Need Assessment Report WP 1 TASK 1.1

www.maya-project.eu 586170-EPP-1-2017-1-2017-1-IT-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP

July 2018

Acknowledgements

Prepared by Luciano Gutierrez, Matteo Funaro, Ambra Ilaria Cincotti, Alfio Satta Desertification Research Centre University of Sassari and Paola Romano UNIMED.

The study has been carried out under the framework of the Master in Agricultural and hYdrological Approaches MAYA project financed by the European Union under the program Erasmus+ KA2 - Capacity Building in Higher Education.

The field data for this study was collected by the teams of University of Tunis El Manar, under the guidance of Prof. Bechir Hamrouni; University of Carthage under the guidance of Prof. Talel Stambouli; University of Sfax under the guidance of Prof. Radhuane Gdoura.

Members of the Teaching Groups from Universities of Tunis El Manar, Carthage, and Sfax provided suggestions in the definition of the questionnaire and gave effective on the ground arrangements and support. All have reviewed the draft of this report. We are thankful for their supports.

Table of Contents

Index of tables 5 Index of figures 5 General introduction 7 1. Executive Summary 9 2. Introduction 12 2.1 The MAYA Project 12 2.2 Object of the survey 13 2.3 Role and performance of the University: a series of questionnaires 14 3. Population, sample and data statistics 17 3.1 Characteristics of students 17 3.2 Characteristics of teachers 17 3.3 Characteristics of enterprises 18 3.4 Data analysis tools 18 4. Curriculum Evaluation-Universities 19 4.1 Summary 19 4.2 University of Tunis El Manar 19 4.2.1 Course categories and objectives 20 4.2.2 Teaching methods and course assignments 22 4.2.3 Evaluation of students: tools and criteria 22 4.3 University of Carthage 23 4.3.1 Course categories and objectives 23 4.3.2 Teaching methods and course assignments 28 4.3.3 Evaluation of students: tools and criteria 28 5. Need Assessment University of Tunis El Manar 29 5.1 Need Assessment students 29 5.2 Need Assessment teacher 36 5.3 Need Assessment Enterprises 42 5.4 Concluding Remarks 45 6. Need Assessment University of Sfax 46 6.1 Need Assessment students 46 6.2 Need Assessment teacher 53 6.3 Concluding Remarks 59 3

7. Need Assessment University of Carthage 60 7.1 Need Assessment students 60 7.2 Need Assessment teacher 67 7.3 Need Assessment Enterprises 72 7.4 Concluding Remarks 74 8. Conclusions 75 Appendix I: Questionnaires 78 Appendix II: Photos Universities of Tunis el Manar, Sfax, Carthage 99

Index of tables Table 1- Course categories and objectives- University of Tunis El Manar ...... 20 Table 2 Course Categories University of Carthage ...... 24

Index of figures

Figure 1- Age distribution- University of Tunis El Manar ...... 29 Figure 2- Motivation de l’etudiant – University of Tunis El Manar ...... 30 Figure 3- Mission principale- University of Tunis El Manar ...... 31 Figure 4- Services de support et facilitè- University of Tunis El Manar ...... 32 Figure 5- Stage à l’étranger- University of Tunis El Manar ...... 32 Figure 6-Expériences éducatives- University of Tunis El Manar ...... 33 Figure 7- Satisfait des compétences développée- University of Tunis El Manar ...... 34 Figure 8- Les mesures prises par les universités- University of Tunis El Manar ...... 35 Figure 9- Âgé distribution- University of Tunis El Manar ...... 36 Figure 10- Participation aux activités professionnelles- University of Tunis El Manar ...... 37 Figure 11- Mission Universitaire- University of Tunis El Manar ...... 38 Figure 12- Services de support et facilité- University of Tunis El Manar ...... 38 Figure 13- Expériences éducatives- University of Tunis El Manar ...... 39 Figure 14- Evaluer l’importance des mesures prises par le universités University of Tunis El Manar ... 40 Figure 15- Compétences développées par les étudiants- University of Tunis El Manar ...... 41 Figure 16- Importance des facteurs suivants dans le recrutement des diplômés universitaires- University of Tunis El Manar ...... 43 Figure 17- Compétences- University of Tunis el Manar ...... 44 Figure 18- Âgé distribution- University of Sfax ...... 46 Figure 19- Motivation de l’etudiant- University of Sfax ...... 47 Figure 20- Mission principale- University of Sfax ...... 48 Figure 21- Services de support et facilitè- University of Sfax ...... 49 Figure 22- Stage à l’étranger- University of Sfax ...... 49 Figure 23 -Expériences éducatives- University of Sfax ...... 50 Figure 24- Compétences développées par les étudiants- University of Sfax ...... 51 Figure 25- Mesures prises par les universités- University of Sfax ...... 52 Figure 26- Âgé distribution- University of Sfax ...... 53 Figure 27- Participation aux activités professionnelles- University of Sfax ...... 54 Figure 28- Mission Universitaire- University of Sfax ...... 55 Figure 29- Services de support et facilité- University of Sfax ...... 56 Figure 30 -Expériences éducatives- University of Sfax ...... 56 Figure 31- Mesures suivantes prises par les universités- University of Sfax ...... 57 Figure 32- Compétences développées par les étudiants- University of Sfax ...... 58 Figure 33- Âgé distribution- University of Carthage ...... 60 Figure 34- Motivation de l’etudiant- University of Carthage ...... 61 5

Figure 35- Mission principale- University of Carthage ...... 62 Figure 36- Services de support et facilité – University of Carthage ...... 63 Figure 37- Stage à l’étranger- University of Carthage ...... 63 Figure 38-Expériences éducatives- University of Carthage ...... 64 Figure 39- Satisfait des compétences développées- University of Carthage ...... 65 Figure 40- Mesures prises par les universités –University of Carthage ...... 66 Figure 41- Âgé distribution of teacher- University of Carthage ...... 67 Figure 42- Participation aux activitès professionnelles- University of Carthage ...... 68 Figure 43- Mission universitaire- University of Carthage...... 69 Figure 44- Services de support et facilitè- University of Carthage ...... 69 Figure 45- Expériences éducatives-University of Carthage ...... 70 Figure 46- Evaluer l’importance des mesures suivantes prises par les universités- University of Carthage...... 71 Figure 47- Compétences développées par les étudiants- University of Carthage ...... 71 Figure 48- Compètences- University of Carthage ...... 73 Figure 49 -University of Sfax 16-17 July 2018 ...... 99 Figure 50 -University of Carthage 16-17 July 2018 ...... 99 Figure 51-University of Tunis el Manar, 16-17 July 2018 ...... 100

General introduction

During the French colonization, the Tunisian education system included three types of schools: traditional Koranic school, colonial schools using French language and Franco-Arab schools. Later, the teaching of the Islamic religion and the Arabic language was reinforced by the study of French language and technical and scientific subjects. After independence, the Franco-Arab schools became the formal educational system of Tunisia. Since 1956, a deep reform of education system has been implemented, it gave high priority to the generalisation, unification and tunisification. Under the guidance of Bourguiba, an enlightened Islamism and a moderate nationalism inspired the process of decolonization of the Tunisian school. The school system was unified and all schools were placed under the control of the Ministry of Education. The elementary cycle was reduced from seven to six years, the school hours reformed, and double shifts were introduced to facilitate mass schooling. Thanks to these measures and to a policy of free school, the elementary schooling experienced a great leap. In the decades following the independence the imbalance between city and countryside and between boys and girls was progressively reduced. Tunisia is currently at the first places for the rate of elementary schooling in Africa, with the enrolment rate constantly increasing. Even the Tunisian high school experienced a great expansion, which continues today. Despite the widespread literacy campaigns, launched after independence, and the increase of the elementary schooling, illiteracy in the country remains high, especially among women and in the rural areas where it reaches the 41.7% (INS,2014). After two years of intense consultations, in 1990 a new Education law was promulgated in the country. This law extends the compulsory schooling to nine years and proposes to reduce the scholastic dispersion, improving the quality of basic teaching. The expected strong increase of the enrolled in middle school, due to the implementation of the reform and the demographic pressure, and the objectives of improving the quality of education impose a renewed effort on the Tunisian school system. The public education is free from elementary school to university. The State supports pupils in disadvantaged condition, through a system of scholarships and free services. The gap in accessing to university remains large and the access to good quality institutions is remarkable, since linked to the payment of university fees. Legislating for equal opportunity and against discrimination is a key strategy of the government to foster equity and affordability of the higher education system. Only few countries in the world guarantee in their constitutions universal access to

7 post-secondary education. Among them Ecuador, Greece and Tunisia since 2008 (Global Education Monitoring report 2017). According to the official statistics of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, the Tunisian public higher education system currently has more than 280,000 students, 12,000 academic staff (Professor, Associate professor, Assistant professor and Lecturer) and around 10,000 full time teaching staff (Contract lecturer, Medical university teacher, Technologist Teacher, Technologist, Assistant technologist, Lecturer technologist, Teacher of Secondary Education, Other ranks, Foreigners). 13 Universities and 203 Public institutions, including 25 Technological Institutes under the General Directorate of Technological Studies compose the Tunisian University. Unlike most universities in the world, where students and teachers are directly assigned, the Tunisian university is more like a consortium of institutions. Administrative staff and teachers are recruited directly by the Ministry. There are many decisions that must be taken exclusively at the level of the supervising Ministry, reducing the margin of initiative of the universities.

Scientific research is hindered by several administrative constraints. The lack of flexibility in budget management, the procedures for purchasing equipment, technician’s recruitment and setting up missions are some of the obstacles for the researchers. Among the problems that affect the education there are mediocre school results, a high rate of neglect, lack of resources and poor motivation of teachers. Scientific research in Tunisia does not have adequate funding, many universities do not have the necessary resources and the laboratories are poorly equipped. The last budget approved by the Parliament, for 2015, foresee an expense of 5% of the GDP for the whole field of higher education; and of the 0,34% for the scientific research. The Tunisian universities are not high in international rankings, the results of the students are low and youth unemployment is high, around 25%. Tunisia has adopted the French education systems without having the necessary conditions to implement it properly, for this reason, the results are not as expected. University studies are not responding to the economic environment and to the labour market requirements. Nowadays, unemployment of highly educated people is the main problem in Tunisia, and this leads to many problems of public order, illegal emigration and terrorism. Some of the reforms proposed, that are currently under discussion in Parliament, would give to the universities more financial autonomy, and would ensure an institutional restructuring of educational institutions with a reduction of disparities between different entities, giving more importance to scientific research, as well as further stimulating international cooperation. This structural reform will take years to function radically the 8 whole system, but it must start now. However, a reform of the higher education system could not take place without a clear development plan, in which universities are oriented towards the national economy and labour market needs.

1. Executive Summary

The survey reports the analysis on the Needs Assessment of the Universities of Tunis El Manar, Carthage and Sfax. The study has been carried out in the framework of the MAYA (Master in Agricultural and hYdrological Approaches) project financed by the European Union under the program Erasmus+ KA2 - Capacity Building in Higher Education. The project aims at increasing the skills of Tunisian students in the field of Integrated Water and Agricultural Management (IWAM) by developing a new Research Master. We have firstly carried out an assessment of the curriculum of each university on IWAM and, secondly, an analysis of the students and teachers’ perception on the educational quality, currently provided by the Higher Education Institutions partners in Tunisia. Some questions were asked to both students and teachers to highlight the different perceptions on the same focal questions. Their opinions have been integrated by those of the CEOs of the enterprises hosting internships with the aim of analyzing whether the skills acquired by graduated students meet the minimum requirements to access the labour market. A draft report on the Needs Assessment was presented and discussed in July 2018 with the members of the Teaching Groups and some students. Suggestions and comments sorted out during these meetings are integrated in the report. The survey provids relevant information to support the development of a new high quality educational Research Master on IWAM. It advises on the potential requirement to run a multidisciplinary Research Master in each partner university, constituted by new learning methods, sharing of competences and experiences, promoting lifelong learning opportunities for Tunisians researchers and teachers, and the improvement of the teaching and learning level. The Research Master aims to meet the request of the labour market and to prepare skilled graduates ready to deal with the constraints of the Tunisian socio- economic situation. Furthermore, significant new initiatives should be implemented as requested and suggested by the survey participants, such as cross-disciplinary courses, students and teachers’ mobility, seminars and abroad traineeships.

