Short Courses for July – August 2021

Introduction

University enrolment has been expanding rapidly in Malawi since 1990s. Among other things, the rapid growth in university enrolment has raised the need for more highly-trained academics who can staff the growing number of private and public universities. But the preparation of these academics continues to be hampered by the deficiency in quality post-graduate supervisors and mentors, highlighting the need to improve the quality and relevance of postgraduate training through training of supervisors.   This workshop provides an opportunity to share experiences, develop skills, and examine the challenges relevant to postgraduate supervision. The workshop will blend online and face to face participation.

Target Group

The training workshop is for supervisors and potential supervisors of MSc, MA, MBA, MPhil and PhD students, and those involved in the administration of postgraduate programmes.

Prerequisites: None

Mode of delivery 

The workshop will be face to face for two days. Training materials will be shared upon registration. There will be presentations, case studies, group work and discussions. 

Course Content

• Key Note Paper: The role of a University in postgraduate training, optimizing research supervision and sharing of research products, and, the traits of a world class postgraduate training
• Overview: Introduction of the Postgraduate Supervisory Process
• Nature of the Postgraduate Degree and Appointment of Supervisors
• Postgraduate Research Proposal Writing
• The Literature Review
• Breakout Session 1: The five Cs of Literature review _ Sharing observations from experiences
• Data Collection and analysis
• Academic writing
• Submission, Examination and Award
• Academic Integrity and Quality Assurance
• Monitoring PhD candidates’ Progress and Post-graduation Networking
• Breakout Session 2: Academic integrity and quality assurance _ whose responsibility?

Participation fees: K45, 000 per participant for 2 days.

Registration dates: 28th June 2021 to 13th July 2021; 

Workshop dates: 15th and 16th July 2021

CERTIFICATES IN (1) WATER AND (2) APPLIED STATISTICS

Introduction

As the country embarks on achieving the Malawi’s Vision as enshrined in the Malawi 2063 that focuses on uplifting the nation to an industrialized upper middle-income country by 2063, there is need to provide and promote training in areas that drive the economy. The nation’s vision and development agenda hinges on 3 pillars i.e., Agriculture Productivity and Commercialization, Industrialization, and Urbanization. In recognition of such a drive, MUBAS is offering short courses tailor-made to refresh and upgrade low and middle managers who directly participate in economic development through involvement in Water, Air, Soil and General Quality Assurance. Therefore, the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences, as a development partner of Government, will conduct 2 certificate courses that are part of the modules from the generic Master of Science in Water Resources and Management, and Master of Science in Environmental Protection and Management.  

INTRODUCTION TO GROUNDWATER AND WATERSHED MANAGEMENT

Target Group:

Middle level managers from NGOs and public sector (including District Environmental Health Officers, Environmental Officers, District Water Managers, Programme Managers, Water and Sanitation Coordinators, and Water Laboratory Managers and Technicians).

Prerequisites: None

Mode of Delivery: 

Face to Face including case studies, group work and discussion. Schedule of activities and materials will be shared upon registration

Course Content:

1.Understanding Groundwater: Geology and Groundwater quality

2.Well Drilling and Construction

• Borehole siting methods
• Borehole drilling techniques and well completion procedures
• Sanitary Drainage System
• Pumping Test

4. Understanding Watersheds

5. Groundwater Quality and Contamination: Quality Criteria, Pollutant Sources and Transport Processes, Monitoring, and Sampling

6. Drinking water quality and health

7. Water Rights

8. Groundwater-Surface Water Interaction and Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems

9. Sustainable Groundwater Management: Understanding the local and Regional Standards, Policies and Regulations

10. Elements of a Groundwater Sustainability Plan: Overview, Hydrologic Conceptual Model, Water Budget, Sustainable Management Criteria

11. Climate Change and How to incorporate that into Sustainability Plan

12. Data Analysis: Pumping test and hydrochemical data

13. Concepts on Aquifer Recharge

14. Hydrogeochemical Modelling

15. Community Based Management (CBM) of water points:

• Operation and maintenance (VLOM)
• Fundraising for procurement of spare parts for hand-pumps and Hygiene education

16. Hand-dug well technology

 Participation fees: K75, 000 per participant for 4 days.

