DOCSLIB.ORG

Improving Higher Education Performance in Kenya: a Policy Report

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Improving Higher Education Performance in Kenya: a Policy Report IMPROVING HIGHER EDUCATION Public Disclosure Authorized PERFORMANCE IN KENYA: A POLICY REPORT Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized August 21, 2019 Public Disclosure Authorized Report No: AUS0001105 . Kenya Kenya Higher Education Policy Note IMPROVING HIGHER EDUCATION PERFORMANCE IN KENYA: A POLICY REPORT . August 21, 2019 . EDU . © 2017 The World Bank 1818 H Street NW, Washington DC 20433 Telephone: 202-473-1000; Internet: www.worldbank.org Some rights reserved This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of the Executive Directors of The World Bank or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Rights and Permissions The material in this work is subject to copyright. Because The World Bank encourages dissemination of its knowledge, this work may be reproduced, in whole or in part, for noncommercial purposes as long as full attribution to this work is given. Attribution—Please cite the work as follows: “World Bank. 2019. Improving Higher Education Performance in Kenya: A Policy Report. © World Bank.” All queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to World Bank Publications, The World Bank Group, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA; fax: 202-522-2625; e-mail: [email protected]. Acknowledgements The report is prepared by a team led by Ruth Karimi Charo (Senior Education Specialist and Task Team Leader) and comprising a core team Roberta Malee Bassett ( Global Lead for Tertiary Education and Senior Education Specialist); Jason Allen Weaver (Senior Education Specialist); Paolo Belli (Program Leader); Jamil Salmi (Consultant, Tertiary Education); Joanna Bersin (Consultant, Education Technology ); Stephen Okiya (Consultant, Statistics); and Hafedh Zaafrane (Consultant, Tertiary Education). The core team acknowledges inputs provided by Bitange Ndemo; Fredrick Wamalwa; and Polycarp Otieno. The following Peer reviewers provided valuable comments: Marcelo Becerra (Lead Education Specialist); Nina Arnhold (Senior Education Specialist); Yoko Nagashima (Senior Education Specialist); Juan Cristobal Cobo Romani (Senior Education Specialist); Francisco Marmolejo (Lead Education Specialist); and Michael Trucano (Senior Education Specialist) The team is grateful for guidance provided by Safaa El Tayeb El-Kogali (Practice Manager) and Carlos Felipe Jaramillo (Country Director). Table of Contents Acronyms ......................................................................................................................................... i Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................... iv Chapter 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Purpose of the Policy Report ................................................................................................. 5 1.3 Methodology and Scope ........................................................................................................ 5 1.4 Organization of the Policy Report ......................................................................................... 6 Chapter 2. Designing and Implementing a Sustainable Financing Strategy ................................... 7 2.1 Expansion Scenarios for the Higher Education System ........................................................ 7 2.1.1 Present Situation ............................................................................................................. 7 2.1.2 Scenarios ......................................................................................................................... 8 2.2 Strategic Decisions Influencing Financing Needs .............................................................. 12 2.2.1. What Is at Stake ........................................................................................................... 12 2.2.2. Development of the Non-university Subsector ........................................................... 13 2.2.3. Expanding Cost-effective Distance Education Modes ................................................ 16 2.2.4. Development of the Private Sector .............................................................................. 18 2.2.5. Achieving Synergies and Complementarities.............................................................. 21 2.3 Resource Mobilization ........................................................................................................ 25 2.3.1 Scope for Additional Fiscal Resources ......................................................................... 25 2.3.2 Potential for Income Diversification ............................................................................ 28 2.3.3. Potential for Social Innovation .................................................................................... 37 2.4. Resource Allocation ........................................................................................................... 40 2.4.1. Present Funding System .............................................................................................. 40 2.4.2. Guiding Principles for a Sound Funding System ........................................................ 40 2.4.3. Options for Strengthening Kenya’s Funding Model ................................................... 