Four different questionnaires were distributed among the three Tunisian University partners, teachers, 9 students and enterprises. Specifically, 30 questionnaires were collected to gain information about the curricula in the fields linked to IWAM. 138 students were interviewed on the reasons behind their enrolment, experience and level of satisfaction of facilities supplied by their university and the quality of the services received in terms of teaching methods and skills effectively acquired. 48 teachers were asked on formal and informal professional activities, teaching experience, quality of education and skills developed by students. Finally, 16 enterprises were interviewed to acquire information on the skills they require as employers and their perception on the level of knowledge of graduates.

Main results from the curricula analysis

 Universities provide mostly modules in the field of water management, quality of water and environmental science.  The average attendance is 23 students in each class.  The courses are taught through lectures, laboratory and field visits.  All the courses are taught in French; they last for an average of 35 total hour’s course.  Some courses required previous knowledge, while traineeship period is usually not compulsory.  The most used assessment methods are midterm, final, practical and oral examination.  Multiple-choice questions test and written assignments are also used.

Main results from the questionnaires of teachers, students and enterprises analysis are:

 Teachers and students agree that the main university mission is training graduates to meet job requirements.  Only the 22% of students declare that the university mission is accomplished against 35% of teachers’ opinion.  The most difficult aspects encountered when hiring new graduates are: enough technical knowledge and practical skills and Diploma in a specific field.

Furthermore, regarding the support and facilities provided by the university system, teachers and students complain of the poor availability of classrooms and lab facilities, computers and technologies. Teachers are also disappointed with library resources and mostly with the facilities connected with campus resources for visiting professors, career counselling and placement for students. However, library facilities are much more available now than before. Recently some universities had access to international scientific databases. Opportunities to spend mobility period abroad are low. Students also regret the shortage of financial supports1, although university education is free.

1 Scholarships exist, but their attributions are not under the responsibility of the university or the teaching persons. They are not allocated according to the merit or the needs of the laboratories for their research projects. 10

We asked a set of questions related to the skills that students are developing at university and which they feel are improving more. The responses from students are positive for research and theoretical skill, ability to work in team and independently, and capacity to be self-confident. Students are less positive mostly regarding the education they are acquiring with respect to languages, computer literacy and critical analysis. Similar conclusions can be drawn from the replies acquired through the teachers’ questionnaires. Also, they too remark poor communication skills in oral and as in written expression, writing and presenting reports. A final question asked to the students was whether the skills they are acquiring would be useful to access the labor market. The 62 % of them answered negatively. Students are satisfied by the quality of the education they are receiving and the attitude of teachers in spreading the knowledge. The companies suggest compulsory work placement experience (as an integral part of the curriculum) as a benefit in terms of employability. These aspects are perfectly coherent with the lack of practical skills highlighted by the companies when employing recent graduates. Some companies do not have any kind of relationship with the universities and both teachers and students agree to encounter difficulties in performing internships with enterprises.

2. Introduction

2.1 The MAYA Project

The MAYA (Master in Agricultural and hYdrological Approaches) Project is leaded by Sassari University in partnership with European Universities (University of Girona – UdG and Aristotle University of Thessaloniki – AUTH), the Union of Mediterranean Universities – UNIMED and three Tunisian Universities (University of Tunis El Manar – UTM, University of Sfax – US, University of Carthage – UCAR). The Overall objective of the project is to contribute in enhancing the capacity building of the higher education sector in Tunisia ensuring that high quality educational curricula meets professional, employer and socioeconomic needs of the Country. MAYA aims at increasing the professionalism of young students by supporting the development of a new inter-university postgraduate Master Agricultural and hYdrological Approaches. The new curriculum will take into account new approaches to tackle water scarcity and desertification processes. The new Master will be designed to be student-oriented, based on new innovative learning methods and adjusted to the Bologna process requirements. In addition, a cooperation agreement signed by involved universities and other stakeholders will establish an international educational network on Agricultural and hydrological Approaches to a better sustainable development that will create new cooperative opportunities and relationships. In light of the above, in order to plan a new master course, the Scientific Group (SG) conducted an evaluation of the curricula of the involved Tunisian universities. The evaluation analysis has taken into consideration teaching methods, student-teacher interaction, classroom interactions and other dynamics of the teaching and learning processes. The SG under the supervision of NRD-UNISS and UNIMED developed the evaluation assessment through a shared process. The evaluation assessment consists of: Analysis of existing learning programs and materials, discussion among partners and meetings, interviews and questionnaires (here in annexes) involving different stakeholders (teachers, students and enterprises). The Scientific Group designed and distributed the questionnaires. The questionnaires were filled both on paper copies and via e-mail.

The Scientific Group, with the support of UNIMED and NRD-UNISS, has analysed answers and inputs received by the stakeholders’ consultative process. Consequently, NRD-UNISS and UNIMED produced an evaluation report assessing the current curricula status, teaching methods, needs and roadmap to follow in order to enhance quality of teaching and learning process, modernising Master curricula, updating knowledge and skills and facilitating the connection between knowledge and labour market.

2.2 Object of the survey

Questionnaires are the basis of the survey conducted in Tunisia. Elaborated data are the most important measurement instruments that statisticians use to understand the phenomena to be investigated. Questionnaires has been chosen as the most appropriate tool to gain accurate and impartial insights into the issues being faced by Universities and enterprises in relation to students and enterprises’ expectations and students’ acquired competences. The aim is to establish in which way the population involved assesses the level of education provided by the three Tunisian universities and the way it matches with users and labor market’s needs in order to overcome mistakes that could have been done so far and improving teaching performances. The questionnaire is semi-structured with closed, opened and scaled questions (Likert Scales: strongly disagree up to strongly agree). It is self-administrated (the respondent answer on their own) and managed at University level by the Professor, member of the Scientific Group. Questionnaires were drawn up to keep respondent’s anonymity, except those addressed to enterprises. The anonymity has certainly allowed collecting interesting points of view and suggestions that could have been difficult to obtain using other investigating tools. The Focal points of the Tunisian partner universities organized several sessions for the stakeholders to explain each part of the questionnaire allowing the respondent to fill in by themselves the questionnaire. Students were randomly selected among those enrolled at the third year of the Licence. At the end of each session, the completed questionnaires were collected. Teachers received the questionnaires by e-mail and then they were collected as hard copy. No sensitive data was asked. All data refers to the current year, 2018. The content of the data can in no way be taken to reflect the views of students, teachers and enterprises on Tunisian Universities in general but it just reports the view of the respondent ones on study courses, students’ achieved skills, quality of services provided by the Universities of Tunis El Manar, the University of Carthage and the University of Sfax within the field of IWAM. Data will be stored within the server of the University of Sassari,

13 which guarantees that only the users that need to access the data for the above-mentioned purposes will be allowed to do so, including other partners within the project. Data will not be provided to any third party and will be kept confidential during the lifetime of the project. The MAYA Project Coordinator organized and took part at several skype meetings with the Tunisian members of the Teaching Group in order to define the method and the outline of questionnaire. Before being administered in Tunisia, the questionnaire was tested by Italian students and revised according their suggestions. A better understanding of factors influencing quality of Higher Education service can point out better strategies for quality assurance in the Partner Universities. This survey aimed to detect quality factors, which have a significant impact on overall education quality. The analysis of the results of the survey provides universities with information to bring degree courses in line with the expectations of students and needs of the labor market. The objectives are various and can be summarized as follows:

1- provide information and evidences that can be used as a basis for a discussion that might improve the higher education system in Tunisia; 2- develop significant new initiatives, including cross-disciplinary courses; 3- provide European project partners with an instrument allowing them to better interact with Tunisian education system.

The project partnership will integrate the results in the master course that the project is planning by taking into consideration the requirements of students. As results, this survey could also:

1- generate discussion within the competent university bodies that may be involved in further reflections on how to improve the already existing degree programs. 2- advance in the process of educational reforms and the autonomy of Tunisian universities.

2.3 Role and performance of the University: a series of questionnaires

Education is a process consisting of a series of acts and learning aimed at the insertion of the individual into society. The main educational institutions are the family and the school. Both have the purpose to foster the insertion in the social life. However, it does so by first educating, that is, trying to make students learn, on the one hand, the main elements of the cultural heritage of society (from language to history, from science to technology and so on) and on the other, the knowledge and more or less specialized skills

14 necessary to enter the labour market. Nowadays, the universities are invested with a fundamental new objective: the dialogue with the society, along with the traditional ones of higher education and scientific research. A goal that allows them to be in line with the development of a knowledge-based economy, “capable of sustainable growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion” (European Council, 2000). Knowledge assumes a central role in the life processes (economically, socially and politically), and the country bases its growth and competitiveness in knowledge, research and innovation. In particular, the relations between science and technology changed. The establishment of a close collaboration between scientific discoveries and their applications; therefore, between universities and industrial companies become a key issue for the country growth. Overall, the university found itself occupying an increasing number of roles and wanted/had to respond to multiple needs of the outside world. The supporters of the traditional functions of the university believe that, in order to further fulfil its role in society, it must, now more than ever, rethink itself and concentrate on the realization of its specific tasks. The problem appears linked to the possibility of combining the new functions attributed to the university in the modern world with the traditional ones, elaborated in a certainly different social context, where science had few practical applications. In order to understand if Universities are meeting their missions to provide people with knowledge and skills, including soft skills, which can be potentially applied in most occupations, and theoretical and practical skills, it is evident that the survey needs to get specific information on the views and needs of the current users of its services: students, teachers and employers. The teacher who works as a professional in the teaching-learning process, at all levels of formal training, is fundamental. Students gave their views on their learning needs, they highlight on the one hand the need to acquire the skills for research and for the interaction with the territory during their training; on the other hand, the necessity to develop a professionalism that can be successfully spent in the labour market. It must be emphasized that the advent of globalization entails an inevitable reconfiguration of the relationship between productive and training systems, therefore knowledge becomes not only an object and a commodity to be exchanged but also a tool to actively act, to adapt to the sudden changes of our age and to face the crisis in all the working sectors. The perception of employers complements then those of higher education students and teachers giving a complete overview of the framework in which the MAYA project is starting to work.

Within the MAYA Project staff, we were wondered about how, as Europeans, we could transfer knowledge and learn from the exchanged experience with the Tunisian partners. The MAYA project lies on the conviction that is necessary to overcome hyper-specialization and fragmentariness, allowing disciplines to communicate with each other and to find out "intermediate" points of view, which allow us to observe and revisit with a new glance new themes and problems beyond traditional ways. Any improvement that an European Project could provide in terms of new courses, new teaching methods and research results, has to be strictly connected to the social and cultural context of the country where has to be implemented and not imposed from above. It should be the result of a process of analysis made by beneficiaries and users of that educational service. Therefore, through the questionnaires, important points were touched and precise answers obtained, capable of guiding future choices.

3. Population, sample and data statistics

A sampling can be defined as the act, process, or technique of selecting a representative part of a population for the purpose of determining parameters or characteristics of the whole population. The sample survey presents advantages regarding: the cost of detection, data collection and processing times, organization, in-depth analysis and accuracy. However, the sampling technique also has disadvantages. In fact, if the total survey provides the exact value of the parameter that you want to know, the sample survey provides only an estimate, in other words an approximate value. This means that the value obtained is not certain, but only probable, and furthermore this probability may vary within a certain interval (called the confidence interval). Estimated sample will therefore always be affected by an error, which is called sampling error. In this section, a short description of the sample of teachers, students and enterprises is provided. As far as possible, universities respected gender equality in contacting potential students and teachers.

3.1 Characteristics of students

People were selected randomly from the population of students enrolled in the Licence cycle (random sampling). The 79% of the student respondents are women and the 68% have an average age between 21- 24 years old. The 61% of respondents live with parents. The 71% are in the last year of their studies and the main fields of study are Analytical Chemistry, Geology, Sedimentary Basin Geology, Hydraulics and Environment, Civil Engineering, Geography.

