[kictanet] GERMANY SECRET WEAPON

Thu Mar 14 17:56:00 EAT 2013

I haven't laid a foot in Germany so I am the most unqualified to comment on
this but couldn't help it.

Being a University student I can relate the frustration that is so endemic
in the system it seems inbuilt. There are units I have taken especially
first year that were quite simply unnecessary in my profession and I can
safely say I will not be using them any time soon.

There is always the chance that am a young arrogant (Ignorant?) generation
Y that believes he knows more than his professor but once I go for
internship and I learn the archaic contraption that was used to train me
got phased out in the 80's then I feel like my time was wasted.

I think the primary workforce for the economy should be students/
apprentices. Right from first year the student should be embedded into a
firm that is in the said career line that is being trained for. Why go
through 4-5 years through an academic course then need more training at a
company's expense? Dont the Universities feel like they are not adding to
the society? What is their performance metric? How does churning useless
graduates help the discipline?

The younger lecturers(and progressive older ones ) that train me express
their frustration at the university administrations for basically stiffling
development and making moronic decisions based on petty personality
politics.

On Thu, Mar 14, 2013 at 11:51 AM, Andrea Bohnstedt <
andrea.bohnstedt at ratio-magazine.com> wrote:

> Even me, I think so!
>
> After years in Frankfurt, after my dad's retirement, my parents ended up
> building the house in the tiny town where I spent the first four years of
> my life. Like any good African, I now have my rural home. Shags!
>
> On 14 March 2013 11:47, Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke> wrote:
>
>> 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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>>>>
>>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at
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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
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>
>
> --
> 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.
>

-- 
Regards,

Mark Mwangi

markmwangi.me.ke
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