42 2.4.4 Adopting a Three-pillar Funding Model ...................................................................... 46 2.4.5 Allocation of Research Funding ................................................................................... 46 Chapter 3. Improving Quality and Relevance in the Kenyan Higher Education System ............. 51 3.1 Diagnosis of the Present Situation ...................................................................................... 51 3.1.1 Proxy Measures of Quality and Relevance ................................................................... 51 3.1.2 Labor Market Results ................................................................................................... 54 3.1.3. Research and Technology Transfer Outputs ............................................................... 55 3.2 Improving Quality and Relevance at the Institutional Level .............................................. 58 3.2.1 Better Preparation of Incoming Students ...................................................................... 58 3.2.2. Enhanced Qualifications of Academics ....................................................................... 60 3.2.3. Curricular and Pedagogical Innovations ...................................................................... 61 3.2.4. Closer Links to Employers .......................................................................................... 65 3.2.5. Increased Internationalization ...................................................................................... 68 3.2.6. Strengthened Research Capacity ................................................................................. 69 3.3 Strengthening the National QA System .............................................................................. 73 3.3.1 Present QA System ....................................................................................................... 73 3.3.2 Guiding Principles for a Sound QA System ................................................................. 73 3.3.3 Options for Strengthening Kenya’s QA Model ............................................................ 74 3.4 Developing a Comprehensive Labor Market Information System ..................................... 77 3.4.1 International Examples ................................................................................................. 78 3.4.2. Lessons of Experience ................................................................................................. 82 3.4.3. Importance of Coordination ......................................................................................... 84 Chapter 4. Spotlight on the Potential Use of Technology in Kenyan Higher Education .............. 85 4.1 International Strategies, Models, and Experiences ............................................................. 85 4.1.1 Building Online Learning Programs: Outcomes and Best Practices Overview ........... 86 4.1.2 Providing Mentorship to Students in Online Programs ................................................ 97 4.1.3 Decreasing Course Material Costs with OER ............................................................ 102 4.1.4 Implementing Adaptive Active Learning to Improve Student Outcomes .................. 105 4.1.5 Integrating Coding Bootcamps into Higher Education Programs .............................. 110 4.1.6 Designing Innovative Programs: Leveraging Online Learning .................................. 112 4.2 Focus on Future-Ready Skills ..........................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Arxiv:2009.03244V1 [Astro-Ph.HE] 7 Sep 2020
    Advances in Understanding High-Mass X-ray Binaries with INTEGRAL and Future Directions Peter Kretschmara, Felix Furst¨ b, Lara Sidolic, Enrico Bozzod, Julia Alfonso-Garzon´ e, Arash Bodagheef, Sylvain Chatyg,h, Masha Chernyakovai,j, Carlo Ferrignod, Antonios Manousakisk,l, Ignacio Negueruelam, Konstantin Postnovn,o, Adamantia Paizisc, Pablo Reigp,q, Jose´ Joaqu´ın Rodes-Rocar,s, Sergey Tsygankovt,u, Antony J. Birdv, Matthias Bissinger ne´ Kuhnel¨ w, Pere Blayx, Isabel Caballeroy, Malcolm J. Coev, Albert Domingoe, Victor Doroshenkoz,u, Lorenzo Duccid,z, Maurizio Falangaaa, Sergei A. Grebenevu, Victoria Grinbergz, Paul Hemphillab, Ingo Kreykenbohmac,w, Sonja Kreykenbohm nee´ Fritzad,ac, Jian Liae, Alexander A. Lutovinovu, Silvia Mart´ınez-Nu´nez˜ af, J. Miguel Mas-Hessee, Nicola Masettiag,ah, Vanessa A. McBrideai,aj,ak, Andrii Neronovh,d, Katja Pottschmidtal,am,Jer´ omeˆ Rodriguezg, Patrizia Romanoan, Richard E. Rothschildao, Andrea Santangeloz, Vito Sgueraag,Rudiger¨ Staubertz, John A. Tomsickap, Jose´ Miguel Torrejon´ r,s, Diego F. Torresaq,ar, Roland Walterd,Jorn¨ Wilmsac,w, Colleen A. Wilson-Hodgeas, Shu Zhangat Abstract High mass X-ray binaries are among the brightest X-ray sources in the Milky Way, as well as in nearby Galaxies. Thanks to their highly variable emissions and complex phenomenology, they have attracted the interest of the high energy astrophysical community since the dawn of X-ray Astronomy. In more recent years, they have challenged our comprehension of physical processes in many more energy bands, ranging from the infrared to very high energies. In this review, we provide a broad but concise summary of the physical processes dominating the emission from high mass X-ray binaries across virtually the whole electromagnetic spectrum.