3.2 Characteristics of teachers

The 54% of teachers surveyed are women. Most of the teachers are between 30-50 years old. The 67% of teachers surveyed have a PhD. 60% have between 11-15 years of teaching. The main teaching areas are: Hydraulic Engineering, Analytical Chemistry, Science and Technology, Physics, Water Science, Civil Engineering, Geography, Biotechnology / Molecular Biology, Geography.

3.3 Characteristics of enterprises

Most of the companies interviewed are located in northern Tunisia and are mainly involved in Agricultural Research, Agriculture and wastewater treatment, treatment and exploration of drinking water. They work mainly on the national market and the 50% of the companies questioned are 100% Tunisian property. There are also quite a few branches belonging to a foreign company.

3.4 Data analysis tools

The replies were collected in a comprehensive and simple database, using a data processing software. Data have been processed in order to produce graphics, like histograms and pies, which permit to provide a "first immediate look" at data. They have been used to facilitate the reading of the main results of the questionnaires.

4. Curriculum Evaluation-Universities

4.1 Summary

The survey includes questions about the curricula provided by the three Tunisian Universities (Tunis El Manar, Carthage and Sfax) including single courses, Master and PhD courses relevant for Integrated Water and Agriculture Management. All the questionnaires have been filled in by Local Focal Point or by teachers. There was not a minimum number of questionnaires required. A total number of 88 questionnaires were finally collected. All the questionnaires have been considered valid but it was not possible to analyze all the information gathered because they were not compatible to each other and some answers were not provided.

For instance, many questionnaires did not provide information about the level of the courses: it is not clear whether they refer to undergraduate or postgraduate courses. However, when this information is provided the graduate courses represent the majority. The names of the courses and the departments in charge of them are specified in each University report.

4.2 University of Tunis El Manar

12 questionnaires were collected by the Institutes belonging to the University of Tunis El Manar. All the questionnaires refer to graduate courses:

1. Numerical methods 2. Hydrology 3. Fluid mechanics 4. Multicriteria Analysis and Decision Systems for Integrated Water Resources Management 5. Fluid Mechanics-CFD 6. General Hydraulics 7. Determination of chemical contaminants in the environment 8. Membrane processes 9. Separation methods 10. Water analysis and treatment 11. Hydrogeology and modeling 12. Hydrogeology

The average number of students attending the courses is 23. “Analyse et traitement des eaux” and “Hydrogéologie” are the bigger classes with respectively 40 and 35 students. Most of the courses analyzed require the attendance of at least 35 hours’ class. All of them include both lectures, practical courses and field visits. 1 out of 12 courses required around 21 hours of tutorial. 1 out of 12 courses required at least 15 hours of lab work. All the undergraduate courses are taught in French. None of the courses requires a traineeship period. 1 out of 12 courses has an entry requirement related to the successful attendance of a previous course.

4.2.1 Course categories and objectives

The courses are clustered in 2 different categories according to their objectives and main topics, as structured in the following table:

Table 1- Course categories and objectives- University of Tunis El Manar

Main Categories Institute Title of lesson Objectives

Hydrology, Ecole Hydrology This course aims to understand and analyze all Hydraulics, Nationale components of the water cycle as well as the Quality of water d'Ingénieurs interaction between all components. and managment de Tunis of water resources

Hydrogeology Ecole Hydrogeochemis This course understands and establishes the Nationale try equations of flow and solutes transport in d'Ingénieurs saturated-unsaturated porous media. de Tunis

Hydrogeological Ecole Hydrogeology This course aims to gain knowledge of water modeling Nationale codes flow and solute transport numerical modeling d'Ingénieurs in saturated and variably saturated porous de Tunis media, numerical methods, physical modeling

Hydrochemistry Ecole Hydrochemistry Water chemistry and geochemistry. Nationale Laboratory analyses and modeling d'Ingénieurs de Tunis

Ecole Fluid mechanics Understand and establish the fundamental Nationale equations governing the dynamics of a fluid d'Ingénieurs medium. Study and describe the phenomena de Tunis/ of mass transfer, movement and energy that Département can occur in basic flow situations. Understand

Main Categories Institute Title of lesson Objectives

Génie Civil the fundamental mechanisms governing the flows encountered in practical applications in Civil Engineering

Ecole Multicriteria To ask and solve decision situations involving Nationale Analysis and one or more criteria and objectives. Know d'Ingénieurs Decision some multicriteria analysis techniques (ex. de Tunis Systems for MAUT, AHP, ELECTRE). Integrated Water Resources Management

Ecole Fluid Mechanics- Understand the kinematics and dynamics of Nationale CFD fluids. Determination of the pressure drop in d'Ingénieurs hydraulic circuits for dimensioning. de Tunis/ Département Génie Civil

Ecole General Acquisition des bases nécessaires à la Nationale Hydraulics compréhension et au calcul des phénomènes d'Ingénieurs hydrauliques appliqués en Génie de l'eau et de de Tunis l'Environnement.

Institut Determination of Acquisition of the basics necessary for Supérieur des chemical understanding and calculating the hydraulic Sciences contaminants in phenomena applied in Water and Biologiques the environment Environmental Engineering. Appliquées

Fa. Sc. Tunis Membrane Mastery of different membrane processes and - Chimie processes applications for water treatment and desalination.

Fa. Sc. Tunis Separation To sensitize the students to control the - Chimie methods different methods of separation in order to foresee their applications in the field treatment and desalination of waters

Faculté de Water analysis Familiarize students, first of all with the Sciences de and treatment problem of lack of water Tunis

Main Categories Institute Title of lesson Objectives

Faculté des Hydrogeology Knowledge and control of the flow laws of Sciences de and modeling fluids, especially water, in saturated porous Tunis (Depart media. Introduction to numerical modeling in Geologie) hydrogeology and the role of models in the sustainable management of groundwater resources

Faculté des Hydrogeology To acquire the basic knowledge of Sciences de fundamental hydrogeology. The Tunis (Depart understanding of the processes of water flow Geologie) in natural environments, the study of the interactions between water and the environments crossed and anthropic influences. An awareness of some current hydrological problems.

Mathematics and Ecole Numerical Present the scientific calculation and Statistical Nationale methods numerical methods: Finite Differences, Finite Science d'Ingénieurs Elements and Mixed Finite Elements. de Tunis Application to hydraulic problems.

4.2.2 Teaching methods and course assignments

The teaching methods are investigated through a set of multiple-choice questions. The given categories are lectures, practical exercises, laboratory activities and other activities. Among these teaching methods, all the courses provide mainly lectures. Only the 2 courses i.e. “Hydrogéologie” and “Hydrogéologie et modélisation” foreseen field visits. 7 out of 12 courses foreseen laboratories activities (around 30% of total course hours). Practical activities consist in desktop exercises and field data measurements and collections. Concerning the course material, all the courses mostly use bibliographic material such as books and journals. Some courses use specific software for data elaboration.

4.2.3 Evaluation of students: tools and criteria

Teachers use assessment methods among oral, multiple-choice test, open book tests and written assignments. 6 out of 12 courses use written assignments as evaluation tools. 6 out of 12 use open book tests as one and only evaluation tool. 4 out of 18 courses use to do oral test. Most of the courses include also midterm exams but the final grade is affected for an average of 60-70% by the final term exam.

4.3 University of Carthage

The Institutes belonging to the University of Carthage collected 18 questionnaires. All the questionnaires refer to graduate courses:

1. Statistics for research 2. Applied Math 3. Climatic changes 4. Hydrology 5. Integrated Water Resources Management 6. Climatology and Climate Change 7. Agroclimatology 8. Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulic Machines 9. Water treatment 10. Quality and analysis of water 11. Hydraulic 12. GIS and Land Remote Sensing 13. Irrigation technique 14. Water routing 15. Depollution of natural waters 16. Depollution by separation techniques 17. Characterization and physicochemical analysis of water 18. Hydrogeology

The average number of students attending the courses is 26. “Climatologie et Changements Climatiques” and “Hydraulique” are the bigger classes with respectively 50 and 60 students. Most of the analyzed courses require the attendance of 42 hours class. All of them include both lectures and practical classes. 6 out of 18 coursed required around 20 hours of tutorial. 3 out of 18 courses required at least 6 hours of lab work. All the undergraduate courses are taught in French. None of the courses requires a traineeship period. 6 out of 18 coursed has an entry requirement related to the successful attendance of a previous course.

4.3.1 Course categories and objectives

The courses are clustered in 3 different categories according to their objectives and main topics, as structured in the following table:

Table 2 Course Categories University of Carthage

Main Institute Title of lesson Objectives Categories

Climate Institut Supérieur des Climatic changes Teaching a course on climate change, change and Technologies de with the assimilation of past climate managemen l’Environnement de trends, factors of climatic variability, t of the l’Urbanisme et de climatic regions sensitive to climates, environment l’Environnement climatic extremes, observations of climate change, global climate scenarios, climate issues and environmental vulnerabilities populations, patterns of climatic trends, stochastic processes of climate variability and their impacts on resources in water and climatic extremes.

I.S.S.T.E Borj Cédria. Climatology and The course focuses on the study of Université de Climate Change climate and its influence on the Carthage environment. It allows to learn about climate measuring instruments, to show how we can process and use the data acquired by climate networks to model needs and to better manage water resources.

Ecole Nationale des agroclimatology The course focuses on the study of Ingénieurs de Tunis. climate and its influence on agricultural Université El Manar production. It highlights the effects of radiation of temperature and water on plant growth. It provides an introduction to agrometeorological measuring instruments and their use to improve the management of farms.

UCAR Ecole GIS and Land The physical principles of remote Supérieur de Remote Sensing sensing and the current and future offer l’Agriculture de in satellite and aerial images. Mograne Presentations and practical work are concerned with methods of integrating

Main Institute Title of lesson Objectives Categories

these data with GIS. The objective of this course is therefore to teach students how to use GIS to present these results but also to provide the basics for producing good quality results.

Hydrology, Institut Supérieur des Hydrology The basics of hydrology, Hydraulics, Technologies de characterization of the morphometric Quality of l’Environnement de and edaphic factors of the watershed, water and l’Urbanisme et de hydrological environments in different managment l’Environnement climates, analysis of hydrological of water regimes, assessment of water resources, resources seasonal and annual variability, frequency analysis of flows, the relationship between rainfall and flow, and solid transport.

Institut Supérieur des Integrated Water basics of water resources assessment, Technologies de Resources integrated management of water l’Environnement de Management resources, hazards, vulnerabilities and l’Urbanisme et de challenges of water resources, l’Environnement techniques and structures for mobilizing water resources, transfers and regulation of water resources.

Ecole Nationale des Fluid Mechanics and This course aims at acquiring a Sciences et Hydraulic Machines theoretical and practical knowledge Technologies base particularly on the application of Avancées à Borj fluid mechanics in the energy field. Cédria - Université de Main topics covered: conservation Carthage laws; the mechanics of viscous fluids; dimensional analysis; introduction to the theory of turbomachines; study of pumping systems for the transfer of fluids and the study of hydraulic turbines with action and reaction

Institut Supérieur des Water treatment Define the main stages of urban Technologies de wastewater treatment. Acquire the l’Environnement, de basic concepts for the design and sizing

Main Institute Title of lesson Objectives Categories

l’Urbanisme et du of the different works of an urban Bâtiment - Université wastewater treatment plant. Illustrate de Carthage the operation of a conventional water treatment plant.

Institut Supérieur des Quality and analysis Define the different physicochemical Technologies de of water and microbiological parameters for the l’Environnement, de characterization and classification of l’Urbanisme et du water as well as criteria for evaluation Bâtiment - Université and assessment of natural waters, de Carthage human consumption water, wastewater / polluted and recycled treated wastewater. Know the control parameters of fresh and polluted waters and the main methods of experimental measurements. Familiarize students with the usefulness of Tunisian standards related to quality: (i) drinking water, (ii) treated wastewater, and (iii) treated wastewater reused in agriculture.

UCAR Ecole Hydraulic Allows the student to know the Supérieur de fundamental characteristics and laws of l’Agriculture de resting and moving fluids. General Mograne knowledge of general hydraulics (the properties of liquids, the distribution of pressure in liquids at rest, the forces of pressure, the fundamental laws of hydrodynamics, the characteristics of flows in pipes, with a free surface and in a porous environment, the pumping of water and the characteristics of the pumps).

