Tanzania Events
Below are details of some recent events run by INASP and local partners
For more information on these workshops, or to download training materials, see the Training Activities and Materials page.
AuthorAID Manuscript Writing and Train the Trainers Workshop, June 2010
Project planning and project management, January 2010
Curriculum Development/Review for Bachelor of Arts in LIS, December 2009
Information Searching and Retrieval Using Web-based Technologies, August 2009
AuthorAID Manuscript Writing and Train the Trainers Workshop, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, 21-25th June, 2010
The AuthorAID Manuscript Writing and Train the Trainers Workshop was held at the University of Dar Es Salaam from the 21st to 25th June 2010. 25 researchers attended the Manuscript writing workshop and 12 attended the Train the Trainers sessions. The goal of the manuscript writing workshop was to train early career researchers in the following areas:
- Approaching scientific writing
- Publishing and writing scientific papers
- Grant proposal writing
The workshop included a Train the Trainers day which trained participants in manuscript writing workshop facilitation skills.
"The training exceeded my original expectation. The objective was to improve my writing skills however the training has also increased my confidence in oral and poster presentation." Judith Msovela, National Institute for Medical Research, Tanzania
Project planning and project management workshop, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 12 - 15 January 2010
Library and information services are increasingly funded from multiple sources, including government budgets, development funding, sponsorship and income generation, which tend to encourage 'projectisation'. Also, the adoption of strategic management practices is becoming more widespread, particularly among academic libraries, requiring the problem analysis and action planning typical of a project approach to library and information service development.
This four-day workshop was based on materials first developed by Julie Carpenter for a similar workshop in Ethiopia. Emphasising active participation through group work and discussions, the workshop focused on how to plan robust and achievable projects, and managing thier implementation in the face of changing external and internal constraints. The goal was to help participants understand the general principles and techniques of project planning and management and to apply these to real workplace projects within the library and information field.
The workshop was facilitated by Alice Nkhoma-Wamunza and co-facilitated by Francina Makondo (Zambia) with guest attendance from a senior librarian from Malawi.
Curriculum Development/Review for Bachelor of Arts in Library and Information Science Workshop, 2nd -3rd December 2009, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
The Library and Information Science Programme was started in 1997 with two students who registered for Masters Programme. Today, that Programme has a total of 52 students. There are also 15 registered PhD students at various stages of their research work.
The current plan is to offer three levels (i.e. Bachelor, Masters and PhD) and to upgrade the Programme to a Department, under the College of Arts and Social Sciences. This is expected to go hand in hand with the separation of the Library School from Library Services. The Department is expected to grow to a full fledged "School of Library and Information Science" that will at that point stand on its own.
Having developed a draft BA curriculum in Library and Information Science in 2008, the purpose of this workshop was to enable stakeholders to examine all the proposed courses in order to ascertain their validity and relevance; update courses that needed revision; and to plan the way forward.
In addition to the academic staff of the UDSM Library participants included representatives from the Open University of Tanzania, Sokoine and Tumaini Universities, School of Library, Archives and Documentation Centre (SLADS) in Bagamoyo, Tanzania Library Services Board (TLS), and the Tanzania Library Association (TLA).
The two days workshop was participatory in nature. The participants were organized in three groups, with each group choosing its own chairperson and secretary. Each group went through the content of each course and made its observations for the general discussion. One and half days were spent on working in groups and the last half day was spent on presentations and general comments to be used for synthesis of the observations in order to improve and harmonise the contents of the curriculum.
Information Searching and Retrieval Using Web-based Technologies, Tanzania Library Services Board (TLSB), National Central Library, Dar es Salaam 24-28 August, 2009
The facilitator Dr Evans Wema (UDSM) introduced some new concepts and ideas to aid effective search and usage of electronic information and resources. This was an interactive workshop where the twenty one librarians attending practised the skills demonstrated and shared their learning by making presentations to the group. Topics covered included:
- Introduction to Information Needs
- Identifying Sources and Search tools
- Information Searching
- Information dissemination and sharing
Feedback was very positive helped by a group of participants noted as "very attentive, enthusiastic and eager to learn". Whilst there was the ongoing problem of periodic connectivity and power cuts, participants acquired relevant skills and knowledge on new development in their area of work.