Refine
Departments, institutes and facilities
- Fachbereich Angewandte Naturwissenschaften (18)
- Fachbereich Wirtschaftswissenschaften (13)
- Fachbereich Informatik (12)
- Institut für Technik, Ressourcenschonung und Energieeffizienz (TREE) (8)
- Internationales Zentrum für Nachhaltige Entwicklung (IZNE) (8)
- Institut für funktionale Gen-Analytik (IFGA) (6)
- Sprachenzentrum (5)
- Institute of Visual Computing (IVC) (4)
- Fachbereich Ingenieurwissenschaften und Kommunikation (3)
- Fachbereich Sozialpolitik und Soziale Sicherung (2)
Document Type
- Part of a Book (28)
- Article (24)
- Conference Object (8)
- Book (monograph, edited volume) (2)
- Preprint (2)
- Report (2)
- Working Paper (2)
- Part of Periodical (1)
Year of publication
- 2018 (69) (remove)
Language
- English (69) (remove)
Has Fulltext
- yes (69) (remove)
Keywords
- drug release (3)
- lignin (3)
- Folin-Ciocalteu assay (2)
- Kenya (2)
- antioxidant activity (2)
- biomass (2)
- biomaterial (2)
- bone regeneration (2)
- hydrogel (2)
- ketogenesis (2)
Through the “Act to Strengthen the Non-financial Reporting by Corporations in their Management and Group Management Reports” (Gesetz zur Stärkung der nichtfinanziellen Berichterstattung der Unternehmen in ihren Lage- und Konzernlageberichten) (CSR Directive Transposition Act, „CSR-RUG“) of 11 April 2017[1], the German Bundestag implemented Directive 2014/95/EU (“CSR Directive”)[2] into German law. Following the European impetus, the CSR-RUG enriches the traditional repertoire of forms of action under environmental law by a further instrument. Already the regulatory context gives an idea of its atypical nature: The centrepiece of the CSR-RUG is the amendment of and addition to the Third Book of the German Commercial Code (Handelsgesetzbuch, “HGB”), which deals with the “trading books” of undertakings, i.e., accounting and reporting requirements. Since the reporting year 2017, large capital market-oriented corporations must report extensively within the framework of their annual management reports on their activities and effects in certain areas of “Corporate Social Responsibility”. This also includes environmental matters. The transparency and publicity this entails is intended to generate positive stimuli for more responsible, sustained and not least of all environmentally friendly entrepreneurial action.
Following a brief presentation of the European legal bases and their implementation in Germany (I.), we will classify the provisions within the underlying concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (II.) and analyse and systemise the governance effects of non-financial reporting (III.). A few remarks on selected aspects of the chosen approach and its implementation (IV.) as well as an outlook summarising our conclusions (V.) will complete this article. By detailing the German approach to transposing the CSR Directive, this paper intends to provide an example of the challenges member state legislators face when complying with modern governance concepts such as Corporate Social Responsibility by way of non-financial reporting obligations.
[1] Federal Law Gazette, Part I 2017, 802 et seq.
[2] Directive 2014/95/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council 22 October 2014 amending Directive 2013/34/EU as regards disclosure of non-financial and diversity information by certain large undertakings and groups, OJ EU No. L 330, p. 1.
Pozzolanic properties of Pennisetum purpureum grass ash were tested on Portland cement. Results show that the ash can be blended with cements without compromising binding strength of the cement. It was found that Portland cement could be blended with Pennisetum purpureum up to a ratio of 3:2 compromising compressive strength of mortar.Mortar with lower cement replacement took longer to set as evidenced by lower compressive strength within the 28-day aging time. Mortar with higher cement replacement had lower water absorption capacity, an indication that the test pozzolan was of smaller particulate size. XRF analysis and the FTIR spectrum showed that the ash has a higher content of silica. The XRD pattern of the ash showed that the ash was predominantly amorphous. SEM images showed that the ash produced at 600 o C had residual carbon material.
