Prof John Wajanga Kondoro

Innovating Technical Education in Tanzania. Prof John Wajanga Kondoro

The development of Technical Education in Tanzania is very much connected to the evolvement of Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology which started in 1957 as Dar es Salaam Technical Institute before it was transformed to Dar es Salaam Technical College in 1962. In 1997 the Dar es Salaam Technical College was transformed to Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology through an Act of Parliament. The book explores the basis for the evolvement of DIT and the challenges that were experienced in the existence of the predecessors of DIT. It further explores the strategies of DIT in developing marketable training programs which are competence based, the efforts of developing a culture of publishing academic work, conducting Applied Research and consultancy activities. The book explains the strategies that the Institute took to mobilize resources for its development at the time when it had insufficient academic and technical staff and poor infrastructure. The book examines the role the Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology and its predecessor in fostering national and regional collaboration in Technical education as well as training, research and application of Science and Technology. The book highlights some of the good innovations that DIT noted in the course of its cooperation with its international collaborators which are worth exercising. Such good practices include establishment of professional Program Advisory committees for the teaching departments. The other exciting innovations include the Open lab concept and the Communication System Design (CSD) practiced by the KTH, curriculum innovations from Leeds Metropolitan University and the Teaching Factory concept exercised by the Nanyang Polytechnic.