Registration dates: 28th June 2021 to 16th July 2021; 

Workshop dates: 20th to 23rd July 2021

TRAINING ON STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF SCIENTIFIC DATA 

Target Group:

Middle level managers working with experimental, field and mined data from NGOs and public sector (including District Environmental Health Officers, Environmental Officers, District Water Managers, Programme Managers, Water and Sanitation Coordinators, and Water, Soil, Air, Materials and General Quality Assurance Laboratory Technicians and Managers).

Prerequisites: None

Mode of Delivery: 

Face to Face including case studies, group work and discussion. Schedule of activities and materials will be shared upon registration

Course Content:

1. Sampling and Sample size
2. Types of data
3. Initial Data Analysis

• Quality of Data
• Quality of Measurements
• Data Transformation
• Randomization
• Characteristics of Data Sample
• Initial Analysis

4. Main Analysis

• Types of Statistical Analyses
•  Exploratory 
•  Confirmatory
•  Stability of Results

5. Advanced Statistical Analysis using Software

6. Introduction to statistical packages 

• IBM-SPSS Statistics, NVivo, Epi Info, Origin Pro, SYSTAT 

7. Data Visualization 

•Origin, SYSTAT, SigmaPlot

 Participation fees: K50, 000 per participant for 3 days.

Registration dates: 28th June 2021 to 16th July 2021; 

Workshop dates: 28th to 30th July 2021

WATER SAFETY PLANNING TRAINING WORKSHOP FOR WATER SERVICES MANAGERS AND PRACTITIONERS

Introduction

Access to safe potable water is central to achieving most of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) particularly those that closely relate to public health. In particular, sustainable development goal number 6 that states that globally we desire to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all is largely founded on access to safe potable water. The goal in SDG 6 is that everyone on earth should have access to safe and affordable drinking water by 2030.This calls for concerted efforts and partnerships in developing capacity for water management. 

Among the critical aspects of water management is water safety planning (WSP).  Water safety planning is use of a comprehensive risk assessment and management approach encompassing all steps in water supply from catchment to consumer as means of consistently ensuring safety of a drinking-water supply. Surveys, research and incidences in water supply in Malawi have shown that there are deficiencies in water safety planning in water services delivery. This tailor-made short course responds to the deficiencies in WSP.

Target Group

The training workshop is for those managing, supervising, monitoring or implementing a water service.

Prerequisites: None

Mode of delivery 

The workshop will be online and will span two days. Training materials and the online platform will be shared upon registration. There will be presentations, case studies, group work and discussions. 

Course content

1. Assembling the Water Safety Planning Team. 
2. Understanding the water supply system
3. Identifying hazards and hazardous events and assessing the risks
4. Determining and validating control measures, reassessing, and prioritizing the risks
5. Developing, implementing, and maintaining an improvement plan
6. Defining monitoring of the control measures
7. Breakout Session _ Case study 1: Developing an improvement plan
8. Verifying the effectiveness of the WSP
9. Preparing management procedures
10. Developing supporting programs
11. Planning & periodic review of the WSP
12. Revising the WSP following an incident
13. Contextualizing WSP for rural water supply schemes
14. Breakout Session _ Case study 2: Revising the WSP following an incident

Participation fees: K45, 000 per participant for 2 days.

Registration dates: 28th June 2021 to 16th July 2021; 

Workshop dates: 5th and 6th August 2021

Register with bthole@poly.ac.mw  or hmapoma@poly.ac.mw and make payment to: Applied Sciences Projects Account Number: 1001043303, National Bank of Malawi; Chichiri; and send proof of payment to dean-appliedsciences@poly.ac.mw. For enquiries contact bthole@poly.ac.mw or 0999 591 413, / hmapoma@poly.ac.mw or 0991 247 701.