Norway - Tanzania: academic cooperation across borders
Despite language barriers and cultural differences, it is important to work together even when people speak different languages and have different backgrounds, says leader behind the bachelor and masters programmes in PE and sports sciences developed in Tanzania.
Cooperation betwwen North and South was the topic during the November 2005 session of the Discussion Forum on Sport for Development and Peace at the Norwegian University of Sport and Physical Education (NUSPE).
Morgan Olsen and Robert Stallman, former and present lecturers at NUSPE, presented the cooperation between NUSPE and the
University of Dar Es Salaam (UDSM) in Tanzania.
Collaboration through sport
Between 1980 and 1986, Morgan Olsen carried out a study within NUSPE to find out what people thought about using sport as a means of development aid, and in 1986 he went to Tanzania to find out whether it was possible to create a collaboration between NUSPE and the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM).
He met with professor Mary who at that time was a member of the Tanzanian Sports Council and they agreed on the importance of having physical education and sport science at the university.
Difficult startFrom 1986 to 1990
NORAD, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, was in charge of all money allocated to development work and at that time they didn‘t put much focus into supporting academic programmes.
The universities in Norway didnt‘t agree with this policy and formed a board called NUFU (The Norwegian Programme for Development, Research and Higher Education) which were to support academic research and educational co-operation between institutions in Norway and the South.
NUFU was to receive money from NORAD and distribute it further to educational and research programmes, and at the same time aim at equal partnership between the North and South partners. SUBS- translated into ”Center for Development, Aid and Cooperation” was started by NUSPE in order to get support from NUFU for the development programme they wanted to start.
SUBS would cooperate with different academic programmes in the South, starting with the collaboration between NUSPE and UDSM. Olsen explained that it was difficult for people on both sides to understand that they were equal partners and there was a lack of mutual understanding.
New academic programmes
The Bachelor programme, also known as the PESC programme (Physical Education, Sports and Culture) was started in 1993 and is now a faculty under the Faculty of Education.
The Bachelor programme reaches over 4 years and there‘s also a chance to continue to get a 2 year Masters degree. The major is physical education, and the 1st minor is education, while the 2nd minor is free of choice, but the subjects to choose from are limited. There are different practical activities taking place, such as football, basketball, volleyball, athletics, swimming, tennis and table tennis.
From the start in 1993 to 2005 approximately 200 bachelor students and 15 master students have graduated. 4 PESC students have obtained a PhD with support from NUSPE and NUFU.
Challenges
- Communication and using English as the language of instruction could be a challenge for the students since they come from different ethnic groups and have different mother tongues, says Morgan Olsen.
He believed therefore that communication should be discussed thoroughly when dealing with a multi-cultural group of people.