    [Show full text]
  • The Polarized Spectral Energy Distribution of NGC 4151
    MNRAS 496, 215–222 (2020) doi:10.1093/mnras/staa1533 Advance Access publication 2020 June 3 The polarized spectral energy distribution of NGC 4151 F. Marin ,1‹ J. Le Cam,2 E. Lopez-Rodriguez,3 M. Kolehmainen,1 B. L. Babler4 and M. R. Meade4 1Universite´ de Strasbourg, CNRS, Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg, UMR 7550, F-67000 Strasbourg, France 2Institut d’optique Graduate School, 91120 Palaiseau, France 3SOFIA Science Center, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA 4Department of Astronomy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/496/1/215/5850780 by guest on 30 September 2021 Accepted 2020 May 25. Received 2020 May 15; in original form 2020 March 17 ABSTRACT NGC 4151 is among the most well-studied Seyfert galaxies that does not suffer from strong obscuration along the observer’s line of sight. This allows to probe the central active galactic nucleus (AGN) engine with photometry, spectroscopy, reverberation mapping, or interferometry. Yet, the broad-band polarization from NGC 4151 has been poorly examined in the past despite the fact that polarimetry gives us a much cleaner view of the AGN physics than photometry or spectroscopy alone. In this paper, we compile the 0.15–89.0 μm total and polarized fluxes of NGC 4151 from archival and new data in order to examine the physical processes at work in the heart of this AGN. We demonstrate that, from the optical to the near-infrared (IR) band, the polarized spectrum of NGC 4151 shows a much bluer power-law spectral index than that of the total flux, corroborating the presence of an optically thick, locally heated accretion flow, at least in its near-IR emitting radii.
    [Show full text]
  • Cygnus X-3 and the Case for Simultaneous Multifrequency
    by France Anne-Dominic Cordova lthough the visible radiation of Cygnus A X-3 is absorbed in a dusty spiral arm of our gal- axy, its radiation in other spectral regions is observed to be extraordinary. In a recent effort to better understand the causes of that radiation, a group of astrophysicists, including the author, carried 39 Cygnus X-3 out an unprecedented experiment. For two days in October 1985 they directed toward the source a variety of instru- ments, located in the United States, Europe, and space, hoping to observe, for the first time simultaneously, its emissions 9 18 Gamma Rays at frequencies ranging from 10 to 10 Radiation hertz. The battery of detectors included a very-long-baseline interferometer consist- ing of six radio telescopes scattered across the United States and Europe; the Na- tional Radio Astronomy Observatory’s Very Large Array in New Mexico; Caltech’s millimeter-wavelength inter- ferometer at the Owens Valley Radio Ob- servatory in California; NASA’s 3-meter infrared telescope on Mauna Kea in Ha- waii; and the x-ray monitor aboard the European Space Agency’s EXOSAT, a sat- ellite in a highly elliptical, nearly polar orbit, whose apogee is halfway between the earth and the moon. In addition, gamma- Wavelength (m) ray detectors on Mount Hopkins in Ari- zona, on the rim of Haleakala Crater in Fig. 1. The energy flux at the earth due to electromagnetic radiation from Cygnus X-3 as a Hawaii, and near Leeds, England, covered function of the frequency and, equivalently, energy and wavelength of the radiation.
    [Show full text]
  • AGENDA Northbrae Community Church January 13, 2010 7:00 P.M
    Please Note: BERKELEY PUBLIC LIBRARY Special Location BOARD OF LIBRARY TRUSTEES REGULAR Meeting AGENDA Northbrae Community Church January 13, 2010 7:00 p.m. 941 The Alameda (cross street Los Angeles) The Board of Library Trustees may act on any item on this agenda. I. CALL TO ORDER II. WORKSHOP SESSION ON MEASURE FF NORTH BRANCH LIBRARY UPDATE A. Presentation by Architectural Resource Group / Tom Eliot Fisch Architects on the Schematic Design Phase; and Staff Report on the Process, Community Input and Next Steps. B. Public Comments on this item only (Proposed 15-minute time limit, with speakers allowed 3 minutes each) C. Board Discussion III. PRELIMINARY MATTERS A. Public Comments (Proposed 30-minute time limit, with speakers allowed 3 minutes each) B. Report from library employees and unions, discussion of staff issues Comments / responses to reports and issues addressed in packet. C. Report from Board of Library Trustees D. Approval of Agenda IV. PRESENTATION A. Report on Branch Renovation Program Presented by Steve Dewan, Kitchell CEM V. CONSENT CALENDAR The Board will consider removal and addition of items to the Consent Calendar prior to voting on the Consent Calendar. All items remaining on the Consent Calendar will be approved in one motion. A. Approve minutes of December 9, 2009 Regular Meeting Recommendation: Approve the minutes of the December 9, 2009 regular meeting of the Board of Library Trustees. B. Closure of the Tool Lending Library for Annual Tool Maintenance from February 28 Through March 13, 2010 Recommendation: Adopt the attached resolution authorizing the closure of the Tool Lending Library from February 28 through March 13, 2010 and reopening on March 16, 2010.
