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African Dynamics

Minor

N.B. (1) Corona provisio (please read this carefully):

Given the present Corona pandemic it is uncertain if all modes of education in the 2020-2021 LDE African Dynamics Minor will be able to take place as planned. The current social isolation and quarantines policies limit face-to-face education, and travel restrictions forbid overseas travel for students and staff. The Minor programme, in particular the field study may therefore be subject to change. Please check the African Studies Centre Leiden website for updates.

Leiden-Delft-Rotterdam (LDE) Minor African Dynamics, 2020-2021

Africa has undergone significant transformation in the past decades and this is set to accelerate. Currently 65 percent of the continent’s population is below the age of 35. Projections indicate that the population will double in the next 30 years, with more than half of the people living in urbanised environments.

This young and dynamic population and 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. The way in which Africa unfolds will greatly impact the course of the world’s shared future in the 21st century.

Sustaining our technologically advanced, climate vulnerable and complex globalised world, requires a holistic and interdisciplinary approach. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) emphasise the necessity of partnership and collaboration to create the ‘World We Want’.

Building on the SDGs the African Dynamics minor fosters a deeper understanding of integrated and sustainable development approaches in Africa. Courses offered by leading Africanists of the universities of Leiden, Delft and Rotterdam. combines knowledge and expertise in diverse fields to depict Africa from different perspectives, 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.

To establish an understanding of what different academic fields have to offer, and why it is important to know and integrate specialisations, the African Dynamics minor students combine their knowledge from separate disciplines in addressing Africa’s challenges and strengthening the opportunities the continent presents. Innovative technologies and collaborative learning strategies are applied to stimulate the co-creation of knowledge during 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 2020! Click the ‘Application and Contact’ tab below for further guidelines.

Links to LDE African Dynamics websites

Maximum number of students: 36
Prospectus number: 5000MAFDYN
Class number: 1016
Language: English

Courses

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

Structure of the Minor

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 courses in the first quarter of the first semester, for selected students from LU, TU Delft and EUR, and one course in the second quarter, for LU and TU Delft students who have successfully completed the two subjects in the first quarter.

The first quarter presents the theoretical underpinning of the study in two courses:

1. Reading Africa (5 ECs),

an introduction to Africa’s rich history and traditions, socio-economic, geo-political, and other significant factors that shape contemporary Africa. Interactive seminars and activities are consecutively presented over a period of three weeks, after under the auspices of:
1. Leiden University (LU) African Studies Centre Prof. Marleen Dekker
2. Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) Department of Water Management Dr. Maurits Ertsen
3. Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) Rotterdam School of Management Prof. Rob van Tulder

2. Exploring Africa(10 ECs),

studies African developmental complexities and opportunities from different perspectives. Following a flipped classroom online study to gain an understanding of the SDGs and their relevance in Africa, three separate modules are presented:
1. African Economies (EUR) addresses SDGs 8 – 10, 12 & 17.
2. African Resources & Infrastructure, (TU Delft) addresses SDGs 6 – 7, 11 & 13 – 15
3. Social Dynamics (LU) addresses SDGs 1-5 & 16

The second quarter is the practical component of the minor, and its only subject:

3. Collaboration Africa (15ECs),

consists of three modules:
1. 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. It is offered as a global classroom with participation by guest students from the field study host African universities.
2. 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 Moroccan, Kenyan, or South African host university. This module is self-funded, with costs ranging between 1,800 – 2,500 €. There are limited scholarships available, for which applications are encouraged and will be supported. Students who cannot or do not want to partake in the field study abroad, can complete a Netherlands based field study combining participation in the Africa Knows Conference with an academic report at the African Studies Centre in Leiden.
3. 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.

A detailed outline, schedule and assessment strategy of each subject is available for selected students on Brightspace.

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

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 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.

We are looking for a diversity of interests and backgrounds, to strengthen the multidisciplinary collaboration.

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

Application and Contact

Only 36 students will be selected to participate in this minor in 2020. 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 2020 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 31 Aug 2020 to 23 Oct 2020 (EUR students) and 29 Jan 2021 (TU Delft and Leiden students).

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 23 April 2020 whether you are admitted into the LDE African Dynamics minor.

For general questions regarding the minor you can contact Prof. Marleen Dekker, and Madi Ditmars at minorafricandynamics@asc.leidenuniv.nl. The Board of Examiners for the minor can be reached at examcom.africastudies@hum.leidenuniv.nl

Registration

To apply for a LDE minor, you must be enrolled for a Bachelor’s programme at your home university. If you have been selected to enrol for the LDE Minor African Dynamics, beside an active enrolment at your home university you also need to register as a guest-student at the other participating LDE universities. Leiden University (LU), Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), and Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR), will exchange the necessary registration information (your name, address, contact details, etc.), but you also need to take action.

Interested students must follow these guidelines:

Leiden University (LU) students:

  1. Register for the minor in uSis between 1 and 15 April 2020. Submit a letter of motivation NOT LATER than Wednesday 15 April 2020 to MinorAfricanDynamics@asc.leidenuniv.nl
  2. If accepted you will be notified by 23 April 2020 and thereafter you need to enrol:

  • as a minor-student at TU Delft through www.studielink.nl. Select the Minor Civil Engineering and follow the steps on the screen.

  • as a guest student at EUR. You will receive an email 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 2020-2021 at LU before 31 August 2020!!

Delft University of Technology (TUD) students:

  1. Register your minor preferences via Osiris between 1 and 15 April 2020 and submit a letter of motivation NOT LATER than 15 April 2020 to minorafricandynamics@asc.leidenuniv.nl
  2. If accepted you will be notified by 23 April 2020 and thereafter you need to enrol:

  • as a guest student at LU. You will receive an email from LU with the request to activate your UCLN account. After activating this, you need to inform the Minor Education Coordinator: Madi Ditmars at minorafricandynamics@asc.leidenuniv.nl and you will be able to access Brightspace Leiden that will function as the electronic learning environment during the minor.

  • as a guest student at EUR. You will receive an email 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 2020-2021 at TU Delft before 31 August 2020!!

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) students:

  1. Register your minor preferences via Osiris between 1 and 15 April 2020 and submit a letter of motivation NOT LATER than 15 April 2020 to minorafricandynamics@asc.leidenuniv.nl
  2. If accepted you will be notified by 23 April 2020 and thereafter you need to enrol:

  • as a guest student at LU. You will receive an email from LU with the request to activate your UCLN account. After activating this, you need to inform the Minor Education Coordinator: Madi Ditmars at minorafricandynamics@asc.leidenuniv.nl and you will be able to access Brightspace Leiden that will function as the electronic learning environment during the minor.

  • as a minor-student at TU Delft through www.studielink.nl. Select the Minor Civil Engineering and follow the steps on the screen.

Make sure you have an active registration as a Bachelor student for 2020-2021 at EUR before 31 August 2020!!