sell to our CEO because, as we are contributing to providing students with exposure to the industry, at the same time we get access to great thinkers and access to young talent that comes up with new, innovative ways of doing things.”