ISSTE Borj Cedria Irrigation technique Training on irrigation techniques: gravity, localized and sprinkler. At the end of the course, the student must be able to - Understand the mode of

Main Institute Title of lesson Objectives Categories

operation and sizing of the different irrigation systems at the plot (gravity irrigation, sprinkler irrigation, localized irrigation). - Understand, evaluate and manage a salinity problem - Take into account social and cultural aspects in the management of an irrigation system.

ISSTE Borj Cedria Water routing The main objective of this course is to train Master students able to: Design water delivery systems Dimension the routing networks.

I.S.S.T.E BorjCédria. Depollution of Acquire the principles and methods of Université de natural waters treatment and removal of pollutants Carthage from water.

I.S.S.T.E BorjCédria. Depollution by Acquérir les principes et les méthodes Université de separation techniques de dépollution par les techniques Carthage membranaires.

I.S.S.T.E BorjCédria. Characterization and Acquire the principles and methods of Université de physicochemical decontamination by membrane Carthage analysis of water techniques.

UCAR Ecole Hydrogeology Acquisition of basic and advanced Supérieur de knowledge in hydrogeology. At the end l’Agriculture de of the module, the student will be able Mograne to: read and exploit a hydrogeological report.

Mathematic ISSTE Borj Cedria Statistics for research This course aims to present the basic s and principles of a statistical analysis of Statistical data (description, estimation, tests), as Science well as the most usual statistical methods.

ISSTE Borj Cedria Applied Math To acquire the basic knowledge in mathematics allowing to continue the studies. Understand the correlations

Main Institute Title of lesson Objectives Categories

between the development of mathematics and that of computer techniques.

4.3.2 Teaching methods and course assignments

The teaching methods are investigated through a set of multiple-choice questions. The given categories are lectures, practical exercises, laboratory activities and other activities. Among these teaching methods, all the courses provide mainly lectures. Some courses also include field visits. 3 out of 18 courses foreseen laboratories activities (20% of total hours). Practical activities consist in desktop exercises and field data measurements and collections. Concerning the course material, all the courses mostly use bibliographic material such as books and journals. Some courses use specific software for data elaboration.

4.3.3 Evaluation of students: tools and criteria

All the courses have at least two assessment methods among oral, multiple-choice test, open book tests and written assignments. 16 out of 18 courses use written assignments as evaluation tools. 4 out of 18 courses use to do oral test. 5 out of 18 include practical exercises as evaluation tool. Most of the courses include also midterm exams but the final grade is mostly affected by the final term exam for an average of 60-70% of the final grade.

5. Need Assessment University of Tunis El Manar

This chapter is divided into four paragraphs, the first two paragraphs figure out the students’ and the teachers’ perception of their academic experiences at Tunis el Manar University; the third analyses the entrepreneur’s need and the relationships with the institution. Finally, the conclusion aims to sum-up the results obtained at the local level. The data analysis gives and update picture of the state of the art of the educational process at the University. Moreover, it offers important suggestions about what needs to be changed at the institutional level, and how to implement the new master proposal.

5.1 Need Assessment students

Introduction

The questionnaires were filled in by 57 students, who belong to the Faculty of Science, Bachelor's Degree in Science of the Earth, course Geology of the Sedimentary Ponds. More than 50 students are in the age range 21-25, 36 of whom are in the last year of their career.

Figure 1- Age distribution- University of Tunis El Manar

The gender information revels that 80% are women, this figure underlines that the efforts to promote women’s access to education are having some impact. 29

Regarding the accommodation 68% of the student still lives with their parents, only the 20% have access to the ones offered by the University.

Student motivation

In this set of questions were studied: the students' motivation regarding their decision to study at the University of Tunis Manar and the way they collected the information about the course they are attending. They were asked to evaluate eight motivation statement, according to the following scale: “I do not agree; I slightly agree; I generally agree; I completely agree; No experience of the topic”. They strongly agree with motivation statement related to the necessity: to gain valuable skills for the career; to obtain a better work and to get the certificate. Interestingly, the students seem to be independent in their choice (they declared that nobody has recommended them to undertake a University course) and “job oriented”, in fact they disagree with the statements more connected with friendship and community issues.

Figure 2- Motivation de l’etudiant – University of Tunis El Manar

The students’ majority (30) plan to attend a master in the future. This reinforces the sense of deep motivation which arises from the previous question. 30

The information about the courses was collected at the institution itself or from internet. Instrument they did not use are media, friends and career centres. They were asked to indicate which is, in their opinion, the University’s Mission. This question highlights the students’ expectations from the educational system. The choices were: training specialists/professionals in different fields of study; training graduates who meet the labor market demands; forming new competencies. It was permitted to indicate up to two answers. The larger amount of students believe that the mission is to train specialists (33), while the others chose the last two.

Figure 3- Mission principale- University of Tunis El Manar

Furthermore, one question was about the fulfilment of the mission, only the 33% declared that it is accomplished. This figure underlines a sense of dissatisfaction among students. The following sections will give a deeper understanding of which are the weak points in the educational experience.

Support and facilities

This set of questions aims to inquire the student’s satisfaction about the support and facilities provided by the university system. The aspects analysed are: classroom and lab facilities, availability of computers and technology, library resources, dorms and on-campus housing, career counselling and placement, opportunities to spend mobility period abroad. The evaluation scale was: Very unsatisfied; Unsatisfied; Adequate; Satisfied; Very satisfied. The students’ replies emphasize a university not well equipped. They declared to be very unsatisfied about the technology and the availability of personal computers, classroom and lab facilities, career 31 counselling and placement, opportunities to spend mobility period abroad. The group is not satisfied about library resources, dorms and on-campus housing too.

Figure 4- Services de support et facilitè- University of Tunis El Manar

Even though the students do not feel supported by their university in the mobility experience, they are still interested in spending a placement period abroad.

Figure 5- Stage à l’étranger- University of Tunis El Manar

Educational Experiences

After the section about the facility offered by the university, the questionnaire investigates the educational experience, and in particular five aspects: quality of the teaching staff, quality of the education I am receiving, teaching ability, interest that teaching staff take in my progress and course availability. Also in this section the evaluation scale was: Very unsatisfied; Unsatisfied; Adequate; Satisfied; Very satisfied. Despite the dissatisfaction about the facilities, the students find adequate the educational experiences. The aspect they valued the most is the quality of the teaching staff; followed by the quality of the education.

Figure 6-Expériences éducatives- University of Tunis El Manar

The University is meant to transmit different skills to students, which vary from the theoretical to the interdisciplinary. A specific question inquires the student satisfaction about the ones achieved at Tunis Manar University. Even though, the respondents are satisfied about the skills related to the academic field, like for example: research skills, theoretical skills, problem solving, ability to work in team and independently. Some critical aspect arises on interdisciplinary capabilities, in fact they are very unsatisfied about the practical skills and unsatisfied about: communication skills (oral and written expression, writing and presenting reports, etc.), languages, computer literacy, negotiation skills and entrepreneurial ability.

Figure 7- Satisfait des compétences développée- University of Tunis El Manar

The students’ perception is very negative, in their opinion the weak point in their know-how are preventing them the access to the labour market. To the question “Do you believe that the skills acquired/developed during the University will be useful to access the labour market?” most of them replied NO. Over time, the universities have become more aware of the gaps in the training process, and they have implemented specific measures to facilitate the integration of graduates into the labor market. The students were asked to evaluate three measures: run courses that are more relevant to the needs of enterprises; include practical classes in courses and compulsory work placement experience as an integral part of the curriculum. The students considered very important the last two measures, which is coherent

34 with the previous graph in which they declared to be very unsatisfied with the development of practical skills.

Figure 8- Les mesures prises par les universités- University of Tunis El Manar

Finally, the students were asked if they would like to attend a Master course, with a strong international characterization, the 80% of them declared to be interested in the project proposal. Despite the facilities not adequate and a University which is not developing skills in line with the labour market requirements, students are interested in improving their knowledge especially in a transnational environment.

5.2 Need Assessment teacher

The main objectives of this paragraph are to assess the teachers’ level of satisfaction connected to the support services and facilities and the educational experiences. Their perspective, together with the students’ one, is crucial to understand the functioning of the university system; to highlight its weak points in order to overcome them in the master’s planning.

Introduction

At Tunis Manar University, 12 teachers filled in the questionnaires. They belong to the Faculty of Science and to the National Engineers School of Tunis. The educational fields are civil and hydraulic engineering, permanent environment, applied geology and analytic chemistry. Regarding the gender analysis, 5 were female and 7 male. The majority of teachers were in the age range 50-70, they possessed 15-20 years of teaching, and all are permanent.

Figure 9- Âgé distribution- University of Tunis El Manar

In order to assess, which type of training had a major impact on their careers, it was asked about the formal and informal professional activities carried out in the last two years. The assigned scale was: no impact, impact enough moderate, moderate impact, large impact. The replies are divided into two groups, on the one hand the moderate impacts are related to: scientific courses/workshops; education courses/workshop on methods or other education-related topics and participation in research networks on topics related to my field of interest. On the other hand, the no replied prevail for topic associated to participation in a network of teachers formed specifically for the professional developments of educational methods; reading professional literature (e.g. journals,

36 evidence-based papers) and engaging in informal dialogue with the colleagues on how to improve our teaching method.

Figure 10- Participation aux activités professionnelles- University of Tunis El Manar

Teachers’ satisfaction

The teachers were asked to express, in an open question, what aspects of the university they were more and least satisfied with. The teachers are satisfied with the human quality of students and the professionalism of the colleagues; by contrast the bureaucracy is perceived as a burden.

University mission

The teachers were asked about the University’s mission and its fulfilment. The main reply was to train graduates who meet the job market demands (10), some of them added also forming new competencies (8). According to the teachers, 8 out of 12, the mission is fulfilled by the University of Tunis Manar.

Figure 11- Mission Universitaire- University of Tunis El Manar

Support and facilities

This set of questions intends to inquire the teachers’ satisfaction about the support and facilities provided by the university system. The evaluation scale was: very unsatisfied; unsatisfied; adequate; satisfied; very satisfied. The teachers are unsatisfied of the tools that the university gives them to carry out their work. The worst facility is the availability of on campus housing; it is followed by the classrooms and laboratories, computers and technology, library. The medium satisfaction is expressed about the placement for students and the possibility to spend a period abroad.

Figure 12- Services de support et facilité- University of Tunis El Manar

Quality of educational system

The large majority (10 out of 12) of teachers are satisfied with the aspects analysed: quality of the teaching staff, quality of the education given to students, teaching staff ability and courses availability. A slight dissatisfaction appears about the interest that teaching staff have in the progresses of the students.

Figure 13- Expériences éducatives- University of Tunis El Manar

The teachers were asked to evaluate three measures undertaken by their institutions: run courses that are more relevant to the needs of enterprises; include practical classes in courses and include compulsory work placement experience as an integral part of the curriculum. The evaluation scale was: not at all important; slightly important; important; fairly important and very important. From their point of view, the introduction of new courses is unnecessary; this reply reinforces the set of questions in which they declared fulfilled the mission of the University. The introduction of practical classes is not considered relevant; this reply is coherent with the following section, from the graph is evident that they find adequate students’ practical skills. The decision to include a compulsory placement time is considered very important.

Figure 14- Evaluer l’importance des mesures prises par le universités University of Tunis El Manar

Teachers' level of satisfaction on the improvement of students' skills.

In the set of sixteen abilities, teachers’ declared adequate ten skills developed by the students, and in particular the ones more related to the career, like for example: research, theoretical and practical skills, problem solving, self-confidence, acquiring new knowledge, ability to work in team and alone. Nevertheless, from their point of view students lack critical analysis, languages skills, communication capacity, leadership, creativity and entrepreneurial ability.

Figure 15- Compétences développées par les étudiants- University of Tunis El Manar

5.3 Need Assessment Enterprises

The need assessment of enterprises is important to understand if the knowledge students acquire at the University is suitable to enter the labour market, or if there is a mismatch between academic training and employers’ needs.

Company identification details

The questionnaires were filled by 4 enterprises. All the business owners are Tunisian and work on the local market. The economic sectors are: Food/Pharmaceutical; Pharmaceutical/cosmetic of urban networks and water Treatment and exploration of drinking water. The period in which enterprises started the activity varies from 1968 to 2001.