Social Assistance
(2018)
If the first Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) to “End poverty in all its forms everywhere” is to be taken seriously, most low- and middle-income countries face a huge challenge. An estimated 1 billion people have indeed escaped extreme poverty since the early 1990s, and the global poverty rate fell from 35% in 1990 to 10.7% in 2013, but the absolute number of people living below the international poverty line of $1.90 at purchasing power parity has hardly changed. Countries in Asia contributed greatly to the overall decline in poverty rates: from 2012 to 2013, over 100 million people in Asia left extreme poverty behind, notably in India, Indonesia, and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) (World Bank 2016). Yet the living standards of those still below that line have hardly improved (Ravallion 2016). The achievement of the first SDG requires additional efforts at global and national levels, particularly on policies that address chronic poverty traps and that improve the outcomes of poor and vulnerable populations.
Social Insurance
(2018)
Extending coverage through contributory social insurance or other contributory programs is tempting for governments as a potential avenue for mobilizing new resources and creating new fiscal space. Such extension has clear limits, however: it applies only to those in the labor market who have employment status with high degree of formality and whose incomes are significantly above subsistence level and received regularly. It also requires administrative structures with capacity to regularly register incomes of those covered, and to collect contributions.
This chapter analyzes the potential of social insurance (also called contributory social protection) in the 16 Asian countries reviewed in this publication to fill the protection and coverage gaps in income security. It focuses on pensions, but also reviews other benefits temporarily replacing lost labor income due to events such as sickness, maternity, and unemployment. As current labor market structures largely determine the chances of extending coverage through these means, this chapter also examines their characteristics and analyzes coverage by the different forms of social insurance and assesses the potential for extension.
Maintaining orientation in an environment with non-Earth gravity (1 g) is critical for an astronaut's operational performance. Such environments present a number of complexities for balance and motion. For example, when an astronaut tilts due to ascending or descending an inclined plane on the moon, the gravity vector will be tilted correctly, but the magnitude will be different from on earth. If this results in a mis-perceived tilt, then that may lead to postural and perceptual errors, such as mis-perceiving the orientation of oneself or the ground plane and corresponding errors in task judgment.
Solar energy plants are one of the key options to serve the rising global energy need with low environmental impact. Aerosols reduce global solar radiation due to absorption and scattering and therewith solar energy yields. Depending on the aerosol composition and size distribution they reduce the direct component of the solar radiation and modify the direction of the diffuse component compared to standard atmospheric conditions without aerosols.
This work discusses how to use OSM for robotic applications and aims at starting a discussion between the OSM and the robotics community. OSM contains much topological and semantic information that can be directly used in robotics and offers various advantages: 1) Standardized format with existing tooling. 2) The graph structure allows to compose the OSM models with domain-specific semantics by adding custom nodes, relations, and key-value pairs. 3) Information about many places is already available and can be used by robots since it is driven by a community effort.
This paper introduces a random number generator (RNG) based on the avalanche noise of two diodes. A true random number generator (TRNG) generates true random numbers with the use of the electronic noise produced by two avalanche diodes. The amplified outputs of the diodes are sampled and digitized. The difference between the two concurrently sampled and digitized outputs is calculated and used to select a seed and to drive a pseudo-random number generator (PRNG). The PRNG is an xorshift generator that generates 1024 bits in each cycle. Every sequence of 1024 bits is moderately modified and output. The TRNG delivers the next seed and the next cycle begins. The statistical behavior of the generator is analyzed and presented.
We present the performance of the upGREAT heterodyne array receivers on the SOFIA telescope after several years of operations. This instrument is a multi-pixel high resolution (R≳107) spectrometer for the Stratospheric Observatory for Far-Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). The receivers use 7-pixel subarrays configured in a hexagonal layout around a central pixel. The low frequency array receiver (LFA) has 2×7 pixels (dual polarization), and presently covers the 1.83–2.07THz frequency range, which allows to observe the [CII] and [OI] lines at 158μm and 145μm wavelengths. The high frequency array (HFA) covers the [OI] line at 63μm and is equipped with one polarization at the moment (7 pixels, which can be upgraded in the near future with a second polarization array). The 4.7THz array has successfully flown using two separate quantum-cascade laser local oscillators from two different groups. NASA completed the development, integration and testing of a dual-channel closed-cycle cryocooler system, with two independently operable He compressors, aboard SOFIA in early 2017 and since then, both arrays can be operated in parallel using a frequency separating dichroic mirror. This configuration is now the prime GREAT configuration and has been added to SOFIA’s instrument suite since observing cycle 6.
