in Caribbeans, eLearning, Networking, Open Source, Project Review, Research & Education

Designing the digital Education Plan for Higher Education and Research in Haiti

Computer center of the university of Quisqueya

Computer center of the university of Quisqueya

I worked for three months on designing the digital Education Plan for Higher Education and Research in Haiti named PENDHA (Plan d’enseignement numérique à distance en Haïti).  This program was intended to provide significant support in the reconstruction of Haitian higher education and research system.  Indeed, Haitian universities welcomed 60,000 students and 2,000 teachers before the earthquake and these people need to keep going in their academic activities.

To develop this plan, I developed a program in five working phases:

  • Supporting digital distance learning practice;
  • Producing online courses and contents;
  • Supporting researcher teams;
  • Building twelve computer classes working on renewable energy;
  • Sharing relevant information and resources for teachers.
The 2010 Haiti earthquake

The 2010 Haiti earthquake

PENDHA started in September 2010 right after I finalized the program design.  The program was driven by a consortium composed by the French government, Francophonie, Haitian Ministry of Education and twelve higher education institutions of Haiti.  Designing this program was a tough experience while I had to interview government officials and university representatives in France and Haiti, and I had to connect the dots to find a common ground for all of these entities.

Finally, PENDHA was financed mainly by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs for an initial amount of 1,600,000 € then another 1,000,000 € due to the success of the program.

Write a Comment

Comment