Official start of the INSSPIRE project.
In beginning of February 2023 we organized a Kick-off event in Kisumu, Kenya. All the INSSPIRE partners were able to meet in person and start a wonderful journey together.
During the Kick off event we also voted the winning INSSPIRE logo. It was designed by Justus Asawo Oyugi, a student of Maseno University in Kenya. Congratulations!
During the Kick-off event we organized a study visit to 3 sites: 2 farms and a Fish waste management center.
The enlargement of the INSSPIRE network with partners from South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) Network (University for Development Studies (UDS), Ghana; Universite d'Abomey-Calavi (UAC), Benin; University of Parakou (UP), Benin; Rhodes University (RU), South Africa; University of Western Cape (UWC), South Africa), Moi University Kenya (MU).
A successful workshop on curriculum enrichment around food systems and climate change was organized. The event brought together a diverse group of academic professionals from around the world.
The workshop featured lectures by international experts and the participation of students from the "Feeding the Billions: Challenges and Innovation in Food and Water Security" summer school. Bringing together students and experts not only added a unique perspective to the event but also presented a very interesting opportunity to connect education with real societal challenges.
During the curriculum enhancement workshop, a visit to BioBoerm was organized, a large organic farm in Flevoland, which covers more than 500 hectares of farmland and grows several types of organic produce.
Key topics of the workshop included a thorough review of course enrichment plans, exploring synergies between different courses for module enrichment, and a detailed discussion on the learning objectives and outcomes of the FSCC modules. Participants also engaged in brainstorming sessions about innovative learning methods and the mode of delivery.
In this Memorandum of Agreement the university partners from Kenya and Uganda agreed to work together to complement and enhance the learning experience of students through real-life learning labs in the field of food systems and climate change. The collaboration may involve sharing resources, expertise, teaching materials, and jointly organizing educational events and activities.
The main purpose of the INSSPIRE stakeholder platform is to connect stakeholders from higher education and non-academic sectors to address persistent food and nutrition security problems in Kenya, Uganda and other partner countries, namely Ghana, Benin, and South Africa, which collaborate with the INSSPIRE project through the South-South Triangular Cooperation network on Food systems and Climate Change.
The protocol provides higher education implementers, teachers, supervisors, and management, with a step-by-step roadmap to design & implement Real-life learning lab (RLLL) activities into curriculum and study courses.
INSSPIRE has started collaborating with GeCon, a foundation renowned for its innovative game-based educational solutions, to integrate gamification into curriculum elements, especially focusing on enhancing soft skills.
A 2-day Real-life Learning Lab (RLLL) workshop was held with the aim to empower educators with the tools to integrate R-LLL activities into existing curricula and study courses of their institutions. During the session, participants explored their R-LLL ideas, addressed stakeholder challenges, and created exciting vision boards aimed at stimulating innovation and creativity in education.
The INSSPIRE project team visited the Abatsyaba Apiary Group's banana farm in Nyakasa, Mbarara, Uganda, to engage with local farmers involved in beekeeping and banana cultivation.
Module Content Development Workshop in Uganda
Between the 11th and 15th of March, INSSPIRE/South-South and Triangular Cooperation/Aurora partners (from Netherlands, Kenya, Uganda, Slovenia, Spain, Ghana, Benin, South Africa, and France) met to co-design content for the enrichment of courses with modules on Food Systems and Climate Change.
The workshop brought together INSSPIRE/South-South and Triangular Cooperation partners and representatives from the Kyavonda community, a key Real-life Learning Lab (RLLL) stakeholder collaborating with the South Eastern Kenya University (SEKU). The evaluation workshops, followed by plenary presentations, focused on identifying best practices and success stories, as well as addressing challenges and exploring potential solutions for implementing the RLLL protocol and integrating it into the existing curriculum.
The INSSPIRE team visited the Kyavonda RLLL at Ndatani in the neighbouring County of Kitui, where we explored climate-smart practices such as beekeeping, drought-tolerant crops, rainwater harvesting, agroforestry, and nature-based pest management. The visit also showcased the mutual learning between SEKU students and the community.
The INSSPIRE/South-South and Triangular Cooperation partners shared knowledge on food systems transformation with insights from the African context, discussed and reported lessons learned from the development and implementation of the Real-Life Learning Lab (RLLL) with regional stakeholders, and engaged in active learning activities in a multistakeholder setting.
The INSSPIRE/South-South and Triangular Cooperation partners received training on COIL design and implementation, reviewed progress and lessons learned from COIL activities, provided materials and resources for developing institutional COIL coordination, and conducted a field visit to the RLLL site of Makarere University.
The INSSPIRE team visited the Sight Diary farm RLLL in Namulonge, showcasing integrated crop farming, pasture and silage management, calf handling, zero grazing, waste reuse, and biogas production. The team also explored the RLLL methodology, focusing on identifying constraints, engaging stakeholders, analysing challenges, and co-developing and communicating solutions.
With this call, the INSSPIRE/SSTC partners were invited to submit working papers to share lessons learned in curriculum enrichment, including the application of innovative methods such as Real-life Learning Labs (RLLL), Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), and gamification to the wider academic community.