The BRTE Programme will be operationalised through three work packages, with the following objectives:
- To build the requisite critical educational infrastructure to shape an economy oriented towards resilience actions:
- To establish the educational platform to deliver appropriate and relevant education to guide resilience thinking at all levels:
- To develop capacities to conduct innovative research to transform livelihoods in Wolaita.
Building transformative capacity demands a combination of technological innovations, institutional reforms, behavioural shifts and cultural changes among the relevant stakeholders at all levels. These elements require thorough research to position transformative thinking in resilient livelihood system thinking. In pursuit of this objective the following outcomes will be pursued:
Outcome 1: Establish an appropriate educational strategy to progress resilience education and research that is fit for purpose – This will involve bringing a team of five high-ranking staff members from WSU to UCD for networking and training towards agreeing on a joint strategy to progress further education and research. The joint strategy will be progressed by a team of experienced researchers from WSU that will engage in a peer-mentoring approach with UCD counterparts for at least three months. This research team will address key academic infrastructural issues, including education, research, buildings, IT, International Office, NovaUCD, and the Research Office.
Outcome 2: Information and Communication mechanisms – building the critical cyber and physical infrastructure: Adequate IT infrastructure is crucial to the success of any university in the 21st century. Much of education and research materials are currently available online and the trend towards greater online education seems inexorable. It will be important for WSU to develop a system that is suited to its own standards. Engagement of WSU’s staff members with their counterparts in UCD’s IT Services will be crucial in achieving this task.
Outcome 3: Administration and technical: The seconded WSU staff will be expected to engage in a peer mentoring approach with counterparts in various schools across UCD in relation to various modules, courses and research activities. The findings of the research will give direction to infrastructural improvements to enhance research and education exchange. UCD will second a team of experts to support WSU in the implementation the envisaged changes.
BRTE will establish an educational platform to deliver appropriate and relevant education to guide resilience thinking at all levels all the while addressing the asymmetries that hamper cooperation between educational institutions. The project will fill the gap of an educational qualifications framework to guide exchanges. In addition, a new focus on transformative resilience will require creating an educated workforce to attract new industry and business into the area. In pursuit of this objective the following outcomes will be advanced:
Outcome 1: Establishing a qualification framework to facilitate joint degrees: This will involve bringing together international, inter-sectoral and interdisciplinary (3is) researchers to draw and strengthen collaborative relationships to undertake this task. The output of this will be the establishment of a qualifications framework between the two universities that will enable the awarding of joint degrees.
Outcome 2: Joint development of educational programmes at all university levels: Academics from a range of disciplines, including disaster management, education, public health/ medicine, sociology, agricultural science, veterinary medicine, engineering, business and the natural sciences will examine the potential to share materials and programmes. A range of modalities will be employed, depending on the discipline, including staff exchange, developing joint modules, e-learning modules, and blended methods.
Outcome 3: Review and development of extension materials on resilience for training and outreach programmes: Academic staff will review and develop outreach extension education material in order to engage wider society in Wolaita. While academics from both WSU and UCD will provide the necessary guidance on this task, CWW with more than 25 years experience working in Damot Woyde will provide the necessary expertise on contextualisation of the messages to enhance the relevance and appropriateness. The effectiveness and impact of the training and outreach programmes will then be traced through methodology designed by UCD Agribusiness and Rural Development Section.
In develop capacities to conduct innovative research to transform livelihoods in Wolaita, BRTE seeks to identify innovations that will allow the people of Wolaita to better manage crises and promote new ways to enable them to expand their livelihood base beyond agriculture and local service provision. In pursuit of this objective the following outcomes will be advanced:
Outcome 1: Establish a research innovation hub – linked to NovaUCD: this task will provide a platform through which WSU will develop appropriate products across a range of food, engineer, medical hence supporting new ventures and entrepreneurs. This will enable the introduction of private sector engagement at WSU in line with WSU needs and priorities. The identified private sector companies will help to design, create and make innovative products for various enterprises.
Outcome 2: Further research on DRR and Disaster Management: WSU staff members will be hosted by CWW, which has a long established practical experience in DRR, and will collaboratively adopt a research design based on a conceptual framework and guided by a cutting-edge literature review. The research design will allow for the investigation of the under-explored nexus between transformative resilience and DRR. The seconded staff members will benefit from the expertise provided by CWW experts. WSU members will be joined at UCD by their counterparts from NOHA. Together with Experienced Researchers (ER) and Early Stage Researchers (ESR) from UCD they will review key concepts and philosophical thinking on how education can enhance transformative resilience.