    [Show full text]
  • ROSAT All-Sky Survey
    ROSAT All-Sky Survey S. R. Kulkarni July 22, 2020{July 27, 2020 The Russian-German mission, Spektr-R¨ongtenGamma (SRG) is on the verge of revolution- izing X-ray astronomy. One of the instruments, eROSITA, will be undertaking an imaging survey of the X-ray sky. Each six-month the entire sky will be covered to a sensitivity which is ten times better than the previous such survey (ROSAT). After eight semesters SRG will undertake pointed observations. I provide a condensed history so that a young student can appreciate the importance of SRG/eROSITA. The first all sky survey was undertaken by the Uhuru (aka SAS-1; 1970) satellite. This was followed up by HEAO-1 (aka HEAO-A; 1977) surveys. These surveys detected 339 and 843 sources in the 2{10 keV band. For those interested in arcana, 1 Uhuru count/s is 1:7 × 10−11 erg cm−2 s−1 in the 2{6 keV band. The next major mission was HEAO-2 (aka Einstein; launched in 1978). This was a game changer since, unlike the past missions which used essentially collimators or shadow cam- eras, the centerpiece of Einstein was a true imaging telescope. Furthermore the mission carried an amazing complement of imagers and spectrometers in the focal plane. The mission coincided with my graduate school (1978-1983). R¨ontgensatellit (ROSAT) was a German mission to undertake an X-ray imaging survey of the entire sky { the first such survey. Launched in 1990 it lasted for eight years. It carried two Positional Sensitive Proportional Counter (PSPC; 0.1{2.4 keV), a High Resolution Imager (HRI) and the Wide Field Camera (WFC; 60{300 A).˚ The PSPC, with a field-of- view of 2 degrees, was the primary work horse for the X-ray sky survey and was > 100 more sensitive than the pioneering Uhuru and HEAO-A1 surveys.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Report
    1 Full Legal Disclaimer This research presentation expresses our research opinions. You should assume that as of the publication date of any presentation, report or letter, Spruce Point Capital Management LLC (possibly along with or through our members, partners, affiliates, employees, and/or consultants) along with our subscribers and clients has a short position in all stocks (and are long/short combinations of puts and calls on the stock) covered herein, including without limitation 2U, Inc. (“TWOU”), and therefore stand to realize significant gains in the event that the price of its stock declines. Following publication of any presentation, report or letter, we intend to continue transacting in the securities covered therein, and we may be long, short, or neutral at any time hereafter regardless of our initial recommendation. All expressions of opinion are subject to change without notice, and Spruce Point Capital Management does not undertake to update this report or any information contained herein. Spruce Point Capital Management, subscribers and/or consultants shall have no obligation to inform any investor or viewer of this report about their historical, current, and future trading activities. This research presentation expresses our research opinions, which we have based upon interpretation of certain facts and observations, all of which are based upon publicly available information, and all of which are set out in this research presentation. Any investment involves substantial risks, including complete loss of capital. Any forecasts or estimates are for illustrative purpose only and should not be taken as limitations of the maximum possible loss or gain. Any information contained in this report may include forward looking statements, expectations, pro forma analyses, estimates, and projections.
    [Show full text]
  • NASA Selects Proposals to Study Neutron Stars, Black Holes and More 31 July 2015
    NASA selects proposals to study neutron stars, black holes and more 31 July 2015 have returned transformational science, and these selections promise to continue that tradition." The proposals were selected based on potential science value and feasibility of development plans. One of each mission type will be selected by 2017, after concept studies and detailed evaluations, to proceed with construction and launch, the earliest of which could be launched by 2020. Small Explorer mission costs are capped at $125 million each, excluding the launch vehicle, and Mission of Opportunity costs are capped at $65 million each. Each Astrophysics Small Explorer mission will receive $1 million to conduct an 11-month mission concept study. The selected proposals are: The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), SPHEREx: An All-Sky Near-Infrared Spectral launched in 2012, is an Explorer mission that allows astronomers to study the universe in high energy X-rays. Survey Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech James Bock, principal investigator at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California SA has selected five proposals submitted to its SPHEREx will perform an all-sky near infrared Explorers Program to conduct focused scientific spectral survey to probe the origin of our Universe; investigations and develop instruments that fill the explore the origin and evolution of galaxies, and scientific gaps between the agency's larger explore whether planets around other stars could missions. harbor life. The selected proposals, three Astrophysics Small Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) Explorer missions and two Explorer Missions of Opportunity, will study polarized X-ray emissions Martin Weisskopf, principal investigator at NASA's from neutron star-black hole binary systems, the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, exponential expansion of space in the early Alabama universe, galaxies in the early universe, and star formation in our Milky Way galaxy.
