Topic outline

  • General

  • Press release

    Great Virtual Closing Event of the ADDI-Project

    As part of the BWS plus project "Development of an ADaptive DIgital Learning System for the Expansion of Technical communication and the multicultural and multi-medial exchange in Kenya and Germany (ADDI)", a big virtual closing event took place on 17 June 2021. The event was hosted and organised by Prof. Sissi Closs in cooperation with Belinda Oechsler from the Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences (HsKA) and Edith Miano from Pwani University in Kilifi (PU). Together with international guests and the people involved in the project, they looked back on the joint success and the goals achieved in the past years.
    The ADDI project (ADDI - ADaptive DIgital learning system development for the expansion of Technical communication and the multicultural and multi-medial exchange in Kenya and Germany) is financed over 3 years, and extended by 9 months due to Corona, within the framework of the Baden-Württemberg-STIPENDIUM for university students - BWS plus, a program of the Baden-Württemberg Stiftung.

    After 4 years, the ADDI project ended in June 2021 for which a big closing event was planned at the PU in Kilifi. Due to the COVID-pandemic, the event was held virtually with the help of the online meeting platform Zoom. Participation was thus possible regardless of location using an appropriate terminal device such as a laptop or smartphone. In this way, guests and people involved in the project from different places in Germany, Kenya and Ireland were able to participate. The focus of the event was to look back on the past years of the project, the joint successes and the valuable experiences that were gained during this time.

    The programme started with an official welcome and introduction by the organisation and ADDI project team around Prof. Sissi Closs, Belinda Oechsler, Simone Martin and Edith Miano. Afterwards, the first part of the programme followed: the history of the ADDI project from the first contact in 2014, to the start of the project in 2017, the many events, projects and the successful student exchanges between the HsKA and the PU. A special highlight were the illustrations by the talented artist Tabea Erhart, which visually accompanied the history and the various stages of the ADDI project. Cosima Weyers, project manager of the Baden-Württemberg Stiftung, then presented the foundation, as well as the numerous funding opportunities for students and teachers offered through the Baden-Württemberg-STIPENDIUM for students and BWS plus. In a review of the ADDI project, she emphasised the unique success of the project. Twice as many students were involved in the exchange than originally planned. Already in October 2020, the first big virtual event took place and then a semester of virtual workshops was offered in the extension and all within the original budget. She also emphasised the extraordinarily long and good partnership between HSKA and PU. Prof. Dr. Michael Tewes, Dean of the Faculty of Information Management and Media at the HsKA, and Prof. Muniru Tsanuo, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research at the PU, then gave a short speech, in which they also addressed the good cooperation between the two universities as well as the relevance and importance of such international university projects. Belinda Oechsler, former student of the HsKA, and Paul Mumelo, student of the PU, reported in this context on their experiences abroad with the Baden-Württemberg-STIPENDIUMs for students - BWS plus. Both agree that it is a wonderful opportunity to gain new impressions, get to know new cultures and educational systems and, above all, to grow personally. As a thank you for the sponsorship and thus the chance to have all these experiences, a short video was shown with all 13 Kenyan and German exchange students. Dr. Rukyia Swaleh, Dr. Elizabeth Munyaya and Prof. Yakobo Mutiti from PU then reported on their experiences in the ADDI project.

    After a lunch break, Prof. Sissi Closs showed some examples of the many student projects that were created during the project years in the context of the master's course "Content Strategy and Information Architecture with DITA 1.3". Belinda Oechsler then presented the exchange platform karlifi.org, which contains exciting content such as reports from the exchange students, reviews of all ADDI events, and recordings of the virtual "Communication and Media Training" workshops. Abdallah Chimerah, who spent an exchange semester at the HsKA in 2019, then spoke about his experiences and how much they have influenced his life. Inspired by his time in Germany and the cooperation, he is currently writing a novel that is partly set in Germany. Afterwards, Belinda Oechsler, representing the ADDI organisational team, talked about her experiences of "working in an international team". She particularly addressed the hurdles that arise due to cultural differences and how these were overcome as a team. Finally, she thanked the entire project team for the good and friendly cooperation, the cultural exchange and the respectful interaction with each other.

    As no further student exchanges could take place due to the COVID-pandemic, monthly virtual workshops were held with selected PU students on the topic of "Communication and Media" from March 2021 to June 2021. Collins Rubia, Bachelor student in the German programme at PU, gave a review of these virtual workshops. Together with his fellow students Emmanuel Barakah and Kevin Akuno, he showed their impressive results, which were created during the visualisation workshop. As a big highlight for the Kenyan students who had participated in the workshops, the certificates of participation for them were then ceremoniously presented.

    At the end of the event and thus of the entire project, Prof. Sissi Closs and Edith Miano took the floor once again. They thanked the participants for the last 4 years and the good cooperation. Both agree that the ADDI project is only the beginning of a long cooperation between Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences and Pwani University and look forward enthusiastically to the next planned project, which is already waiting in the wings.

    Baden-Württemberg-STIPENDIUM
    The Baden-Württemberg-STIPENDIUM supports the international exchange of students and vocationally qualified people. Since 2001, it has enabled more than 20,000 young people from Baden-Württemberg to gain experience abroad and allowed scholarship holders from other countries to visit Baden-Württemberg. Approximately 1,500 young people receive a Baden-Württemberg-STIPENDIUM each year.

    www.bw-stipendium.de

    Baden-Württemberg-STIPENDIUM for University Students – BWS plus
    With the Baden-Württemberg-STIPENDIUM for University Students – BWS plus, the Baden-Württemberg Stiftung supports innovative joint projects between universities from Baden-Württemberg and their international partners. The programme, which is endowed with approximately 1.2 million euros annually, was announced for the first time in 2011. Since then, more than 90 BWS plus projects have been supported at universities in Baden-Württemberg.

