Driving Economic Growth through Education
The HEET Project in Action

The Institute through its internal funding is investing in various digitization areas from constantly improving ICT infrastructure to the development and purchasing of various mission-critical software and applications. HEET funding will continue to improve the digitization process and the areas that will be covered are highlighted. Digital platform for teaching and learning is going to be improved. The Moodle, which is used for blended learning, distance education, flipped classrooms and other online learning projects will be improved. All necessary and required plugins and integration will be used to ensure that the Institute provides the best learning experience. The faculty’s capacity to use the mentioned digital platform will be enhanced to match the expected expectations.

The Institutes ERP modules are going to be tightly integrated with National approved applications to have a seamless flow of data and enhance the security and performance of the ERP.

Students with special needs will benefit from the project as equipment and facilities that improve accessibility and the welfare of those students are going to be procured and utilized.

Focal Area Coordinator: Mr. Daniel Tairo

Inclusive education is an important area in education which accommodates all individuals despite their diversities. The approach celebrates individuals’ differences and offers an opportunity for vulnerable groups to enjoy the learning environment just like the rest through accepting, understanding and attending to the diversity. The essence of inclusive education is to make people with special needs in education feel welcomed and supported in their efforts. It is the opposite of segregation or marginalization of learning environments for persons with special needs in the general education system.

In recognizing that marginalization within the education system often marks the beginning of a lifetime of marginalization in mainstream society for people with special needs, the inclusive education area under the HEET project seeks to provide reasonable accommodation and equal access for these individuals. The area will ensure that individuals’ requirements are taken care of in order to facilitate effective education and individualized support measures for maximizing academic, social and career development. Ultimately, this area will guarantee that these efforts are sustainable by ensuring provision of guidelines and the establishment of a unit which will cater for the requirements of individuals with special needs.

Activities

Four main activities will be conducted to achieve the outcomes under the inclusive education area;

1. Review and development of the institute’s guidelines to accommodate students and staff with special needs
2. Awareness creation to the institute’s community on the issues related to special needs
3. Identification of students and staff with special needs
4. Establishment of a special needs unit to ensure sustainability of the project efforts

Focal Area Coordinator: Ms. Astrida Leonard

Shortage of skilled workers across essential sectors has been identified by the World Bank as a big challenge towards industrialization and development in Tanzania. Skills mismatches is highlighted as a factor which contribute to unemployment of graduates. It is argued to occur when academic disciplines are not in line with demand on the labour market, curricula are outdated, the content of programs have limited labour market relevance, and have limited emphasis on practical experience and soft skills. It also occurs when teaching and learning facilities and technologies are outdated. To address these challenges, a sufficient stock of skilled human resources is desired so as to achieve semi-industrialized middle-income country status by 2025.

With the assistance of the World Bank under the Higher Education for Economic Transformation Project (HEET), the Project Implementation Unit – Institute of Finance Management (IFM) is working on the project of reviewing and developing new curricula programs. IFM is among the Five higher education Institutions managed under the Ministry of Finance and Planning. The Institute has been identified as one of the priority Institutions under HEET project for provision of excellent practical training in key fields of accountancy, statistics, and financial management.

Prioritized institutional investments supported by the World Bank in curriculum review and development under the HEET Project involve curricula alignment with labour market needs, introduction of innovative pedagogical approaches and incorporation of cross cutting issues, including gender, climate change, special needs, internationalization and digitalization. These interventions are expected to align existing curriculum with demand on the labour market, update our teaching and learning facilities and technologies, and improve our graduate practical experience and soft skills thus enhancing the country achieve semi-industrialized middle-income country status by 2025.

Focal Area Coordinator : Dr. Lilian Nyamizi

The Institute of Finance Management (IFM) is one among the Higher Learning Institutions in Tanzania implementing the Higher Education for Economic Transformation Project (HEET).
Among other areas, the project focuses on Promoting Applied Research and Innovation within the Institute of Finance Management. S pecifically, the project intends to achieve three (3) major results, these are

(i) Enhancing the capacity of the institute in conducting Applied Research and Innovation,
(ii) Enhancing capacity of the members of staff in conducting applied research and innovation and also to ensure
(iii) Results from Applied research and innovation are disseminated and communicated to the stakeholders.

In addition to these results, the project has to address gender as well as special needs issues. A number of activities, ranging from Revising Research and Publications Guideline to Preparation of the Policy Briefs for the selected applied research and innovation, have therefore been planned to ensure these results are achieved.

Focal Area Coordinator: Prof. Tausi Mkasiwa

This area is concerned with the Institute plans to build the capacity of its senior staff to steer the direction of training using advanced digital technology for the delivery of curricula to produce employable graduates. Relevant interactions with senior counterpart leadership at universities where these digital environments are already operating shall be arranged and implemented.

Moreover, short-term training will be conducted for members of the Management of the Institute on transformative leadership, gender mainstreaming, and special needs aspects of education services and Monitoring and evaluation (M &E) matters.

Activities
Specifically, the following activities will be performed in this area.

1. Train staffs on how to use the installed equipment’s and support student with special needs; Installed equipment’s/materials/facilities are commissioned.

2. Conduct training to academic staff on effective use of Moodle, upload learning material

3. Conduct TOT to Curricula development teams and industry partners on pedagogical teaching and assessment methodologies

4. Conduct TOT to academic staff on Online Pedagogical Content Knowledge and Development (instructional designs & curriculum development), online learning management systems, and train 10 technical staff on Multimedia content development

5. Conduct TOT to academic staff on pedagogical teaching and assessment methodologies

6. Building staff Capacity in conducting short courses, pilot sector relevant short courses conducted

7. Conduct training to research teams/applicants, facilitate research teams in writing applications for external research grants

8. Train project coordination team on project management

9. Train staff gender moderation approaches

Focal Area Coordinator: Mr Hassan Semkiwa



Project Coordination

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) involves systematically tracking project performance based on prescribed indicators and activities to measure success or failure. It also serves as an early warning system for authorities to reveal and formulate redress or coping mechanisms by establishing a sound system for tracking performance and timely identification of challenges or risks.

The M&E expert will be responsible for MEL activities and will oversee the overall progress of activities for the smooth implementation of the activities as defined in the Institute Strategic Investment Plan (ISIP). In addition, the M&E expert establishes monitoring activities that ensure the process is in place by carrying out performance tracking continuously while conducting an in-depth strategic analysis of progression through internal and external evaluation mechanisms.



Focal Area Coordinator: Dr. Ezra Kakozi

It is critical for higher learning institutions to create links with the industries. The Institute of Finance Management (IFM) is currently building functional linkages with sector ministries (public and private institutions) as part of implementing the HEET Project under the World Bank funding. The Institute will engage partners from different industries through formulation of MoUs and Industry Advisory Councils (IAC). The final outcome of this component of the HEET project will be as follows;

1. Formation Industry Advisory Council (IAC). The committee will be useful during development of new curriculum and review of old/existing curriculums. The committee will also be useful through advising the Institute the best practical way of undertaking applied research, innovation and advisory/outreach activities.

2. Existence of 25 MoUs with the industry (Public Institutions and Private Institutions) which will facilitate staff and students placements in the industry. On the other hand, well experienced staff from industry will be invited/placed at the Institute for teaching practical aspects of some modules.

3. Established outreach centres/desks to coordinate service delivery. In the long run, the Institute will establish the centres/desks for coordinating staff and students placements in respective partner institutions.

Focal Area Coordinator : Dr. Bernard Mnzava