    [Show full text]
  • NASA Selects Proposals to Study Neutron Stars, Black Holes and More
    NASA Selects Proposals to Study Neutron Stars, Black Holes and More NEWS PROVIDED BY NASA Jul 30, 2015, 05:15 ET WASHINGTON, July 30, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA has selected ve proposals submitted to its Explorers Program to conduct focused scientic investigations and develop instruments that ll the scientic gaps between the agency's larger missions. The selected proposals, three Astrophysics Small Explorer missions and two Explorer Missions of Opportunity, will study polarized X-ray emissions from neutron star-black hole binary systems, the exponential expansion of space in the early universe, galaxies in the early universe, and star formation in our Milky Way galaxy. "The Explorers Program brings out some of the most creative ideas for missions to help unravel the mysteries of the Universe," said John Grunsfeld, NASA's Associate Administrator for Science at NASA Headquarters, in Washington. "The program has resulted in great missions that have returned transformational science, and these selections promise to continue that tradition." The proposals were selected based on potential science value and feasibility of development plans. One of each mission type will be selected by 2017, after concept studies and detailed evaluations, to proceed with construction and launch, the earliest of which could be launched by 2020. Small Explorer mission costs are capped at $125 million each, excluding the launch vehicle, and Mission of Opportunity costs are capped at $65 million each. Each Astrophysics Small Explorer mission will receive $1 million to conduct an 11-month mission concept study. The selected proposals are: SPHEREx: An All-Sky Near-Infrared Spectral Survey James Bock, principal investigator at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California SPHEREx will perform an all-sky near infrared spectral survey to probe the origin of our Universe; explore the origin and evolution of galaxies, and explore whether planets around other stars could harbor life.
    [Show full text]
  • RICCARDO GIACCONI Associated Universities, Inc., Suite 730, 1400 16Th St., NW, Washington, DC 20036, USA, and Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N
    THE DAWN OF X-RAY ASTRONOMY Nobel Lecture, December 8, 2002 by RICCARDO GIACCONI Associated Universities, Inc., Suite 730, 1400 16th St., NW, Washington, DC 20036, USA, and Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, USA. 1.0 INTRODUCTION The development of rockets and satellites capable of carrying instruments outside the absorbing layers of the Earth’s atmosphere has made possible the observation of celestial objects in the x-ray range of wavelength. X-rays of energy greater than several hundreds of electron volts can pene- trate the interstellar gas over distances comparable to the size of our own galaxy, with greater or lesser absorption depending on the direction of the line of sight. At energies of a few kilovolts, x-rays can penetrate the entire col- umn of galactic gas and in fact can reach us from distances comparable to the radius of the universe. The possibility of studying celestial objects in x-rays has had a profound sig- nificance for all astronomy. Over the x-ray to gamma-ray range of energies, x- rays are, by number of photons, the most abundant flux of radiation that can reveal to us the existence of high energy events in the cosmos. By high ener- gy events I mean events in which the total energy expended is extremely high (supernova explosions, emissions by active galactic nuclei, etc.) or in which the energy acquired per nucleon or the temperature of the matter involved is extremely high (infall onto collapsed objects, high temperature plasmas, in- teraction of relativistic electrons with magnetic or photon fields).