Polyurethane (PU) coatings were successfully produced using unmodified kraft lignin (KL) as an environmentally benign component in contents of up to 80 wt%. Lignin samples were precipitated from industrial black liquor in aqueous solution working at room temperature and different pH levels (pH 2 to pH 5). Lignins were characterized by UV-Vis, FTIR, pyrolysis-GC/MS, SEC and 31P-NMR. Results show a correlation between pH level, OH number and molecular weight Mw of isolated lignins. Lignin-based polyurethane coatings were prepared in an efficient one step synthesis dissolving lignin in THF and PEG425 in an ultrasonic bath followed by addition of 4,4-diphenylmethanediisocyanate (MDI) and triethylamine (TEA). Crosslinking was achieved under very mild conditions (1 hour at room temperature followed by 3 hours at 35 °C). The resulting coatings were characterized regarding their physical properties including ATR-IR, TGA, optical contact angle, light microscopy, REM-EDX and AFM data. Transparent homogeneous films of high flexibility resulted from lignins isolated at pH 4, possessing a temperature resistance up to 160 °C. Swelling tests revealed a resistance against water. Swelling in DMSO depends on index, pH of precipitation and catalyst utilization for PU preparation. According to AFM studies, surface roughness is between 10 and 28 nm.
Small Molecules Enhance Scaffold-Based Bone Grafts via Purinergic Receptor Signaling in Stem Cells
(2018)
The need for bone grafts is high, due to age-related diseases, such as tumor resections, but also accidents, risky sports, and military conflicts. The gold standard for bone grafting is the use of autografts from the iliac crest, but the limited amount of accessible material demands new sources of bone replacement. The use of mesenchymal stem cells or their descendant cells, namely osteoblast, the bone-building cells and endothelial cells for angiogenesis, combined with artificial scaffolds, is a new approach. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can be obtained from the patient themselves, or from donors, as they barely cause an immune response in the recipient. However, MSCs never fully differentiate in vitro which might lead to unwanted effects in vivo. Interestingly, purinergic receptors can positively influence the differentiation of both osteoblasts and endothelial cells, using specific artificial ligands. An overview is given on purinergic receptor signaling in the most-needed cell types involved in bone metabolism-namely osteoblasts, osteoclasts, and endothelial cells. Furthermore, different types of scaffolds and their production methods will be elucidated. Finally, recent patents on scaffold materials, as wells as purinergic receptor-influencing molecules which might impact bone grafting, are discussed.
According to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) recommendation, analytical pyrolysis (Py) is defined as the characterization in an inert atmosphere of a material or a chemical process by a chemical degradation reaction(s) induced by thermal energy [1]. Thermal degradation under controlled conditions is often used as a part of an analytical procedure, either to render a sample into a suitable form for subsequent analysis by gas chromatography (GC), mass spectrometry (MS), gas chromatography coupled with the mass spectrometry (GC/MS), with the Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (GC/FTIR), or by direct monitoring as an analytical technique in its own right [2].
Gas chromatography (GC) is a type of chromatography. According to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) recommendation, gas chromatography is defined as a separation technique in which the mobile phase is a gas. Gas chromatography is always carried out in a column [1]. GC is a separation and detection method for sample mixtures, whose components can be volatilized without thermal decomposition.
The main objective of this chapter is to give insights into how H-BRS as a German University of Applied Sciences supports small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in exploring African markets. The university achieves this objective by engaging its Bachelor and Master level students in applied market research. Students engage in this research as part of their final thesis writing. This chapter lays out a process for successful marketing research projects for German SMEs in nine steps.
Due to regionalization and global competition, many companies have turned their attention to other markets outside the domestic ones in anticipation of securing profitable market(s) for their products. Cormart (Nigeria) Limited is one of such companies, seeking to expand beyond its domestic borders. Cormart is a Nigerian trading company specializing in Industrial Raw Materials and Chemicals. It represents the business interests of top Multinational Companies that wish to do business in Nigeria. In line with its expansion strategy, Cormart seeks to introduce its newly developed spray starch product (RENEW) into the Ghanaian market.
This case study is based on Azuri Health Ltd, a small company in Kenya that specializes mainly in the manufacture of dried fruit and flours. The company was started in 2010 and currently has 15 employees. It buys fruits, especially mangoes from farmers, processes them and markets them in- and outside of Kenya as dried fruits. This value addition enhances the shelf life of the products which would otherwise spoil within a few days after ripening.