Recruitment

Concerning the recruitment issue, the companies were asked about the number of recent graduates recruited in the last ten years. Two of them have the 60% of the employees with a degree, while in the other two, the certified ones are only the 20 or 30%. The preferred graduated backgrounds are: chemistry, biology, electric, environment, mechanics, computing, management. Regarding the qualifications required, a bachelor’s degree and a PhD are considered of equal importance, while they seem to be less interested in a master’s degree. In the recruitment of University graduates, 3 out of 4 employers value important the work placement during studies; two are also interested in the university’s ranking and the certificate of a foreign University, on the contrary the time spent abroad for half of them is not considered an added value.

Figure 16- Importance des facteurs suivants dans le recrutement des diplômés universitaires- University of Tunis El Manar

The problems employers declared to face when recruiting new graduates are essentially three: the field of study closer to their activity, the lack of technical and practical knowledge and the acceptance of the salary. As the lack of specific knowledge is underlined as one of the major problems, the questionnaire contains a specific section to inquire it into details. The information gathered is important in the master implementation, as one of the purposes is to make the knowledge obtained by the students usable on the labour market.

Skills

Also in this section, employer reinforces their previous reply, reporting that the skills the students lack the most are: practical skill, creativity, problem solving, communication skill, and an appropriate level of education. For all the other skills listed in the questionnaires, presented in the graph below, it is not easy to draw conclusions because the answers provided by the companies are quite contrasting.

Figure 17- Compétences- University of Tunis el Manar

In order to find possible solutions to these aspects, it was asked to the companies to evaluate which measures, university should undertake to enhance the students’ skill. The first one is: dictate courses more connected to enterprise’s needs; the second is the introduction of practical activities in classes and the last is the introduction of a period of compulsory placement during the career. The actions proposed in the questionnaire where considered very important by all the employers, and this is in line with the replies in the previous question.

Cooperation with universities

The last aspect investigated is the existing cooperation between the University of Tunis el Manar and the companies involved in the survey. Not surprisingly the group splitted in two, as the beginning where they were asked about the number of graduate employees. The first two did not reply, the last two have all the

44 possible relationship contemplated in the questionnaire: offering internship period to students, research ties and also participation in the conferences organized by the University.

5.4 Concluding Remarks

The need assessment analysis gives and update picture of the state of the art of the educational process at the University of Tunis El Manar; it helps to understand which are the weak and the strong points of this institution. Among the strong points to acknowledge is the mutual respect between students and teachers. In the set of questions related to the educational experience, students reported to have teachers able to transmit the knowledge, who follow their progress. From their part, teachers declared that one of the aspect they like the most of their university is the human quality of their students. The weak points are essentially two, on the one hand the lack of support and facilities, on the other hand an education unable to meet the needs of the labor market. The first aspect strongly arose from both students and teachers; it is connected to the inadequate and constant reduction in the public investment in public education. The second emerged in the students’ and enterprises’ answers, but it seems that teachers are not fully aware of it. Enterprises declared that students lack an “appropriate level of education”, while students recognised that the skills they are developing at the university are not useful, to meet labour market requirements. Data are underlining a disconnection between the university and the labour market, even if teachers declare that the main mission of university is “to train graduates who meet its demand”. The Master is a strong answer to all these aspects, in fact it will offer students and teachers the possibility to receive an international training on aspects strongly connected to the National needs (water managements among others). It will equip the University with new technologies (computers, lab facilities). It will foster the collaboration with a net of stakeholders, facilitating internship periods for students and training abroad for teachers, in order to spread good practices. At the end of the master the enterprises will have the possibility to recruit young people with an increased know-how, who are able to address the needs of a growing market.

6. Need Assessment University of Sfax

This chapter is divided into four paragraphs, and it gathers the replies to the questionnaire in the area of Sfax. The first two paragraphs figure out the students’ and the teachers’ perception of their academic experiences at Sfax University; the third one analyses the entrepreneur’s need and the relationships with the institution. Finally, the conclusion aims to sum-up the results obtained at the local level. The data analysis gives and update picture of the state of the art of the educational process at the University. Moreover, it offers important suggestions about what needs to be changed at the institutional level, and how to implement the new master proposal.

6.1 Need Assessment students

Introduction

The questionnaires were filled in by 32 students, who belong to Bachelor's degree in Life sciences and Environment (LFSVE) and Faculty of arts and Human sciences. Almost all (30) students are in the age range 25-30 and they are in the last year of their career.

Figure 18- Âgé distribution- University of Sfax

The gender information reveals that 93% are women, this figure is really positive because is a sign of the enhancing women participation in the education. Regarding the accommodation 14 students live in the in campus, while the others live with their parents or have rent a room in a shared flat.

Student motivation

In this set of questions were studied: the students' motivation regarding their decision to study at the University of Sfax and the way they collected the information about the course they are attending. They were asked to evaluate eight motivation statements, according to the following scale: “I do not agree; I slightly agree; I generally agree; I completely agree; No experience of the topic”. They strongly agree with motivation statement related to the necessity: to gain valuable skills for the career; to obtain a better work and to get the qualification. They were not pushed by friendship desire, or unemployment reasons; it is clear from the replies that the students were fully aware of the process they were going to undertake.

Figure 19- Motivation de l’etudiant- University of Sfax

The students emphasised the importance of work also replying to the question about their future plans, in fact 23 express their decision to look for a job, after the University.

The majority of students collected the information on the courses through friends and parents, and from the institution itself. In general, they did not use internet, career centres or media. They were asked to indicate which is, in their opinion, the University’s Mission. The choices were: training specialists/professionals in different fields of study; training graduates who meet the labor market demands; forming new competencies. It was permitted to indicate up to two answers. The larger amount of students believes that the mission is to train graduates who meet the labor market demands and to train specialists.

Figure 20- Mission principale- University of Sfax

Furthermore, one question was about the fulfilment of the mission, the large amount of students (27 out of 32) replied no. It is clear a sense of dissatisfaction.

Support and facilities

The students are very unsatisfied about the support and facilities offered by the University of Sfax, the sole aspect they are not unanimous in its evaluation is the library resources, some of them declared to find it adequate.

Figure 21- Services de support et facilitè- University of Sfax

Even though the students do not feel supported by their university in the mobility experience, they are still interested in spending a placement period abroad.

Figure 22- Stage à l’étranger- University of Sfax

Educational Experience

After the section about the facility offered by the university, the questionnaire investigates the educational experience, and in particular five aspects: “quality of the teaching staff, quality of the education I am receiving, teaching ability, interest that teaching staff take in my progress and course availability”. Also in this section the evaluation scale was: Very unsatisfied; Unsatisfied; Adequate; Satisfied; Very satisfied. This section is less negative than the previous one. Among the aspect analysed, only two are unsatisfactory: the course availability and the interest of teachers to the students’ progresses.

Figure 23 -Expériences éducatives- University of Sfax

If it goes in depths about the skills acquired, the respondents find adequate 13 out of 16 skills, are satisfied about self-confidence and leadership, while they feel weak at negotiation. Interestingly, the students recognise that they are developing the know-how related to the academic life as well as the transversal one, like for example personal characteristics such as leadership, capacity to work in group, problem solving etc.

Figure 24- Compétences développées par les étudiants- University of Sfax

Even though, they are satisfied about the knowledge acquired, to the question “Do you believe that the skills acquired/developed during the University will be useful to access the labour market?” most of them replied NO. The students underline a sort of disconnection between, the subjects thought at the University of Sfax and what is required by the enterprises. The students evaluated three measures undertaken by their University: run courses that are more relevant to the needs of enterprises; include practical classes in courses and compulsory work placement experience as an integral part of the curriculum. The students considered very important the last two, and important the possibility to attend courses in line with the enterprises requirements. This is coherent with the previous section results, in which they declared not to be satisfied about negotiation skills that actually are useful to enter the labour market.

Figure 25- Mesures prises par les universités- University of Sfax

Finally, the students were asked if they would like to attend a Master course, with a strong international characterization, the 81% of them declared to be interested in the project proposal.

6.2 Need Assessment teacher

The main objective of this paragraph is to assess the teachers’ level of satisfaction connected to the support services and facilities and the educational experiences. Their perspective, together with the students’ one, is crucial to understand the functioning of the university system; to highlight its weak points in order to overcome them in the master’s planning. At Sfax University, the questionnaires were filled by 20 teachers, who belong to the Faculty of arts and Human sciences and to the Higher institute of Biotechnology. The educational fields were mainly: biophysics, biology and geography. Regarding the gender analysis 15 were female and 5 male. The majority of teachers were in the age range 30-50. Half of them possessed between 11 and 20 years of teaching experience, while the 20% more than 20 years; they all are permanent.

Figure 26- Âgé distribution- University of Sfax

In order to assess, which type of training had a major impact on the career of the group, it was asked about the formal and informal professional activities carried out in the last two years. The assigned scale was: no impact, impact enough moderate, moderate impact, large impact. The aspect they valued with the largest impact is the reading professional literature (e.g. journals, evidence-based paper etc); an important role is given also to the participation in research networks on the specific research field and the informal sharing with colleagues. From the data emerge that teachers consider more important the training in their subject than the study of pedagogy.

Figure 27- Participation aux activités professionnelles- University of Sfax

Teachers’ satisfaction

The teachers were asked to express, in two open questions, what aspects of the university they were more and least satisfied with. The teachers are satisfied with: the international profile of their university, the sharing opportunities with the colleagues. On the contrary, they are not satisfied with support and facilities, the administration and the lack of financial means.

University mission

According to the teachers the main university mission is to train graduates who meet the job market demands (14). 17 out of 20 declared that it is not fulfilled by the University of Sfax.

Figure 28- Mission Universitaire- University of Sfax

It is important to deepen the reason why the teachers acknowledge the unfulfillment of the university mission. Thanks to their reply, it is possible to perceive the complexity of the environment where they work. There is a lack of economic resources and autonomy, according to some teachers this deficiency is closely linked to trainings that are incomplete and only theoretical. Furthermore, there is no dialog with the socio-economic environment, “the outside world”, hence the trainings are not in line with the labour market requirements; which is one of the reasons of the increasing number of unemployed people. Somehow, the concrete risk of unemployment affects the students’ motivation in investing their energies in the academic career, like if all the efforts will be useless because no reward by a job.

Support and facilities

The teachers’ dissatisfaction about support and facilities has already arose in the previous section, in this one it will go into details. The evaluation scale used was: very unsatisfied; unsatisfied; adequate; satisfied; very satisfied. The teachers are unsatisfied of the tools provide by the university to carry out their work. The worst facilities (very unsatisfied) are the availability of on campus housing and the possibility to spend a period abroad. They are not satisfied about the library and the consulting and placement for students.

Figure 29- Services de support et facilité- University of Sfax

Quality of educational system

The aspects analysed in order to assess the quality of the educational system were: quality of the teaching staff, quality of the education given to students, teaching staff ability and courses availability. The teachers are generally satisfied; the sole weak point is the interest expressed by the teaching staff regarding the progress of the students.

Figure 30 -Expériences éducatives- University of Sfax

The teachers evaluated three measures undertaken by their institutions: run courses that are more relevant to the needs of enterprises; include practical classes in courses and include compulsory work placement experience as an integral part of the curriculum. The evaluation scale was: not at all important; slightly important; important; fairly important and very important. From their point of view, all the measures analysed are very important, they reinforce their concern about the relationship between the University and the labour market.

Figure 31- Mesures suivantes prises par les universités- University of Sfax

Teachers' level of satisfaction on the improvement of students' skills.

In this set of questions teachers were asked to evaluate the improvement of the students’ skills, also in this section the teachers’ dissatisfaction arises. In a list of 16 skills, they declared to be “very unsatisfied” and “unsatisfied” about 11 of them, which vary from curricula skills to the interdisciplinary ones.