    [Show full text]
  • Observatories in Space
    OBSERVATORIES IN SPACE Catherine Turon GEPI-UMR CNRS 8111, Observatoire de Paris, Section de Meudon, 92195 Meudon, France Keywords: Astronomy, astrophysics, space, observations, stars, galaxies, interstellar medium, cosmic background. Contents 1. Introduction 2. The impact of the Earth atmosphere on astronomical observations 3. High-energy space observatories 4. Optical-Ultraviolet space observatories 5. Infrared, sub-millimeter and millimeter-space observatories 6. Gravitational waves space observatories 7. Conclusion Summary Space observatories are having major impacts on our knowledge of the Universe, from the Solar neighborhood to the cosmological background, opening many new windows out of reach to ground-based observatories. Celestial objects emit all over the electromagnetic spectrum, and the Earth’s atmosphere blocks a large part of them. Moreover, space offers a very stable environment from where the whole sky can be observed with no (or very little) perturbations, providing new observing possibilities. This chapter presents a few striking examples of astrophysics space observatories and of major results spanning from the Solar neighborhood and our Galaxy to external galaxies, quasars and the cosmological background. 1. Introduction Observing the sky, charting the places, motions and luminosities of celestial objects, elaborating complex models to interpret their apparent positions and their variations, and figure out the position of the Earth – later the Solar System or the Galaxy – in the Universe is a long-standing activity of mankind. It has been made for centuries from the ground and in the optical wavelengths, first measuring the positions, motions and brightness of stars, then analyzing their color and spectra to understand their physical nature, then analyzing the light received from other objects: gas, nebulae, quasars, etc.
    [Show full text]
  • Experimental Lobster Eye Nano-Satellite X-Ray Telescope
    Czech Technical University in Prague Faculty of Electrical Engineering Department of Control Engineering EXPERIMENTAL LOBSTER EYE NANO-SATELLITE X-RAY TELESCOPE Doctoral Thesis Vladim´ır Tich´y Prague, November 2010 PhD. Programme: Electrical Engineering and Information Technology Branch of study: Control Engineering and Robotics Supervisor: Ing. Martin Hromˇc´ık, PhD. Supervisor-Specialist: Ing. Jan Jak˚ubek, PhD. Acknowledgments This thesis could not come into existence without strong support of several institutions and many people. We kindly thank all of them. First of all, I would like to thank my supervisor Ing. Martin Hromˇc´ık, PhD. for leading the work and for support. Also, I would like to thank the headmaster of Depertment of control engineering Faculty of electrical engineering of the Czech technical university, Prof. Ing. Michal Sebek,ˇ DrSc. for supply this work. I would like to thank my supervisor-specialist Ing. Jan Jak˚ubek, PhD. for help and consultations the Medipix and Timepix Detectors. Thanks him, the Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics of Czech Technical University in Prague [72] and its headmaster, Ing. Stanislav Posp´ıˇsil, DrSc. for providing the Medipix2 and Timepix detector and related equipment. Thanks to Rigaku Innovative Technologies Europe, s.r.o. [74] for provid- ing the lobster eye optics and related equipment for the laboratory tests and for manufacturing the telescope module prototypes. Thanks to the Division of Precision Mechanics and Optics of the Depart- ment of Instrumentation and Control Engineering of Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of Czech Technical University in Prague [75] for providing the laboratory and equipment for the optical tests.
    [Show full text]
  • A Lifelong Learning Strategy for Ontario
    Policy Solutions for Ontario’s Prosperity A Lifelong Learning Strategy for Ontario By André Côté, Alexi White and Michael Cuenco Issue Statement The pandemic’s impacts on Ontario’s workforce were immediate, profound and prolonged. As of October 2020, employment in Ontario remained 3.8 percentage points below pre-pandemic levels, with nearly 300,000 fewer Ontarians in work.1 The acceleration of advances in technology and automation risk further amplifying job displacement, skills obsolescence and vulnerability for workers with lower levels of education and skills.2 Looking to enhance skills or transition careers, these learners are increasingly turning to lifelong learning opportunities. A massive emerging cohort of working-age adults who will need to learn, upskill and retrain throughout their careers will reinforce trends that were already driving a new lifelong learning paradigm.3 This presents an opportunity for Ontario’s higher education institutions at a time when they are coping with declining public investment, skepticism over their relevance in a changing labour market, and a pandemic that has shuttered campuses. To seize this opportunity, provincial policymakers and higher education institutions must move beyond traditional program and delivery models and embrace shorter, flexible, stackable, competency-based, part-time, online, and industry-tied models. This Ontario 360 policy paper outlines how Ontario policymakers and provincial higher education institutions can be more responsive to these new and emerging labour needs. In particular, it scans emerging institutional models and examples at home and abroad, and offers a set of principles and proposals for policymakers to reorient the province’s higher education system for lifelong learning.
    [Show full text]