[kictanet] GERMANY SECRET WEAPON

Thu Mar 14 11:47:05 EAT 2013

Andrea my dear sister (on a light note) wewe umekuwa mwafrika! (You have
become an African)

Have an inspiring rest of the week.

Ali Hussein
 On 14 Mar 2013 11:40, "Andrea Bohnstedt" <
andrea.bohnstedt at ratio-magazine.com> wrote:

> Not sure if it's a brand bubble, and as I said, I haven't lived in Germany
> for a decade.
>
> German engineering is known to be excellent, but I think the German motor
> industry went through a bit of a crisis years ago because the cars were
> just too good. Japanese firms learned to build good, reliable cars much
> cheaper - they weren't that excellent, but then there's a level of
> excellence that might not be necessary for an ordinary consumer with a
> limited budget. I'm sure the industry has adjusted for this by now. For
> tech manufacturing, the southern German area - Bavaria - is worth looking
> at.
>
> Like Facebook says: it's complicated. I think the vocational training
> system is well worth looking at to see what inspiration Kenya can take to
> professionalise the fundi/jua kali industry gradually.
>
> Anecdotally: My parents build a new house last year. Comes with all sorts
> of exciting things: solar panels, the fireplace will heat the water supply
> when it gets too hot, the house is so well isolated that you HAVE to air
> out the rooms to let out moisture, the cooker switches itself off on its
> own if there's no pot on it etc. When I visited, I stood kinda dumbfounded
> in the shower in front of the water tabs wondering how on earth to make the
> water come out and felt massively stupid. Engineers!! :)
>
>
>
> On 14 March 2013 11:29, Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke> wrote:
>
>> This is interesting..
>>
>> Is there a 'Brand Bubble' emerging here? What we perceive as German
>> excellence and what is the reality. I'm really curious. We know that for
>> example German Engineering is held in the highest regard - precision
>> machine tooling (even the Chinese use a lot of German Machinery to
>> manufacture computers, cell-phones etc) or is this just a perception and
>> the reality is very different?
>>
>> My question then is what can we learn from this? We know that the rush to
>> turn all our polytechnics to universities is not sustainable. But what is
>> the threshold? What is the right mix of tertiary and universities?
>>
>> Ali Hussein
>> CEO | 3mice interactive media Ltd
>> Principal | Telemedia Africa Ltd
>>
>> +254 773/713 601113
>>
>> "The future belongs to him who knows how to wait." - Russian Proverb
>>
>> Sent from my iPad
>>
>> On Mar 14, 2013, at 11:10 AM, Norbert Wildermuth <norbert at ruc.dk> wrote:
>>
>>  Being a German living abroad (in Copenhagen, Denmark), where I have
>> been teaching at three universities in media studies and communication
>> since 1996, I agree very much with the points that Andrea raises.
>> Unfortunately the German Academic system is less profession oriented than
>> your input seems to suggest Charles.****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> best regards****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> Norbert****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> *From:* kictanet [
>> mailto:kictanet-bounces+norbert=ruc.dk at lists.kictanet.or.ke<kictanet-bounces+norbert=ruc.dk at lists.kictanet.or.ke>]
>> *On Behalf Of *Andrea Bohnstedt
>> *Sent:* 14. marts 2013 09:25
>> *To:* Norbert Wildermuth
>> *Cc:* KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
>> *Subject:* Re: [kictanet] GERMANY SECRET WEAPON****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> Charles, could you send me the data source for that percentage that two
>> thirds of German students work as apprentices? I think that highly
>> unlikely, not the least because you typically finish A levels (the German
>> Abitur) at age 19, and university studies take around five years (I haven't
>> lived in Germany for ten years, but at least back then, there were few
>> universities that offered the anglophone division of undergraduate and
>> postgraduate studies, so you usually go the whole distance).
>>
>> Some university students may undergo other vocational training (one of my
>> friends trained as a carpenter before she studied to become an architect),
>> but I doubt it's two thirds.
>>
>> It's not correct to say that the government arranges apprenticeships.
>> What Germany does have is a relatively well developed vocational training
>> system that is a combination of on-the-job training and parallel classroom
>> training - and this can be anything from banking to carpentry to car
>> mechanics etc.
>>
>> Germans like to regulate things, so the whole system is very regulated.
>>
>> The German university system has actually often been accused of producing
>> students that are academically overqualified and of not much use in
>> practical issues. In the anglophone system, in contrast, you can pick up
>> the academic basicsin your undergraduate years and then gain practical
>> experience - unless you do want an academic focus, in which case you
>> continue studying.
>>
>> I think the takeaway for Kenya would be not to keep proliferating
>> universities, but to focus more on creating a parallel system of vocational
>> training and maybe polytechnics with a far more practical focus. That way,
>> you could harness the energy and skills in the jua kali sector. Mind you, I
>> don't think this is an either-or - for a diversified economy, you need both
>> the high-end academic and research sector and also the vocational training
>> sector.
>>
>>
>> Andrea ****
>>
>> On 14 March 2013 08:15, charles nduati <charlesnduati2002 at yahoo.co.uk>
>> wrote:****
>>
>> Hi Listers,****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> I don't know if you are aware that Germany is the only country in Europe
>> that hasn't so far experienced economic meltdown. There trick is that two
>> thirds of Germany University students work as apprentices which
>> are arranged by the government. In other words, their education policy is
>> that you acquire skills first then sharpen them with degrees later.****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> For me, all I want is whichever coalition that can implement these kind
>> of policies that are already tried and tested.****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> me two cents****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> ** **
>>
>>  ****
>>
>> CHARLES N. NDUATI
>> DIRECTOR,
>> REVENUE GENERATION AND ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT -KENYATTA UNIVERSITY
>> MOBILE:254-722728815
>> EMIAL:charlesnduati2002 at yahoo.co.uk,cnduati at gmail.com,****
>>
>>
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>>
>>
>> --
>> Andrea Bohnstedt <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/andreabohnstedt>
>> Publisher
>>
>> www.ratio-magazine.com
>> www.africa-assets.com
>>
>>
>> ****
>>
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>>
>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>
>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>>
>>
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>>
>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>
>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Andrea Bohnstedt <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/andreabohnstedt>
> Publisher
>
> www.ratio-magazine.com
> www.africa-assets.com
>
>
>
>
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