Figure 32- Compétences développées par les étudiants- University of Sfax

6.3 Concluding Remarks

At the University of Sfax students and teachers agree almost in all the aspects analysed in the questionnaire. In this area, the problem of unemployment is strongly perceived from both sides. The students undertake a career at University in order to widen their opportunity to find a good job, and this is the main plan for the future. The training they receive is insufficient to meet labour market requirements, the facilities are not satisfactory, but the quality of the teaching group is acceptable. They would like to have more practical skill and the opportunity to spend a working practice at the enterprises. The teachers are aware that the knowledge they transmit to student is insufficient to meet employers’ needs, because there is no a serious dialog between the institution and the socio-economic environment. Furthermore, the University is not autonomous in implementing its strategy and fixing its priorities, and accordingly it does not receive adequate funds, to improve its curricula. Despite these limits, the teachers recognise that at Sfax the University’s environment is good, they have many opportunities of sharing their teaching experience, there is a strong internationalization. They perceive the students demotivated which is most likely due to the difficult socio-economic context and the high proportion of unemployed people among the graduates. Unfortunately, it was not possible to do the need assessment for the enterprises, because only one filled the questionnaire.

7. Need Assessment University of Carthage

This chapter is divided into four paragraphs, and it gathers the replies to the questionnaire in the area of Carthage. The first two paragraphs figure out the students’ and the teachers’ perception of their academic experiences at Carthage University; the third analyses the entrepreneur’s need and the relationships with the institution. Finally, the conclusion aims to sum-up the results obtained at the local level. The data analysis gives and update picture of the state of the art of the educational process at the University. Moreover, it offers important suggestions about what needs to be changed at the institutional level, and how to implement the new master proposal.

7.1 Need Assessment students

Introduction

The questionnaires were filled in by 50 students, who belong to different faculties: Higher School of Agriculture, Higher Institute of Environmental Technologies of Urban Planning and Building, National Engineering School, Higher Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technologies, National Institute of Applied Science and Technology. The courses were: Professional Master Eco Labeling and Environmental Business Accompaniment, Natural Resource Management, Engineering course. 39 students were in the age range 21-24, 28 of whom are in the last year of their career.

Figure 33- Âgé distribution- University of Carthage

The gender information revels that 62% are women. Regarding the accommodation 32 live with their parents, only 16 have access to ones offered by the University.

Student motivation

In this set of questions were studied: the students' motivation regarding their decision to study at the University of Carthage and the way they collected the information about the course they are attending. They were asked to evaluate eight motivation statements, according to the following scale: “I do not agree; I slightly agree; I generally agree; I completely agree; No experience of the topic”. They strongly agree with motivation statement related to the necessity: to gain valuable skills for the career; to obtain a better work and to get the certificate. Interestingly, the students seem to be independent in their choice (they declared that nobody has recommended them to undertake a University course). They are “job oriented” and are not undertaking the career at University because they have nothing else to do. Moreover, the community issues are important for some of them.

Figure 34- Motivation de l’etudiant- University of Carthage

The majority of students collected the information on the courses at the institution itself, from internet, friends, and previous students. The media are not used as a source of information. They were asked to indicate which is, in their opinion, the University’s Mission. It was permitted to indicate up to two answers. 36 chose training specialists/professionals in different fields of study while 28 replied training graduates who meet the labor market demands.

Figure 35- Mission principale- University of Carthage

The future plan of the students is to find a job (30). One question was about the fulfilment of the university’s mission, only the 16% declared that it is accomplished. This figure underlines a sense of dissatisfaction among students. The following sections will give a deeper understanding of which are the weak points in the educational experience.

Support and facilities

They declared to be very unsatisfied about career counselling and placement, opportunities to spend mobility period abroad and dorms and on-campus housing. Library resources, access to technology and classroom and labs are acceptable.

Figure 36- Services de support et facilité – University of Carthage

Even though the students do not feel supported by their university in the mobility experience, they are still interested in spending a placement period abroad.

Figure 37- Stage à l’étranger- University of Carthage

Educational Experiences

After the section about the facility offered by the university, the questionnaire investigates the educational experience, and in particular five aspects: quality of the teaching staff, quality of the education I am receiving, teaching ability, interest that teaching staff take in my progress and course availability. Also in this section the evaluation scale was: Very unsatisfied; Unsatisfied; Adequate; Satisfied; Very satisfied. The students find adequate the educational experiences. The aspect they valued the most is teaching ability; followed by the quality of the education and of the teaching staff. The group is not satisfied about the interest of the teaching staff in following their progresses.

Figure 38-Expériences éducatives- University of Carthage

The questionnaire investigates also another aspect of the educational experience: the satisfaction about the developed skills. In a set of 16 abilities, they are unsatisfied about two of them: research skills and leadership, while they are satisfied about all the others. It can be considered a good result, because most of them are oriented towards the work and not the academic career.

Figure 39- Satisfait des compétences développées- University of Carthage

The last question of the section was: “Do you believe that the skills acquired/developed during the University will be useful to access the labour market?”, the reply is not clear-cut, 25 No versus 20 Yes. Overtime, the universities have become more aware of the gaps in the training process, and they have implemented specific measures to facilitate the integration of graduates into the labor market. The students were asked to evaluate three measures: run courses that are more relevant to the needs of enterprises; include practical classes in courses and compulsory work placement experience as an integral part of the curriculum. The students considered very important the last two.

Évaluer l'importance des mesures suivantes prises par les universités pour améliorer l'aptitude à l’emploi des étudiants diplômés 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Cours plus adaptés aux >Pratique Inclure l'expérience de besoins des entreprises stage obligatoire

Pas du tout important Pas important Moyennement important Important Très important

Figure 40- Mesures prises par les universités –University of Carthage

Finally, the students were asked if they would like to attend a Master course, with a strong international characterization, the 34 of them declared to be interested in the project proposal.

7.2 Need Assessment teacher

Introduction

At the University of Carthage, the questionnaires were filled by 16 teachers, who belong to the Institutes of: Higher School of Agriculture, Higher Institute of Environmental Technologies of Urban Planning and Building, National Engineering School, Higher Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technologies, National Institute of Applied Science and Technology. The educational fields are: Physics of the condensed circles, Science and Technology, Biotechnology / Genetic improvement. Regarding the gender analysis 6 were female and 10 male. The majority of teachers is in the age range 30-50, they possessed between 6 and 10 years of teaching experience, all are permanent.

Figure 41- Âgé distribution of teacher- University of Carthage

In order to assess, which type of training had a major impact on the career of the group, it was asked about the formal and informal professional activities carried out in the last two years. The assigned scale was: no impact, impact enough moderate, moderate impact, large impact. The less important aspect is the education courses/workshop on methods or other education-related topics, while the most important are: the informal dialogue engaged with colleagues; the participation in a network of teachers formed specifically for the professional developments of educational methods and reading professional literature (e.g. journals, evidence-based papers). The teachers are more engaged in the study in their research field than the study of pedagogical aspect, which is only shared with colleagues. 67

Figure 42- Participation aux activitès professionnelles- University of Carthage

Teachers’ satisfaction

The teachers expressed, in an open question, what aspects of the university they were more and least satisfied with. The teachers were satisfied with the dynamism and the competence developed in each research field. On the other hand, the group reported a lack of administrative knowledge, the funds allocated for research were not sufficient to equip the laboratories etc.

University mission

The teachers were asked about the University’s mission and its fulfilment. The main reply was to train graduates who meet the job market demands (8), some of them added also acquiring new competencies (5). According to 10 teachers out of 16 the mission is not fulfilled.

Figure 43- Mission universitaire- University of Carthage

Support and facilities

To evaluate a set of basic support and facilities, it was used the following scale: very unsatisfied; unsatisfied; adequate; satisfied; very satisfied. Generally, the teachers are unsatisfied, a medium satisfaction is expressed about the placement for students and the library resources.

Figure 44- Services de support et facilitè- University of Carthage

Quality of educational system

The aspects analysed in order to assess the quality of the educational system are: quality of the teaching staff, quality of the education given to students, teaching staff ability and courses availability. The teachers are satisfied about all of them.

Figure 45- Expériences éducatives-University of Carthage

Furthermore, the teachers evaluated three measures undertaken by their institutions: run courses that are more relevant to the needs of enterprises; include practical classes in courses and include compulsory work placement experience as an integral part of the curriculum. The evaluation scale was: not at all important; slightly important; important; fairly important and very important. All of them were evaluated very important.

Figure 46- Evaluer l’importance des mesures suivantes prises par les universités- University of Carthage.

Teachers' level of satisfaction on the improvement of students' skills.

The teachers are satisfied about the improvement of the students’ skills, the weak point is the practical skills, this is not due to a students’ lack of interest, but to the inadequacy of the university facilities.

Figure 47- Compétences développées par les étudiants- University of Carthage

7.3 Need Assessment Enterprises

The need assessment of enterprises is extremely important to understand if the knowledge students acquire at the University, are suitable to enter in the labour market, or if there is a mismatch between academic training and employers’ needs.

Company identification details

The questionnaires were filled in by 11 enterprises. The 60% is a branch of a foreign company, the market is local as well as of Maghreb and Middle East countries. The economic sectors are: public health, agricultural, agro-food industry, hospitality, scientific and technical assistance to farmers, hydraulic and environmental management, project management, export, sea products conservation and distribution of fishery products, agriculture plus exploitation treated wastewater and research in the hydraulic. The enterprises mainly started their activities between 2000 and 2016.

Recruitment

Concerning the recruitment issue, the companies were asked about the number of recent graduates recruited in the last ten years. 8 out of 11 enterprises recruited employees with the degree. The preferred graduated backgrounds were: environmental engineer, hydraulic engineer, computer science, agricultural engineer, environmental technology and hygiene, master of water management - management, finance, international law. Regarding the qualifications required, a master degree is surely an asset, while bachelor’s and a PhD are considered of equal importance. In the recruitment of University graduates, the employers value important the university’s ranking and the work placement during studies. Among the problems faced there are: the lack of students in a specific field of study, and of technical and practical knowledge.

Skills

This section aim is to go into detail about the graduate skills deficiencies in a set of 16, the only two that are not insufficient are: theoretical and computer literacy. The first one has a clear connection with the academic training, while the second does not.

Figure 48- Compètences- University of Carthage

In order to find possible solutions to these aspects, it was asked to the companies to evaluate which measures, they think university should undertake to enhance the students’ skill. The first one is: dictate courses more connected to enterprise’s needs; the second is the introduction of practical activities in classes and the last is the introduction of a period of compulsory placement during the career. The actions proposed in the questionnaire where considered very important by the employers, and this is in line with the replies in the previous question.

Cooperation with universities

The last aspect investigated is the existing cooperation ties between university and companies. The possible relationship contemplated in the questionnaire were: offering internship period to students, research ties and also participation in the conferences organized by the universities. The enterprises usually offer the first two, and in an open question express the willingness to improve the cooperation.

7.4 Concluding Remarks

At the University of Carthage students and teachers agree almost in all the aspects analysed in the questionnaire. In this area, the problem of unemployment is strongly perceived from both sides. The students undertake a career at University in order to widen their opportunity to find a good job, and this is the main plan for the future. The training they receive is insufficient to meet labour market requirements, the facilities are not satisfactory, but the quality of the teaching group is acceptable. They would like to have more practical skills and the opportunity to spend a working practice at the enterprises. The teachers are aware that the knowledge they transmit to student is incapable to meet employers’ needs, because there is no dialog between the institution and the socio-economic environment. Furthermore, the University is not autonomous in its choice and it does not receive adequate funds, to improve its curricula. Despite these limits, the teachers recognise that at Carthage the University’s environment is good, they have many opportunities of sharing their teaching experience. The enterprises expressed their willingness to have a stronger collaboration with the university, in order to receive graduates more in line with their requirements.

8. Conclusions

The need assessment report was a useful tool to report the state of the art of the Tunisian university system. Thanks to the administration of ad hoc questionnaire, it was possible to gather the opinion of three categories of privileged witnesses: students, teachers and employers. This chapter offers an overview of the replies gathered underlining common aspects and differences. It is divided in four parts: students, teachers, enterprises and nexus with the Maya project.