Internships and professional experience are becoming more and more important requisites for students and graduates and are almost taken for granted by many HR officials. In opposition to this, many newly created Bachelor and Master programmes make it difficult for students to integrate internships into their studies without having to add another semester and thereby "losing" valuable time. This becomes all the more relevant with private universities or universities generally that charge considerable tuition fees.
While Anglo-Saxon HEIs focus on a strong educational background and personal development of students, the German system, in particular Universities of Applied Sciences, emphasize employability through the transfer of job-related professional and soft skills. In this context, learning by practical application of skills has become an important instrument. Concepts for linking theory and application include research-based learning, practical internships or service learning – methods, which also maintain high standards of academic education.
Introduction
(2018)
This handbook describes the processes and success factors of marketoriented university services to the non-academic world, and the processes to integrate these services into teaching. It aims to highlight benchmark examples from Africa and Germany in order to outline motivational factors, influencing aspects, as well as drivers and barriers to applied university services in developing countries.
This Handbook of Applied Marketing and Personnel Services is part of the project "German-African University Partnership Platform for the Development of Entrepreneurship and SMEs", financed by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), and jointly conducted by Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, University of Cape Coast in Ghana and University of Nairobi in Kenya.
In the context of the Franco-German research project Re(h)strain, this work focuses on a global system analysis integrating both safety and security analysis of international and/or urban railway stations. The Re(h)strain project focuses on terrorist attacks on high speed train systems and investigates prevention and mitigation measures to reduce the overall vulnerability and strengthen the system resilience. One main criterion regarding public transport issues is the number of passengers. For example, the railway station of Paris “Gare du Nord” deals with a bigger number of passengers than the biggest airport in the world (SNCF open Data 2014), the Atlanta airport, but in terms of passengers, it is only around the 23rd rank railway station in the world. Due to the enormous mass of people, this leads to the system approach of breaking out the station into several classes of zones, e.g. entrance, main hall, quays, trains, etc. All classes are analysed considering state-of-the-art parameters, like targets attractiveness, feasibility of attack, possible damage, possible mitigation and defences. Then, safety incidence of security defence is discussed in order to refine security requirement with regard to the considered zone. Finally, global requirements of security defence correlated to the corresponding class of zones are proposed.
Argentina substantially contributes to the global organic agriculture and food sector due to its large areas of organically managed agricultural land. However, most of the organic production is intended for export. Overall, food supply for the domestic organic market is hardly tapped. Based on this, we investigate the current importance of organic agriculture and food production as well as consumption attitudes and behavior within the country. The novelty of the study also lies in the observation, documentation and analysis of latest stakeholder‐driven developments towards organic agriculture and food. Furthermore, the publication allows the Argentinean organic market to be significantly more visible for the international audience.
Antioxidant activity is an essential aspect of oxygen-sensitive merchandise and goods, such as food and corresponding packaging, cosmetics, and biomedicine. Technical lignin has not yet been applied as a natural antioxidant, mainly due to the complex heterogeneous structure and polydispersity of lignin. This report presents antioxidant capacity studies completed using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. The influence of purification on lignin structure and activity was investigated. The purification procedure showed that double-fold selective extraction is the most efficient (confirmed by ultraviolet-visible (UV/Vis), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), heteronuclear single quantum coherence (HSQC) and 31P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, size exclusion chromatography, and X-ray diffraction), resulting in fractions of very narrow polydispersity (3.2⁻1.6), up to four distinct absorption bands in UV/Vis spectroscopy. Due to differential scanning calorimetry measurements, the glass transition temperature increased from 123 to 185 °C for the purest fraction. Antioxidant capacity is discussed regarding the biomass source, pulping process, and degree of purification. Lignin obtained from industrial black liquor are compared with beech wood samples: antioxidant activity (DPPH inhibition) of kraft lignin fractions were 62⁻68%, whereas beech and spruce/pine-mixed lignin showed values of 42% and 64%, respectively. Total phenol content (TPC) of the isolated kraft lignin fractions varied between 26 and 35%, whereas beech and spruce/pine lignin were 33% and 34%, respectively. Storage decreased the TPC values but increased the DPPH inhibition.