    The Baden-Württemberg Stiftung
    advocates a vital Baden-Württemberg with a high quality of life for all its residents. It helps pave the way for advanced technological progress, high quality education, and a responsible relationship with fellow human beings. The Baden-Württemberg Stiftung is one of the major foundations in Germany. It is the only foundation which exclusively and above party lines invests in the future of the state of Baden-Württemberg – and thus in the future of its citizens.

    www.bwstiftung.de



    • Welcome and Opening Words | Prof. Sissi Closs, Edith Maino, Simone Martin, Belinda Oechsler

      The programme started with an official welcome and introduction by the organisation and ADDI project team around Prof. Sissi Closs, Belinda Oechsler, Simone Martin and Edith Miano.

        

       

      • History of the ADDI-Project | Prof. Sissi Closs, Tabea Erhart

        Sissi Closs presented the history of the ADDI project from the first contact in 2014, to the start of the project in 2017, the many events, projects and the successful student exchanges between the HsKA and the PU. A special highlight was the drawings by the talented artist Tabea Erhart, which visually accompanied the history and the various stages of the ADDI project.

         

         

        • Presentation of the Baden-Württemberg Stiftung | Cosima Weyers

          Cosima Weyers, project manager of the Baden-Württemberg Foundation, then presented the foundation. In a review of the ADDI project, she emphasised how successful the project was from the Foundation's point of view and how special the stable cooperation between the HsKA and the PU was.

           

          • Welcome and Greetings | Prof. Dr. Michael Tewes, Prof. Muniru Tsanuo

            Prof. Dr. Michael Tewes, Dean of the Faculty of Information Management and Media at Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, supported and accompanied the project from the very beginning. In his short speech, he spoke about the good cooperation between the two universities and the relevance and importance of such international university projects.

             

             

            Prof. Muniru Tsanuo, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research at Pwani University also expressed his gratitude for the good collaborative work and again gave a brief review of the project.

             

             

            • Exchange Experiences | Belinda Oechsler, Paul Mumelo

              Over the past 4 years, many students have been able to gain intercultural experience through the ADDI project. 13 students spent one semester each at the partner university. 9 students participated in a virtual student exchange due to the COVID pandemic. In this slot, the 13 exchange students talk about their experiences.

              Together with a fellow student, Belinda Oechsler was the first German exchange student at Pwani University in 2018. Here she talks about her experiences.

               


              Paul Mumelo from Pwani University spent an exchange semester at Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences in 2019. In his presentation, he talks about his experiences.

               


              With this self-produced video, all scholarship holders who were able to spend an exchange semester within the framework of the ADDI project would like to thank the Baden-Württemberg Stiftung for the support and the unique opportunity.

               

               

              Together with a film crew, Belinda Oechsler travelled to Kenya in February 2020 to make a short film about her semester abroad at Pwani University, which was made possible by funding from BWS plus. 

               

               

              • Teaching Experience in the ADDI Project at Pwani University | Dr. Rukyia Swaleh, Dr. Elizabeth Munyaya, Prof. Yakobo Mutiti

                Dr. Rukyia Swaleh from Pwani University gives a brief review of the cooperation between the two universities and then discusses her experiences with the German exchange students on the topic of Kiswahili.

                 



                Dr. Elizabeth Munyaya from Pwani Uniersity talks about her experiences in the ADDI project and especially in the virtual workshops.

                 

                 


                Prof. Yakobo Mutiti also talks about his experiences in the ADDI project.

                 

                 


                • Project Results | Prof. Sissi Closs, Belinda Oechsler

                  Prof. Sissi Closs showed some examples of the many student projects that were created during the project years in the context of the Master's course "Content Strategy and Information Architecture with DITA 1.3". Belinda Oechsler presented the exchange platform karlifi.org, which contains exciting content such as reports from the exchange students, reviews of all ADDI events, as well as recordings of the virtual "Communication and Media Training" workshops.

                   

                   

                  • Sustainable Impact of the Project | Abdallah Chimerah

                    Abdallah Chimerah from Pwani University has spent a semester abroad at Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences in 2019. In his talk, he relates the lasting influences that this experience had on his life.

                     

                     


                    • Working in an International Team – Lessons Learned | Belinda Oechsler

                      Belinda Oechsler, on behalf of the ADDI organisational team, talked about the experiences of "Working in an international team". She particularly addressed the hurdles that arise due to cultural differences and how they were overcome as a team. Finally, she thanked the entire project team for the good, friendly cooperation, the cultural exchange and the respectful interaction with each other.

                       

                       

                      • Virtual Communication and Media Training: Conclusion | Collins Rubia, Kevin Akuno, Emmanuel Barakah

                        As no further student exchanges could take place due to the Corona pandemic, monthly virtual meetings were held with selected PU students on the topic of "Communication and Media" from March 2021 to June 2021. 9 students from Pwani University and 3 students from Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences participated in this virtual intercultural exchange.

                        Collins Rubia, a Bachelor's student in German at PU, gave a review of these virtual workshops.

                         

                         

                        Together with his fellow students Emmanuel Barakah and Kevin Akuno, he showed their great results that were created during the visualisation workshop.
                         

                         

                        • Wrap up and Goodbye

                          At the end of this great event and thus also of the entire project, all that remains is to say thank you. Thanks to everyone who took part in the event, but also thanks to all those who have been involved in the project over the last 4 years and have thus contributed to its success.
                          The ADDI project is now coming to an end, but for the great cooperation between Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences and Pwani University, this was just the beginning.

                           

                           


                          Thank you - Vielen Dank - Asante Sana