Students

All the students were attending the last year of their careers, which varies from technical subjects to humanities. They have the same age (21-30 max), a large number live with the parents. The requirements to enter in the accommodation offered by the University are three: live further than 30 Km, low income and good notes. Probably, the respondents lack one of them. They seem to be strongly motivated, they chose the university to widen they opportunity to get a good job, and to get a certificate. The social engagement appears only among the Carthage students, who generally agree with the statement “I enrolled, because I would like to solve community issues”. The students of Tunis el Manar were a bit different from the ones of Sfax and Carthage, for example, they recognise as the university mission the “training of specialist” and less the training of graduates who meet labour market requirements. Furthermore, they planned to attend a master in the future, more than to look for a job as the other. It is possible that, in the area of Sfax and Carthage the unemployment is perceived by the students as one of the major problems. The support and facilities are considered insufficient by all the students, especially for what concerns the possibility to spend an internship period abroad and the career consultation. Another critical aspect deals with the skills developed by students, which were not in line with the labour market requirements. Nevertheless, the institutions are doing a good advertising job, in fact all the students declared to have collected the information about the courses from the institutions. The most positive aspect is the interaction with the teachers. Teachers were considered good in transmitting the knowledge, eager to follow their improvement, endowed with good pedagogical skills. All the students agreed that the Universities should introduce more practical activities and foresee a compulsory placement time.

Teachers

At Sfax and Carthage they are younger than Tunis, 30-50 versus 50-70, they are all full time professors, but due to the different age the years of teaching experience are different. The youngest teachers seemed to be more interested in the internationalisation opportunities offered by the research networks, about the informal sharing among colleagues. They all agreed that the university should train graduates who meet labour market requirements; but only at Tunis Manar teachers declared that, the university fulfilled its mission. The two others demonstrated to be really concerned about the mismatch between the market requirements and the academic training. The dissatisfaction about the facilities was strongly underlined also in their replies; but in general, they declared to be satisfied about the educational experience and the skills students are acquiring. Only at Sfax the students were declared demotivated. All the teachers agreed that the Universities should introduce more practical activities, to dictate courses more in line with enterprises requirements and to foresee a compulsory placement time.

Enterprises

The enterprises involved in the need assessment are from different economic sectors, moreover at Tunis the property is Tunisian, while at Carthage it is foreigner. Also the market in which the enterprises sell the products are different: local versus local and Maghreb and Middle east. Nevertheless, all share the same problems of recruitment. The graduate students lack practical skills, and the one related to their field of work. There is a large distance between the economic sectors and the university, and it emerged clearly the necessity to have a stronger collaboration.

Nexus with the Maya project.

Thanks to the need assessment report, we are more aware about the strong and weak points of the universities in which the Master is going to be implemented.

Strong points:

 Students highly motivated and willing to attend a master, and to spend a period abroad;  High motivated teachers, who belong to research network and evaluate important the possibility to live an international experience;

 The institution is able to pass the information about courses to the students, which is an important asset during the students’ recruitment.

Weak points:

 The lack of communication between university and enterprises;  The lack of important facilities such as laboratories etc.

The added value of the project: Maya is a master strongly related with the environmental issues suffered in the Mediterranean, the skills developed during the training will be useful to enter the labour market. It has a strong international feature, which is a benefit for teacher and students. There will be a period of compulsory internship, and stakeholders will be involved at each step of the process.

Appendix I: Questionnaires

Projet MAYA Évaluation des Besoins des Universités Tunisiennes Questionnaire aux enseignants

Instructions Générales

Cette enquête s'inscrit dans le cadre de l'Evaluation des Universités Tunisiennes réalisée dans le cadre du projet MAYA Master in Agricultural and hYdrological Approaches to a better sustainable development, qui vise à accroître le professionnalisme des jeunes étudiants tunisiens en soutenant le développement d'un nouveau Master en gestion intégrée de l'eau et de l'agriculture (IWAM). L'enquête porte sur votre expérience d'enseignement, y compris votre niveau de satisfaction à l'égard de divers aspects de l'Université. L'achèvement de l'enquête prendra environ 15 minutes. Vos réponses seront traitées confidentiellement. Pour assurer l'anonymat, N'écrivez pas votre nom sur le questionnaire. Si vous avez des questions ou des commentaires, veuillez contacter: Centre de recherche sur la désertification (NRD-UNISS) Université de Sassari (IT) Email: [email protected] Ou (insérer le contact local) ………………………………………. ………………………………………. ……………………………………….

Nous vous serions reconnaissants si vous pouviez remplir le formulaire électroniquement en utilisant votre propre traitement de texte et le renvoyer au contact local avant le 26 avril 2018.

Merci pour votre temps et votre attention

INFORMATIONS GENERALES

Sexe : Féminin Masculin

Je suis âgé(e) de : <30 30–50 50-70 >70

Mon plus haut niveau académique (achevé) est:______Je suis employé(e) en tant que : Enseignant permanant Contrat fixe pour une période supérieure à 1 an Contrat fixe pour une période inférieure ou égal à 1 an

Domaine de l’Enseignement/Spécialité ______

Nom de l’Institution/Université/Etablissement______

J’ai travaillé(e) comme enseignant (e) pour une période de : : 1-2 années 3-5 années 6-10 années 11-15 années 15-20 années >20 années

EVOLUTION PROFESSIONNELLE

Au cours des 2 dernières années, j'ai participé aux activités professionnelles formelles et informelles suivantes qui ont affecté ma carrière d'enseignant (e):

Participation Aucun Impact Impact Impact (O/N) impact assez modéré très modéré modéré Cours Scientifiques/workshops Formation Complémentaire / workshops ou d'autres sujets liés à l'éducation Participation à des réseaux de recherche sur des sujets liés à mon domaine d'intérêt Participation à un réseau d'enseignants formé spécifiquement pour les développements professionnels des méthodes pédagogiques Connaissances en littérature scientifique /Documentation professionnelle (par exemple des revues, des articles fondés sur des preuves scientifiques) Engager un dialogue informel avec mes collègues sur la façon d'améliorer notre méthode d'enseignement

DEGRES DE SATISFACTION DE L’ENSEGNANT

Qu’est-ce qui vous satisfait le PLUS dans votre Université ______

Qu’est-ce qui vous satisfait le MOINS dans votre Université

______

MISSION UNIVERSITAIRE

A votre avis, quelle serait la mission principale de votre Université? (maximum 2)

Former des spécialistes / professionnels dans différents domaines d'études Former des diplômés qui répondent aux exigences du marché du travail Former de nouvelles compétences Autre:______

À votre avis, la mission de l'Université est-elle accomplie? Oui Non

Pourquoi? ______

SERVICES DE SUPPORT ET FACILITÉ

Veuillez cocher la case des options d'évaluation les plus proches de votre expérience personnelle parmi les options suivantes de l’échelle d'évaluation: Pas du tout satisfait ; Pas satisfait ;Moyennement satisfait ; Satisfait ; Très satisfait.

Etes-vous satisfait par? Pas du tout Pas Moyennement Satisfai Très satisfait satisfait satisfait t satisfait Salles de classe et ateliers Disponibilité des ordinateurs et de la technologie Ressources de la bibliothèque Logement sur le campus pour les professeurs invités Consultation de carrière et stages pour les étudiants Possibilités de passer une période de mobilité à l'étranger

EXPÉRIENCES ÉDUCATIVES

Etes-vous satisfait par? Pas du tout Pas Moyennement Satisfai Très satisfait satisfait satisfait t satisfait Qualité pédagogique du personnel enseignant Qualité de l'éducation transmise aux étudiants Aptitude du personnel enseignant à transmettre le savoir Suivi du progrès des étudiants par leurs enseignants Disponibilité des cours

Etes-vous satisfait des compétences Pas du Pas Moyennement Satisfai Très développées par les étudiants en tout satisfait satisfait t satisfait fréquentant l'université par ? satisfait Compétences en recherché Analyse critique Compétences théoriques Compétences pratiques

Aptitudes à la communication (expression orale et écrite, rédaction et présentation de rapports, etc.) Langues Connaissances en informatique Compétences en résolution des problèmes Capacité à travailler en équipe Capacité à travailler indépendamment Capacité à acquérir de nouvelles connaissances Confiance en soi Leadership Compétences de négociation Savoir entrepreneurial Créativité

Veuillez cocher la case des options d'évaluation les plus proches de votre expérience personnelle parmi les options suivantes de l’échelle d'évaluation: Pas du tout important ; Pas important; Moyennement important ; Important ; Très important.

Évaluer l'importance des Pas du tout Pas Moyennement Important Très mesures suivantes prises par les important important important important universités pour améliorer l'aptitude à l’emploi des étudiants diplômés Insérer des cours plus adaptés aux besoins des entreprises Inclure la pratique dans les cours Inclure l'expérience de stage obligatoire en tant que partie importante du curriculum

Autres (veuillez préciser) ______

En ce qui concerne le sujet de la gestion intégrée de l'eau et de l'agriculture, à votre avis, quels sont les cours de formation qui doivent être mis en place et qui ne sont pas fournis par votre université? ______

Évaluer l'importance des unités Pas du Pas Moyennement Important Très d’enseignement suivantes qui tout important important important pourraient être incorporées dans important un Master en gestion intégrée de l'eau et de l'agriculture Math appliquées Statistique dans la recherche Chimie environnementale Télédétection et GIS Hydraulique Hydrologie Gestion des eaux urbaines Évaluation des risques environnementaux Protection de l’environnement Gestion intégrée des ressources en eau Qualité du sol

Techniques d’irrigation Hydrogéologie Conservation des eaux et du sol Acheminement d’eau Techniques de traitement d’eau Biotechnologie et agriculture durable Géomorphologie dynamique Agroclimatologie Ressources en eau et changement climatique Anglais scientifique Climatologie et changement climatique Modernisation et Optimisation des réseaux en eau Analyse économique des system hydraulique Bioénergie et valorisation des déchets agricoles Méthode d'enquête

Commentaires ou suggestions:______

Merci pour votre collaboration

Projet MAYA Évaluation des Besoins des Universités Tunisiennes Questionnaire aux étudiants

Instructions Générales

Cette enquête s'inscrit dans le cadre de l'Evaluation des Universités Tunisiennes réalisée dans le cadre du projet MAYA Master in Agricultural and hYdrological Approaches to a better sustainable development, qui vise à accroître le professionnalisme des jeunes étudiants tunisiens en soutenant le développement d'un nouveau Master en gestion intégrée de l'eau et de l'agriculture (IWAM). L'enquête porte sur votre expérience d’étude, y compris votre niveau de satisfaction à l'égard de divers aspects de l'Université. L'achèvement de l'enquête prendra environ 15 minutes. Vos réponses seront traitées confidentiellement. Pour assurer l'anonymat, N'écrivez pas votre nom sur le questionnaire. Si vous avez des questions ou des commentaires, veuillez contacter: Centre de recherche sur la désertification (NRD-UNISS) Université de Sassari (IT) Email: [email protected] Ou (insérer le contact local) ………………………………………. ………………………………………. ……………………………………….

Nous vous serions reconnaissants si vous pouviez remplir le formulaire électroniquement en utilisant votre propre traitement de texte et le renvoyer au contact local avant le 26 avril 2018.

Merci pour votre temps et votre attention

INFORMATIONS GENERALES

Sexe: Féminin Masculin

Je suis âgé(e) de: <21 21–24 25-30 >30

Je suis: étudiant (e) en 1ère année étudiant (e) en 2ème année étudiant (e) en dernière année Je suis inscrit (e) en ______

Nom de l’Institution/Université/Etablissement ______

Logement: avec parents Foyer universitaire Autres______

MOTIVATION DE L’ETUDIANT Veuillez cocher la case des options d'évaluation les plus proches de votre expérience personnelle parmi les options suivantes de l’échelle d'évaluation: Je ne suis pas d'accord; Je suis légèrement d'accord ; Je suis généralement d'accord ; Je suis complètement d'accord ; Aucune expérience du sujet.

Je ne suis Je suis Je suis Je suis Aucune Avant d'intégrer cette pas légèrement généralement complètement expérience université: d'accord d'accord d'accord d'accord du sujet J'ai eu assez d'informations sur les études fournies par cette institution J'ai obtenu des informations sur l'institution et sa prestation d'études auprès de: Centre de carrières Conseiller Etudiant Amis ou parents Internet Médias / journal

Autre (veuillez préciser)______

Quelles étaient vos Je ne suis Je suis Je suis Je suis Aucune principales pas légèrement généralement complètement expérience motivations à vous d'accord d'accord d'accord d'accord du sujet inscrire à l'université? pour acquérir des compétences

précieuses pour ma carrière parce que d'autres personnes m'ont suggéré parce que je voulais résoudre des problèmes dans ma communauté parce que je ne sais pas quoi faire d'autre parce que c'est un bon endroit pour développer des amitiés parce que c'est la meilleure alternative que le travail pour obtenir la qualification donc je peux obtenir un meilleur travail

Si autre, veuille préciser: ______

Quel est votre plan d'avenir après l'obtention du diplôme?