Serine/threonine kinase 4 (STK4) deficiency is an autosomal recessive genetic condition that leads to primary immunodeficiency (PID) typically characterized by lymphopenia, recurrent infections and Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) induced lymphoproliferation and -lymphoma. State-of-the-art treatment regimens consist of prevention or treatment of infections, immunoglobulin substitution (IVIG) and restoration of the immune system by hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Here, we report on two patients from two consanguineous families of Turkish (patient P1) and Moroccan (patient P2) decent, with PID due to homozygous STK4 mutations. P1 harbored a previously reported frameshift (c.1103 delT, p.M368RfsX2) and P2 a novel splice donor site mutation (P2; c.525+2 T>G). Both patients presented in childhood with recurrent infections, CD4 lymphopenia and dysregulated immunoglobulin levels. Patient P1 developed a highly malignant B cell lymphoma at the age of 10 years and a second, independent Hodgkin lymphoma 5 years later. To our knowledge she is the first STK4 deficient case reported who developed lymphoma in the absence of detectable EBV or other common viruses. Lymphoma development may be due to the lacking tumor suppressive function of STK4 or the perturbed immune surveillance due to the lack of CD4+ T cells. Our data should raise physicians' awareness of [1] lymphoma proneness of STK4 deficient patients even in the absence of EBV infection and [2] possibly underlying STK4 deficiency in pediatric patients with a history of recurrent infections, CD4 lymphopenia and lymphoma and unknown genetic make-up. Patient P2 experienced recurrent otitis in childhood, but when she presented at the age of 14, she showed clinical and immunological characteristics similar to patients suffering from Autoimmune Lymphoproliferative Syndrome (ALPS): elevated DNT cell number, non-malignant lymphadenopathy and hepatosplenomegaly, hematolytic anemia, hypergammaglobulinemia. Also patient P1 presented with ALPS-like features (lymphadenopathy, elevated DNT cell number and increased Vitamin B12 levels) and both were initially clinically diagnosed as ALPS-like. Closer examination of P2, however, revealed active EBV infection and genetic testing identified a novel STK4 mutation. None of the patients harbored typically ALPS-associated mutations of the Fas receptor mediated apoptotic pathway and Fas-mediated apoptosis was not affected. The presented case reports extend the clinical spectrum of STK4 deficiency.
Females are influenced more than males by visual cues during many spatial orientation tasks; but females rely more heavily on gravitational cues during visual-vestibular conflict. Are there gender biases in the relative contributions of vision, gravity and the internal representation of the body to the perception of upright? And might any such biases be affected by low gravity? 16 participants (8 female) viewed a highly polarized visual scene tilted ±112° while lying supine on the European Space Agency's short-arm human centrifuge. The centrifuge was rotated to simulate 24 logarithmically spaced g-levels along the long axis of the body (0.04-0.5g at ear-level). The perception of upright was measured using the Oriented Character Recognition Test (OCHART). OCHART uses the ambiguous symbol "p" shown in different orientations. Participants decided whether it was a "p" or a "d" from which the perceptual upright (PU) can be calculated for each visual/gravity combination. The relative contribution of vision, gravity and the internal representation of the body were then calculated. Experiments were repeated while upright. The relative contribution of vision on the PU was less in females compared to males (t=-18.48, p≤0.01). Females placed more emphasis on the gravity cue instead (f:28.4%, m:24.9%) while body weightings were constant (f:63.0%, m:63.2%). When upright (1g) in this and other studies (e.g., Barnett-Cowan et al. 2010, EJN, 31,1899) females placed more emphasis on vision in this task than males. The reduction in weight allocated by females to vision when in simulated low-gravity conditions compared to when upright under normal gravity may be related to similar female behaviour in response to other instances of visual-vestibular conflict. Why this is the case and at which point the perceptual change happens requires further research.
In 2018, in the US alone, it is estimated that 268,670 people will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and that 41,400 will die from it. Since breast cancers often become resistant to therapies, and certain breast cancers lack therapeutic targets, new approaches are urgently required. A cell-stress response pathway, the unfolded protein response (UPR), has emerged as a promising target for the development of novel breast cancer treatments. This pathway is activated in response to a disturbance in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) homeostasis but has diverse physiological and disease-specific functions. In breast cancer, UPR signalling promotes a malignant phenotype and can confer tumours with resistance to widely used therapies. Here, we review several roles for UPR signalling in breast cancer, highlighting UPR-mediated therapy resistance and the potential for targeting the UPR alone or in combination with existing therapies.
