Review of a Successful Partnership

It was wonderful to be back in Tanzania after 2 years to see the progress of this great project “Building Capacity in Tourism and Hospitality Management” that we started in 2009. We have learned so much over the past 3 years and it’s wonderful to be able to look back and see what we’ve accomplished.
We delivered two presentations on our project during 3rd annual Education for Employment Symposium in Morogoro (a large town in between Dar es Salaam and Mikumi). This symposium is sponsored by ACCC and provides the opportunity for the Tanzanian and Canadian partners for all 12 EFE projects in mining, agriculture and tourism to meet, share experiences and learn from each other. The first presentation was on how we have engaged industry to provide employment and work experience for Mikumi students and graduates and the second presentation highlighted our project achievements. When Christopher Ayo (Principal of VETA Mikumi and my counterpart) got together to work on these presentations, it was amazing to see just how much we have accomplished in the last 3 years. Here are some of the highlights:
• Teacher training and capacity building for Mikumi tourism and hospitality instructors and managers in Nova Scotia and Tanzania which included CCEDP courses, project management, entrepreneurship, lifelong learning, portfolio learning, social media training, IT repair, maintenance and solutions and library service training.
• Creation of a successful and unique Tourist Information Centre and Facebook page
• Creation of a language lab to assist with English and French language learning
• Investment in a computer lab which directly led to an increase in enrollment at VETA Mikumi
• Established an electronic library with tablets full of resources and applications for students and faculty
• Opportunity for Mikumi and NSCC tourism students to meet and exchange ideas and knowledge through two study tours for NSCC students in Tanzania.
I am very proud of the work that we have done on this project and the relationships that have been built. The project brought together some excellent students, staff and faculty from NSCC and beyond (for example, our partnerships with South Shore Public Libraries and the Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia) to help us accomplish our goals for the project. Whether it was travelling to Mikumi to deliver training sessions or organizing programs and activities for Mikumi faculty in Nova Scotia, we have had some dedicated people involved in this project including Deans, Principals, Academic Chairs, Directors, Faculty, Staff and Students from Organizational Learning, IT Services, the School of Business, the School of Applied Arts and New Media, Library Services and of course, NSCC International. Asante sana to all of you! You should be proud of the roles you have played in this project and what we’ve accomplished together.

Ashley Pinsent-Tobin
Manager, International Learning Programs
NSCC International