1. Obtenir un Master 2. Obtenir un PhD 3. Travailler

DEGRES DE SATISFACTION

Qu’est-ce qui vous satisfait le PLUS dans votre Université ______

Qu’est-ce qui vous satisfait le MOINS dans votre Université ______

MISSION UNIVERSITAIRE

A votre avis, quelle serait la mission principale de votre Université? (maximum 2) Former des spécialistes / professionnels dans différents domaines d'études Former des diplômés qui répondent aux exigences du marché du travail Former de nouvelles compétences Autre:______

À votre avis, la mission de l'Université est-elle accomplie?

Oui Non

Pourquoi? ______

SERVICES DE SUPPORT ET FACILITÉ

Veuillez cocher la case des options d'évaluation les plus proches de votre expérience personnelle parmi les options suivantes de l’échelle d'évaluation: Pas du tout satisfait ; Pas satisfait ; Moyennement satisfait ; Satisfait ; Très satisfait.

Etes-vous satisfait par? Pas du tout Pas Moyennement Satisfai Très satisfait satisfait satisfait t satisfait Salles de classe et ateliers Disponibilité des ordinateurs et de la technologie Resources de la bibliothèque Logement sur le campus pour les professeurs invités Consultation de carrière et stages pour les étudiants Possibilités de passer une période de mobilité à l'étranger

EXPÉRIENCES ÉDUCATIVES

Etes-vous satisfait des compétences Pas du Pas Moyennement Satisfai Très développées en fréquentant l'université tout satisfait satisfait t satisfait par ? satisfait Compétences en recherche Analyse critique Compétences théoriques Compétences pratiques

Aptitudes à la communication (expression orale et écrite, rédaction et présentation de rapports, etc.) Langues Connaissances en informatique Compétences en résolution des problèmes Capacité à travailler en équipe Capacité à être autonome dans le travail Capacité à acquérir de nouvelles connaissances Confiance en soi Leadership Compétences de négociation commerciale Savoir entrepreneurial Créativité

Croyez-vous que les compétences acquises / développées au cours de l'Université seront utiles pour accéder au marché du travail?

Oui Non

Pourquoi?______

Inclure la pratique dans les cours

Inclure l'expérience de stage obligatoire en tant que partie importante du curriculum

Autres (veuillez préciser) ______

Avez-vous des informations sur l'importance du développement durable et la gestion de l'eau ? Oui Non

Si oui : source de ses informations : 1. Cours 2. Conférence 3. Work shop 4. Média

Est-ce que tu souhaites intégrer ce nouveau master en gestion intégrée de l'eau et de l'agriculture (IWAM) ? Oui Non

Évaluer l'importance des unités Pas du tout Pas Moyennement Important Très d’enseignement suivantes qui important important important important pourraient être incorporées dans un Master en gestion intégrée de l'eau et de l'agriculture Math appliquées Statistique dans la recherche Chimie environnementale (eau, sol, air) Télédétection et GIS Hydraulique Hydrologie Gestion des eaux urbaines Évaluation des risques environnementaux Protection de l’environnement Gestion intégrée des ressources en eau Qualité du sol Techniques d’irrigation Hydrogéologie Conservation des eaux et du sol Acheminement d’eau Techniques de traitement des eaux Biotechnologie et agriculture durable Géomorphologie dynamique Agroclimatologie Ressources en eau et changement climatique Anglais scientifique Climatologie et changement climatique Modernisation et Optimisation des réseaux en eau Analyse économique des system hydraulique Bioénergie et valorisation des déchets agricoles Méthode d'enquête

Autres (veuillez préciser) ______

Dans le cas où vous êtes un étudiant assistant à un nouveau Master, seriez-vous intéressé à assister des enseignements/stage à l’étranger? Oui Non

Pourquoi?______

Commentaires ou suggestions:______

Merci pour votre collaboration

Projet MAYA Perceptions des employeurs quant à l'employabilité et aux compétences des diplômés dans les facultés tunisiennes

Instructions Générales

Cette enquête s'inscrit dans le cadre de l'Evaluation des Universités Tunisiennes réalisée dans le cadre du projet MAYA Master in Agricultural and hYdrological Approaches to a better sustainable development, qui vise à accroître le professionnalisme des jeunes étudiants tunisiens en soutenant le développement d'un nouveau Master en gestion intégrée de l'eau et de l'agriculture (IWAM). L'un des défis actuels de la modernisation de l'enseignement supérieur est d'explorer comment l'enseignement supérieur peut accroître sa pertinence aux besoins du marché du travail, en veillant à ce que les apprenants soient dotés non seulement de connaissances et de compétences professionnelles, mais aussi d'outils dans le nouveau marché. L'enquête comprend plusieurs questions afin de gagner la perception des employeurs sur la correspondance entre leurs exigences en tant qu'employeurs et l'éducation et la formation des diplômés. Les informations recueillies seront utilisées pour identifier les forces et les faiblesses du système éducatif, évaluer l'impact actuel et envisager des pistes d'amélioration. L'achèvement de l'enquête prendra environ 10 minutes. Vos réponses seront traitées confidentiellement. Si vous avez des questions ou des commentaires, veuillez contacter:

Centre de recherche sur la désertification (NRD-UNISS) Université de Sassari (IT) Email: [email protected] Ou (insérer le contact local) ………………………………………. ………………………………………. Nous vous serions reconnaissants si vous pouviez remplir le formulaire électroniquement en utilisant votre propre traitement de texte et le renvoyer au contact local avant le 26 avril 2018.

Merci pour votre temps et votre attention

INFORMATIONS SUR L'IDENTIFICATION DE L'ENTREPRISE

Nom de la compagnie ______Tel: ______Adresse ______Région: ______

Quel est le principal secteur d'activité / économique de votre entreprise? ______

Quand l'activité de votre entreprise a-t-elle démarré (précisez l'année)? ______

Quel est le statut de votre entreprise en termes de propriété: Une succursale d'une société étrangère □ 100% Propriété tunisienne □ Une fusion □

Quel est le pourcentage approximatif d'employés titulaires d'un diplôme universitaire? ______

Sur quels marchés votre entreprise travaille-t-elle?

1. Zone locale 2. Tunisie 3. Pays du Maghreb et du Moyen-Orient (Veuillez préciser: ______) 4. Pays européens (veuillez préciser: ______) 5. Pays africains (Veuillez préciser: ______)

D'après vous, quels sont les principaux problèmes d'emploi de votre entreprise?

Niveau de qualification inadéquat de la main d’œuvre □ Manque de savoir professionnel □ Autres (Veuillez spécifier)______

RECRUTEMENT

Au cours des 10 dernières années, avez-vous recruté de nouveaux diplômés ? Oui □ Combien?______Non □

Dans quels domaines préférez-vous que votre employé soit diplômé? ______

Indiquer si les facteurs suivants sont importants dans la sélection des diplômés universitaires: 1. Une licence Oui □ Non □ 93

2. Un Master Oui □ Non □ 3. Un doctorat/ PhD Oui □ Non □

Veuillez cocher la case des options d'évaluation les plus proches de votre expérience personnelle parmi les options suivantes de l’échelle d'évaluation: Je ne suis pas d'accord; Je suis légèrement d'accord ; Je suis généralement d'accord ; Je suis complètement d'accord ; Aucune expérience du sujet.

Importance des Je ne suis Je suis Je suis Je suis Aucune facteurs suivants pas légèrement généralement complètement expérience dans le recrutement d'accord d'accord d'accord d'accord du sujet des diplômés universitaires Possession d'un diplôme d'une université étrangère Ayant étudié ou travaillé à l'étranger Le classement de l'université où ils ont étudié Stage en cours d'études

Quels sont les aspects les plus difficiles à trouver lors de l'embauche de nouveaux diplômés?

1. Diplôme dans un domaine spécifique 2. Assez de connaissances techniques et de compétences pratiques 3. Assez de motivation 4. Adaptabilité à l'horaire de travail 5. Acceptation du salaire 6. Autres raisons (Veuillez spécifier)______

COMPÉTENCES

Quelles compétences et Je ne suis Je suis Je suis Je suis Aucune / ou quelles autres pas légèrement généralement complètement expérience exigences manquent, d'accord d'accord d'accord d'accord du sujet selon vous, aux jeunes diplômés? Compétences théoriques Compétences pratiques

Analyse et résolution des problèmes Habiletés de prise de décision Créativité La capacité d'acquérir de nouvelles connaissances Capacité à travailler de façon autonome Les compétences de communication: expression orale et écrite Connaissance en informatique de base /Utilisé IT Capacité à travailler en groupe Leadership Compétences en négociation commerciale Démontrer la responsabilité au travail Niveau d'éducation approprié Expérience de travail Intégrité

importance des Je ne suis Je suis Je suis Je suis Aucune mesures suivantes pas légèrement généralement complètement expérience prises par les d'accord d'accord d'accord d'accord du sujet universités pour améliorer l'aptitude à l’emploi des étudiants diplômés Insérer des cours plus adaptés aux besoins des entreprises Inclure la pratique dans les cours

Inclure l'expérience de stage obligatoire en tant que partie importante du curriculum Stage en cours d'études

Autres (Veuillez spécifier)______

COOPÉRATION AVEC LES UNIVERSITÉS

Votre entreprise a-t-elle déjà participé à des activités de coopération avec des universités telles que:

1. Discussion sur la conception du curricula □ 2. Offre de stages aux étudiants universitaires □ 3. Participation in business forums and conferences organized by Universities □ 4. Accords de coopération en matière de recherche □ 5. Personnel expérimenté engagé dans la formation professionnelle □ 6. Pas de participation □ 7. Autres (Veuillez spécifier) ______

Veuillez ajouter ci-dessous tout autre commentaire que vous pourriez avoir:

Merci pour votre collaboration

Projet MAYA

EVALUATION DU CURRICULUM

Instructions Générales

Nous vous serions reconnaissants si vous pouviez remplir le formulaire électroniquement en utilisant votre propre traitement de texte et le renvoyer au contact local avant le 26 avril 2018.

Merci pour votre temps et votre attention

TITRE DE COURS ______

FACULTÉ OU DÉPARTEMENT ______

NOMBRE MOYEN DES ETUDIANTS ASSISTANTS AU COURS______

NOMBRES D’HEURES DE COURS______

LANGUE (S) D’ENSEIGNEMENT______

PERIODE DU STAGE (SI REQUIS) ______

CONDITIONS D'ADMISSION (SI NECESSAIRE) ______

OBJECTIFS DU COURS ______

ORGANISATION DU COURS: décrire le contenu et la structure du cours

______

METHODES D’ENSEIGNEMENTS

Cours Magistraux □ nb.heures(%)___ Exercices Pratiques □ nb.heures(%)___ Laboratoires □ nb.heures(%)___ Autres □ ______nb.heures(%)___

Si les exercices pratiques et les activités au laboratoire font parties des cours, veuillez les décrire : ______

MATÉRIEL DE COURS: Requis (et / ou optionnels) lectures (auteurs et éditions inclus), lecture générale (bibliographie), logiciels, etc. ______

ATTRIBUTIONS DE COURS: Veuillez décrire brièvement ce que les étudiants sont tenus de faire pendant le cours, tels que les examens, les essais, la présentation de rapports, le travail d'équipe, etc. ______

MÉTHODES ET CRITÈRES D'ÉVALUATION:

Oral □ Test à choix multiples QCM □ Test de réponses ouvertes □ Examen écrit □ Autre □ ______

Veuillez expliquer les critères de notation : ______Commentaires ou suggestions :

Merci pour votre collaboration 98

Appendix II: Photos Universities of Tunis el Manar, Sfax, Carthage

Figure 49 -University of Sfax 16-17 July 2018

Figure 50 -University of Carthage 16-17 July 2018

Figure 51-University of Tunis el Manar, 16-17 July 2018

100