African Dynamics

Minor

N.B. This is a selection minor! Applications close 15 April 2021!

Leiden-Delft-Rotterdam (LDE) Minor African Dynamics, 2021-2022

Post-colonial Africa has undergone significant transformation. The economic boom coupled with relative political stability since the mid-1990s coined the term ‘Africa Rising’. During the launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in January 2021, the Ghanaian president Nana Akufo-Addo noted that Africa is emerging with a sense of urgency, purpose and aspirations. This is evident in Agenda 2063 - a long-term vision adopted in 2015 by heads of state during the African Union Summit. The continent however remains vulnerable to global shocks, as for example the disastrous consequences of COVID-19, which has set back Africa’s development and attainment of the past decades.

In global terms, Africa is an extremely important continent with extraordinary challenges and opportunities. Home to nearly 1.4 billion people, the world’s second-largest continent with 54 countries is exceptionally diverse in terms of population, equity, growth, natural environment and resources. Projections indicate that the African population will double in the next 30 years with more than half of the people living in urbanised environments. Sixty-five percent of the population is below the age of 35, which is the largest concentration of young people in the world.

The way in which Africa unfolds will greatly impact the course of the world’s shared future. The growing demand for food, water, energy, land, infrastructure, health services, education, jobs, etc. can be powerful drivers of growth, but may also present severe social, economic and environmental threats. Sustaining our technologically advanced, climate vulnerable and complex globalised world, requires an interdisciplinary approach. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) underpinned by human rights — emphasise the necessity of partnership and collaboration to create the ‘World We Want’.

Building on Agenda 2063 and the SDGs, the African Dynamics minor fosters a deeper understanding of integrated and sustainable development approaches in Africa. To establish an understanding of what different academic fields have to offer, students from separate disciplines combine their knowledge in addressing Africa’s challenges and strengthening the opportunities the continent presents. To depict Africa from different perspectives, separate modules are offered by leading Africanists of the universities of Leiden, Delft and Rotterdam. Guest speakers are invited to expose students to expertise in diverse fields with an emphasis on how Africans themselves view their continent and the world. The African Studies Centre Leiden research library functions as a hub of this knowledge.

During the minor, innovative education and collaborative learning strategies stimulate the co-creation of knowledge through classroom and online seminars, discussions, debates, and group workshops, as well as interactive webinars, excursions and a Small Private Online Course (SPOC), presented as a global classroom. To compare theoretical knowledge to African realities, the second block offers a three week African field study.

The minor is presented in English and serves as a pre-master for the master’s in African Studies at Leiden University.

Take note: this is a selection minor for which you can only apply between 1 and 15 April 2021! Click the ‘Application and Contact’ tab below for further guidelines.

Links to LDE African Dynamics websites

Maximum number of students: 40
Prospectus number: 5000MAFDYN
Class number: 1008
Language: English

Courses

Course	EC	Semester 1	Semester 2
Reading Africa	5
Exploring Africa	10
Collaboration Africa	15

Structure of the Minor

Admission requirements
Third year enrolled students from LU, TU Delft and EUR.
Proficiency in English reading, speaking and writing.
Full-time commitment.

Description
Fusing expertise in the humanities, social and natural sciences and technology, the aim of the minor is to capacitise students from different disciplines to identify, track, and strengthen Africa’s role in the globalised world.

The minor consists out of a cohesive package of two subjects in the first quarter that serves as the theoretical underpinning of the study and one subject in the second quarter, which is the practical component of the minor.

1. Reading Africa (5 ECs),

an introduction to Africa’s rich history and traditions, socio-economic and geo-political factors and other significant dynamics that shape contemporary Africa, offered by LU, TU Delft and EUR in the first four weeks of the minor.

2. Exploring Africa(10 ECs),

analyses African developmental complexities and opportunities from different perspectives. Following a guided self study of Agenda 2063 and the SDGs, three separate modules are presented:

I. African Economies offered by EUR Rotterdam School of Management, explores socio-economic realities in Africa.
II. African Resources and Infrastructure, offered by TU Delft Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, explores available resources and infrastructure realities in Africa.
III. Social Dynamics, offered by the African Studies Centre Leiden University, explores current socio-developmental states in Africa.

3. Collaboration Africa (15ECs),

is only subject in the second quarter and consists of three modules:

I. A Critical Engagement with Advancing the SDGs – A Small Private Online Course (SPOC) that aims to develop critical, transdisciplinary and innovative approaches to sustainable development is offered as a global classroom with participation by guest students from African universities.
II. Building Networks – Webinars with think tanks, knowledge platforms, NGOs, and entrepreneurs, as well as day excursions to relevant ministries and organisations to establish contact with institutions that inform Dutch-African relations.
III. Interdisciplinary Field Study – A three week field study to gain first-hand experience of working and conducting research in/on Africa. Students have a choice between joining delegations to a Kenyan, Moroccan, or South African host university. This module is self-funded, and students who cannot or do not want to partake in the field study abroad, can complete this module in the Netherlands.
Important Condition: At publication of this e-prospectus 1 March 2021 universities still do not allow travel abroad for research, internships or field assignments. It is expected that this will change in the coming months as Covid-19 travel restrictions in the Netherlands and host countries are (further) lifted. If Corona-related restrictions remain in place, the Field Study will be hosted in the Netherlands. Students enrolled for this minor will be kept updated by the minor coordination.