Antioxidant activity is an essential feature required for oxygen-sensitive merchandise and goods, such as food and corresponding packaging as well as materials used in cosmetics and biomedicine. For example, vanillin, one of the most prominent antioxidants, is fabricated from lignin, the second most abundant natural polymer in the world. Antioxidant potential is primarily related to the termination of oxidation propagation reactions through hydrogen transfer. The application of technical lignin as a natural antioxidant has not yet been implemented in the industrial sector, mainly due to the complex heterogeneous structure and polydispersity of lignin. Thus, current research focuses on various isolation and purification strategies to improve the compatibility of lignin material with substrates and enhancing its stabilizing effect.
Amino acids perform multiple essential physiological roles in humans, and accordingly, their importance to health has been the subject of extensive attention. In this special issue of the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, we focus on the various inborn errors of amino acid metabolism, their diagnostic challenges, new treatment approaches, and recent advances in patient monitoring as well as clinical outcomes.
Here, we present a miR mechanism which is active in the nucleus and is essential for the production of intron included, C-terminal truncated and biologically active proteins, like e.g. Vim3. We exemplified this mechanism by miRs, miR-15a and miR-498, which are overexpressed in clear cell renal carcinoma or oncocytoma. Both miRs directly interact with DNA in an intronic region, leading to transcriptional stop, and therefore repress the full length version of the pre-mRNA, resulting in intron included truncated proteins (Mxi-2 and Vim3). A computational survey shows that this miR:DNA interactions mechanism may be generally involved in regulating the human transcriptome, with putative interaction sites in intronic regions for over 1000 genes. In this work, an entirely new mechanism is revealed how miRs can repress full length protein translation, resulting in C-terminal truncated proteins.
3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A lyase (HMGCL, HMGCL) deficiency is a rare inborn error of ketogenesis. Even if the ketogenic enzyme is fully disrupted, an elevated signal for the ketone body acetoacetic acid is a frequent observation in the analysis of urinary organic acids, at least if derivatization is performed by methylation. We provide an explanation for this phenomenon and trace it back to degradation of the derivatized 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaric acid and high temperature of the injector of the gas chromatograph.
Conclusion
(2018)
There is a paradigm shift from traditional content-based education and training to competencybased and practice-oriented training. This shift has occurred because practice-oriented teaching has been found to produce a training outcome that is industry focused, generating the relevant occupational standards. Competency-based training program often comprises of modules broken into segments called learning outcomes. These learning outcomes are based on criteria set by industry and assessment is designed to ensure students become competent in their respective areas of specialization.
Course Profiles
(2018)
The curricula of all degree programs at H-BRS have many different practice-oriented activities and focus on hands-on learning. In labs and small classrooms (30–60 persons), students get a personalized learning environment which is complemented with many individual and group projects that foster collaborative work situations. There are several main areas that students learn from working with industry, local organizations or public institutions.
German African Universities Program (GAUP) is a partnership of three universities encompassing Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, University of Applied Sciences in Germany, University of Nairobi in Kenya, and University of Cape Coast in Ghana. Every year, a number of students from each university are competitively selected to take part in the exchange program in a foreign country for three months in the sponsored project. I participated in the exchange program in Germany during the winter semester 2016/2017. The experience was excellent and the benefits cannot be underestimated. The objective was to integrate with the university community in Germany and learn first-hand from their teaching approaches and experiences by attending classes and interacting in- and outside the classroom. It provided an opportunity for cross-cultural learning, hence preparing us to live and work in different parts of the world. Besides the classroom experience, learning was reinforced by exposure tours in the industry including the Coal mine industrial complex in Essen (UNESCO world heritage since 2001) and Rheinbach.
The exchange program enables students to travel from their home countries to a partner university in the German-African University project. Students from the University of Nairobi in Kenya and University of Cape Coast in Ghana travel to the Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences and stay for three months attending classes and participating in academic activities together with German students. Similarly, students from Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, University of Applied Sciences, travel to either West or East Africa and are hosted for three months by universities participating in the project. The program enables Kenyan students to accustom themselves to the German way of life and student-centered learning and disciplines. The program integrates fieldwork into the learning activities making education both a skill-imparting and fun process.
The nature of the program was an exchange program between Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, University of Applied Sciences and the University of Cape Coast. The program was advertised and we applied. We were shortlisted for interview and we were selected as the candidates for the exchange program. The program took a period of five months. We set off from Accra, Ghana to Germany on 7th September 2015, and returned to Ghana on 25th January 2016.
