Kenyan delegation visits Fanshawe

In April, a delegation of four administrators and two faculty from Friends College Kaimosi and Sang’alo Institute of Science and Technology (SIST) in Kenya visited Fanshawe. In partnership with NorQuest College (Alberta) and Northern Lights College (BC), Fanshawe Global hosted the delegates as part of the Young Africa Works – Youth Employability TVET project.

A comprehensive agenda was planned for their visit from April 19-22 which including learning more about the following areas:

• gender mainstreaming
• leadership development
• marketing tactics and website design
• engagement with business and industry
• data collection methods and analysis, key performance indicators (KPIs), etc.
• entrepreneurship
• student unions
• regional education and community development
• program development (specifically food processing, culinary/bake, and agricultural extension)

With the help of multiple departments from across the College a ton of great information and ideas were shared throughout the visit. The delegation was very impressed and inspired as they learned about the exceptional teaching practices and collaborative, entrepreneurial and community-based initiatives in the School of Transportation, and the Simcoe and Downtown campuses, as well as the exceptional services and support provided by the teams in the Centre for Academic Excellence, Co-op and Career Services, Reputation and Brand Management, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and the Fanshawe Student Union.  

The delegates also enjoyed beautifully prepared lunches, an overview of the Food Processing, Culinary, Bake and Agri-Business programs and their placement options and received their very own Fanshawe chef hats. The group also: took in an experiential learning session on the new simulators in the welding lab; saw a demonstration of Shopify; and planted a beautiful Eastern Redbud with the help of the Horticulture staff and five international students from Kenya (two of which were from the same village as a couple of the delegates).

The delegates also explored the local community, learning about milk production, milk processing and the retail operations at Mistyglen Creamery where they also got to meet the cows, watch the robotic milker and eat the fresh, squeaky cheese curds. They visited Suncrest Orchards and enjoying the taste of a delicious Ambrosia apple. They also watched a London Lightning basketball game and were featured on the Jumbotron.

In particular, the delegates thought:

The session with RBM was an eye opener for us. This will go a long way in helping us incorporate some of the best practices in our brand management. ABIS and Innovation Village were very captivating. It brought out the role of a training institution and the relationship with industry. This was an eye opener for us because in our setting, the industry sets the pace.

It was a very insightful experience which has changed our perspectives positively on a range of issues such as student welfare and more importantly the link between industry and training institutions. What we saw was very enriching. 

As a next step, Fanshawe's TVET-17 support team will be working with Friends College Kaimosi and SIST to apply what was learned during their visit and help build capacity within their own institutions.   
 
Thanks to all those who contributed to this successful visit. We hope you enjoyed the opportunity to make new global connections with our partners.

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