While in Finland, a number of the participants on the SAFIPA Knowledge Exchange Trip came to the realisation that the way in which people in Finland interact, share information and collaborate was a wake-up call which motivated them to embark on a path of discovery, cooperation, integration and innovation.  They strongly feel that these activities are capable of moving education in South Africa in a positive new direction.

Keith Maree  from CampusNet, Ron Beyers of Young Engineers and Scientists of Africa, Leon van der Merwe from LearnScapes, JanHendrik Oosthuizen from Trydian Interactive and Dave Lockwood who heads up the Naledi 3D Factory, have recently come together to found the South African Alliance for ICT and Development Education Cluster.

Inspiration from Finnish innovation practices

Based on the Finnish approach to innovation, collaboration and discovery, the South African Alliance for ICT and Development Education Cluster, established in 2010, offers a new way to tackle the education challenges facing South Africa, through dialogue and project collaboration.

Education, training and skills development at all levels of society remain high on the national agenda and few would disagree that there is a willingness to identify more efficient and accessible ways to meet this need and to promote a broader culture of learning, skills development and responsible citizens. Education is a powerful way to address poverty alleviation.  Many education projects, however, explore new approaches and technologies in isolation, leading to one major difficulty – that of sustainable replication.

Educational Cluster goals

The Educational Cluster initiative is an innovative response, one that is based on collaboration and “new media” to link together interested stakeholders from Government departments and educational agencies, academic institutions, FET colleges, content developers, content providers, infrastructure providers, donor organisations, non-profit organisations, regional business as well as local community leaders. Thus, through the Educational Cluster, partners can collectively engage and collaborate in new ways that can nurture improved skills development in the country. (more…)