Tanzania:DIT, Dutch varsity to draft curriculum for new course on oil and gas

by gerald kitabu

The Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology (DIT) in collaboration with Hanze University of The Netherlands is in the process of preparing a new curriculum for a new technical course on mining and distribution of gas and oil.

Speaking at the DIT’s 8th graduation ceremony in Dar es Salaam at the weekend, the Institute’s Principal, Prof John Kondoro (pictured), said the curriculum preparation process is funded by the government of Netherlands and is expected to start being used in the 2015/2016 academic year.

 

Prof Kondoro said the oil and gas program would also benefit from funding from Canadian government through its program called “Improving skills training employment program” (ISTEP).

 

He also said the three-year program is aimed at building capacity to lecturers and improve students’ training through provision of practical teaching and learning equipment.

 

He named other new courses which are expected to start in 2015/16 as diploma in Science and Laboratory Technology for Mwanza Campus and Master’s in computational science and engineering for Dar es Salaam Campus.

Also in the list of new courses which are in the offing are diploma in biotechnology and diploma in highway engineering.

 

“DIT in collaboration with Kenya Technical University (Kenya), Mombasa Technical University (Kenya), Jima University (Ethiopia), and Politecnico di Milano (Italy) is preparing Master’s Degree in Renewable Energy Engineering due in 2015/16,” he said.

 

Earlier, the Minister for Communications, Science and Technology Prof. Makame Mbarawa said  the technicians are key to development of science and technology in the country.

 

He said the government has taken several measures to make sure that institutes of technology are capacitated to produce more technicians to meet the increasing demand especially in mining, oil and gas fields.

Such measures include establishing technology institutes that produce many qualified technicians to work in technical fields.

 

He said also the government has approved these technology institutes to produce PhD students without having University status and without changing their objectives in which they were established.

 

Citing an example, he said that in the wake of minerals, oil and gas discovery and investments in different places in the country, such huge investments would require adequate and huge local human resources from the technology institutes.

 

“There will be high demand for technicians to work in fields of exploration, research, mining and distribution (transportation) in this extractive industry,” he said.

 

He commended the initiatives undertaken by DIT saying it has set a new stage in the development of science and technology, from which other institutes can emulate.

 

DIT council Chairman, Prof. Fredrick Mwanuzi explained that in recent years, the institutes had increased enrolment of students in different fields but it is facing financial crisis, teaching and learning infrastructures.

 

He urged the government, guardians and parents to support the Institute so that it can effectively and efficiently operate.

 

During the graduation, at least 632 were conferred certificates, diploma and degrees in different fields of science and technology.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN