Location

Arusha, Tanzania

Partners (University/Community Partner Organisation

a) The Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST)

Established in 2009, the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST) is one of the postgraduate institutions conceived by the late Nelson Mandela, president of South Africa, to produce experts who will steer growth of the local industry and the wellbeing of their society through the application of Science, Engineering, Technology, and Innovation (SETI). NM-AIST enrolled its first cohort of 5 PhD students (4 male, 1 female) in October 2011. By October 2018, i.e., seven years after enrolling its first cohort, NM-AIST has produced 298 graduates (229 MScs and 69 PhDs), 447 articles in highly rated journals, and 13 innovation products/ prototypes.

Located in Arusha, Tanzania, the University has formed strong partnerships nationally, within Africa and globally, with about 120 active Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) by December 2018. It has formed a network of private and public partners comprising the local Industry, Government agencies, and local Community, and has nearly 500 alumni.

b) ActionAid Tanzania (AATZ)

AATZ is an associate member of ActionAid International Federation which is a global justice organization working to achieve social justice, gender equality, and eradication of poverty. AATZ started development programs in the country in 1998 and is a registered organization under the Non-Governmental Organizations Act of 2002 with registration no. 00NGO/R2/00031. AATZ has a National Board as well as the General Assembly. AATZ envisions Tanzania without poverty, injustice, and inequalities in which every person enjoys sustainable development and a right to a life of dignity.  Since then, AATZ has contributed to the development of the country. Currently it is operating in both Tanzania Mainland and on the islands of Zanzibar.

AATZ headquarters are in the city of Dar-Es- Salaam, the largest city of Tanzania.

c) MS Training Centre for Development Cooperation (MS TCDC)

MS TCDC is a Pan-African Training Centre for Development Cooperation, situated in Arusha, Tanzania. The Centre was founded in 1967 on the basis of a bilateral agreement between the governments of Denmark and Tanzania.  The centre’s program priority areas are democratic governance, human rights, transformational leadership, gender equality, youth voice, participation, and climate governance.

MS TCDC offers research, learning, technical assistance, and capacity building, convening services for state and non-state actors in the global south. The Centre offers a lively international multicultural atmosphere for reflection and learning and sharing of experiences to enhance the ability of individuals, groups, and institutions to influence democratic governance, equitable, sustainable, and transformative change. TCDC’s partners include governments, inter-governmental organisations, development partners, donors, civil society organizations, and private sector entities across the African continent with some partnerships often spanning across the global south.

Boasting 55 years of existence, the centre has gained a reputation as the go-to place for short term professional learning and training offers and convenings for thematic multi-stakeholder social dialogues and debates. In addition to the short-term professional training courses and convenings, the centre offers two unique academic programs – the bachelor’s degree in Governance and Development and the master’s degree in Governance and Leadership.

The Centre is currently pursuing a bold Research Agenda as a responsive approach to emerging learning needs as they become apparent over the years.  MSTCDC’s research work is a bold step towards the centre renewing its position as a Pan-African learning and knowledge hub. The centre’s Research Agenda, therefore, produces products that are consumed by its various programmatic streams as well as its diverse ecosystem of partners.

Description

The Nyerere Knowledge for Change (K4C) Hub is an initiative of the UNESCO Chair in Community-Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education, towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Nyerere Hub is a partnership between the Nelson Mandela Institution of Science and Technology, ActionAid Tanzania, and the MS Training Centre for Development Cooperation.The goal of the Hub is to build community based participatory research capacity to address the UN SDGs. This, by designing and conducting educational programs in order to develop research capacities for the co-creation of knowledge through collective action by practitioners, community-based researchers, community groups and academics.

Mentors

Haikael Martin

• NM-AIST
• Dr. Martin’s research interests span a wide rage, including nutritional management of disease/conditions, non-communicable diseases – diabetes, hypertension and cancers, personalized nutrition care, maternal and child nutrition, nutrition-agriculture linkages, nutrition and food systems, nutrition assessment.
• Email: haikael.martin@nm-aist.ac.tz

Nkatha Mercy

• Nkatha holds an MSc in Governance and Development from Antwerp University, Belgium and a Bachelor of Environmental Studies from Kenyatta University in Kenya. As a Training Associate at MS TCDC, she facilitates formal and non-formal learning globally, including countries in South East Asia (Cambodia, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand) and Eastern Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia). Her work encompasses analysis of governance challenges and the interaction between communities, the nation state, the impact of global development and how these intersections impact people’s capabilities and well-being.
• Email: nkatham@gmail.com

Mwemezi Rwiza

• NM-AIST
• Dr. Rwiza holds a PhD in Earth Sciences and Environmental Engineering from Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), South Korea. He also holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science from Lund University, Sweden. He studied at Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania, for his Bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Management. Mwemezi works at the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST) where he lectures and researches in the fields of Water and Wastewater Treatment; Remediation of Mine Sites; Biomaterial Synthesis, Characterization, and Application; Environmental Pollution, Monitoring, Protection and Remediation.
• Email: mwemezi.rwiza@nm-aist.ac.tz

Projects of the Hub with Brief Description

• In June 2020 the Nyerere Hub in collaboration with the Gulu Hub (Uganda) conducted a Webinar titled, East African Countries Response Strategies to COVID-19: Impacts and prospects for community based participatory research. The Webinar sought to answer the following critical questions: How has COVID-19 impacted education and learning? What are the implications for youth and community? How has community responded? What are the implications for women? What should the role of CBPR be in learning and education in response to such situations? How to do CBPR in times of pandemics? What has fundamentally shifted in education because of COVID-19? What is next by way of how education is going to be organized policy-wise going forward?
• The Hub received a research fund from The University of Victoria through the Human Science Research Council (HSRC), Canada to conduct research titled, “Bridging knowledge cultures: Developing an understanding of traditional Maasai water practices and technologies in the Nyerere Knowledge for Change Hub.” The research team from the Hub is currently organizing meetings with participants from the Maasai Irrigators Community.

Contact Details of the Hub Coordinator

Mwemezi J. Rwiza, The School of Materials, Energy, Water, and Environmental Sciences (MEWES), NM-AIST, Arusha, Tanzania,

Email: mwemezi.rwiza@nm-aist.ac.tz , Phone: +255 769 938 202