Target Group

If you are concerned about issues impacting on Africa, want to know more about emerging opportunities and sustainable growth and development approaches, interested in the continent’s rich socio-cultural traditions and diversity, or considering to pursue a career in Africa, this minor will provide you with a solid multidisciplinary foundation. You will be discovering African realities and dynamics together with students from different study and disciplinary background, and collaborate with student from African universities in the SPOC and during the field study in the second quarter.

Whether you are completing a bachelor study in Archaeology, Architecture, Art, Business and Economics, Education, Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Geosciences, History, International Relations and Global Affairs, Languages, Law, Management, Medicine and Health, Natural Sciences, or Social Studies and Behavioural Sciences, you could be an ideal candidate for this minor. To strengthen the multidisciplinary collaboration, we are looking for a diversity of interests and backgrounds.

Take note: In general, EUR students can only take part in the first quarter (15 ECs) of the minor. If you want to complete the whole minor (30 ECs) please discuss this with your study coordinator.

Application and Contact

Only 40 students will be selected to participate in this minor in 2021. If you are interested to apply, you have to register through uSis (UL) or Osiris (TU Delft & EUR) and submit a letter of motivation NOT LATER than 15 April 2021 to minorafricandynamics@asc.leidenuniv.nl.

Your letter of motivation must be between 500 to 600 words in English, describing your:

background, field of study and future career plans;
interest and experience with or in Africa;
personal learning goals and expectations from an multidisciplinary minor;
willingness to embrace innovative learning technologies and develop your online learning skills;
commitment to a full time study during the semester from 1 September to 19 November 2021 (EUR students) and 31 January 2022 (TU Delft and Leiden students).

The amount of selection minors you can register for differs between institutions, but in general only one application is considered. If you are seriously considering to partake in the LDE African Dynamics minor we strongly advise that you do not postpone registering your minor preference!

Your application will be reviewed by the Selection Committee which includes a representative of each university. Besides the quality of your letter, we aim to select an equal number of participants from the three participating universities. If a lower number of students from one of the universities is selected, vacant places will be allocated to students from the other two or possibly outside universities. You will be notified by 26 April 2021 whether you are admitted into the LDE African Dynamics minor.

Take note: Submissions after 15 April will not be taken into consideration.

For general questions regarding the minor you can contact the minor coordinator: Madi Ditmars at minorafricandynamics@asc.leidenuniv.nl.

Registration

If accepted for the LDE African Dynamics minor you will be notified at the latest by 26 April 2021. Thereafter, besides an active enrolment at your home university you also need to enrol as a guest-student at the other participating LDE universities.

Leiden University (LU) students must:
1. Enrol as a guest-student at TU Delft through Studielink. Select the Minor Civil Engineering and follow the steps on the screen. After completing the enrolment form, you will receive an email with your TU Delft student number and your Net ID.
2. You will receive an email from EUR requesting you to upload a passport photo, without which you cannot be enrolled as a guest student at EUR.
Make sure you have an active registration as a bachelor student for 2021-2022 at LU before 1 September 2021!

Delft University of Technology (TUD) students must:
1. Enrol as a guest student at Leiden University. You will receive an email from LU with a request to activate your UCLN account. With this account you will be able to access Brightspace Leiden that will function as the only electronic learning management system during the minor. After activation you will also receive an Umail address which will be the only email address used during the minor. As soon as this address is active you need to inform the minor coordinator: Madi Ditmars at MinorAfricanDynamics@asc.leidenuniv.nl
2. You will receive an email from EUR requesting you to upload a passport photo, without which you cannot be enrolled as a guest student at EUR.
Make sure you have an active registration as a bachelor student for 2021-2022 at TU Delft before 1 September 2021!

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) students must:
1. Enrol as a guest student at Leiden University. You will receive an email from LU with a request to activate your UCLN account. With this account you will be able to access Brightspace Leiden that will function as the only electronic learning management system during the minor. After activation you will also receive an Umail address which will be the only email address used during the minor. As soon as this address is active you need to inform the minor coordinator: Madi Ditmars at MinorAfricanDynamics@asc.leidenuniv.nl
2. Enrol as a guest-student at TU Delft through Studielink. Select the Minor Civil Engineering and follow the steps on the screen. After completing the enrolment form, you will receive an email with your TU Delft student number and your Net ID.

Make sure you have an active registration as a bachelor student for 2021-2022 at EUR before 1 September 2021!