The exchange program was aimed at giving students an international exposure through teaching and intercultural communication and to also enhance the existing relationship among the partner schools. The program lasted for a period of six months from September 2016 to February 2017. The main part of the program was the International Management program which comprised of four courses. The program offered us an opportunity to travel to four European countries to broaden our academic and social network.
From September 2016 to February 2017, I did an internship at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana (UCC) as part of my studies in Business Administration at Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, University of Applied Sciences, Germany (H-BRS). At H-BRS, an internship of five or six months (or, alternatively, one exchange semester) is an obligatory part of the curriculum so students get hands-on experience even before they enter the job market. My internship was also part of the intercontinental partnership between UCC and H-BRS, which has resulted in many different projects.
I had an opportunity to visit Germany in 2016/2017 during which period I was on an exchange staff program between the University of Nairobi, Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, University of Applied Sciences, Germany, and the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. My visit took me to the city of Bonn where the University of Bonn-Rhein-Sieg is located in the suburban area in the cities of Sankt Augustin, Rheinbach, and Hennef. I was able to interact with faculty members and students. During this period, the discussion I had with faculty mainly focused on various programs offered by the university and how they have been able to interact and partner with the industry and create linkages with various firms in Germany. It emerged from our discussion that the development of the curriculum by the university depends on such partnerships.
Competency-Based Teaching Using Simulation Exercises: Evidence of the University of Cape Coast
(2018)
Tertiary institutions exist to train manpower to solve local, national, and international problems. Products from such institutions should not be a problem to countries as in the case of some Sub-Saharan African countries including Ghana which has a high level of graduate unemployment. Among the causes of the problem is the nature of teaching or the syllabus or the programs students pursue while in such institutions. The paper discusses one of the teaching strategies used to make a course relevant for a program and for the working world. In this course, students are introduced to practice-oriented learning through simulation exercises. The project activities specifically seek to assess the students’ understanding of business formation; examine students’ understanding of sustainability, creativity and innovation of business ideas; assess their understanding of the functional areas of business including marketing & sales, finance, human resource management, operations, and accounting, among others. Feedback from students who have participated indicates the exercise gave much more exposure and meaning to the concepts they learned in class. In this exercise, students build teams, develop a product, learn to set up a business, and design organogram, business vision, mission, and core values. The exercise empowers students to learn by doing. It accords students the opportunity to review their own knowledge and skills with respect to the concepts they have learned in the course. More than 3000 students have participated in this project since its inception in the academic year 2013/2014. It is estimated that 1000 students will participate in this project in the academic year 2017/2018.
The labor market is dynamic and frequently calls for new skills, knowledge, and abilities. The changing needs of industry place a higher demand on institutions of higher learning to monitor trends in labor needs, identify skill gaps, and to use industry insights for developing programs and curricula that mold human resources to create value for employers and society at large. While several institutions of higher learning are responsive to industry needs through curricula reviews and the development of new programs, little attention is given to pedagogical issues that affect the delivery of knowledge and the development of skills intended by various education programs. Consequently, teachers are entrusted with the freedom to decide the teaching methods that are appropriate under each circumstance. Despite the changing face of the labor market, not much energy has been channeled towards adjusting teaching methods for effective delivery of skills required by students. The failure to adjust teaching methods for training graduates has led to what is commonly known as ‘halfbaked graduates’. In other words, graduates who lack the skills and abilities necessary for placement in the industry. However, the success of an institution of higher learning is illustrated by its ability to train people who perfectly match the needs of the industry.
Culture is the constellation of shared believes, mores, values, and traditions that define the behavior of people and it is unique to each community at local and national levels. Culture determines the languages spoken by the people, their attitude towards others, and their behavior. While the family is the immediate point through which culture is learned by children, socialization at institutions such as religious organizations, places of worship, schools, and the society’s dispute resolution system reinforce culture. Unlike the Internet, traditional media in the forms of local and national print and audio-visual content tend to reinforce cultural beliefs, values, and practices of specific communities. The uniqueness of culture creates market penetration challenges to entrepreneurs in international markets. Therefore, intercultural communication is a necessary skill for reducing cultural liability and increasing the success of entrepreneurial ventures.
Multidisciplinary, multicultural, and multitasking has taken center stage in the global educational debate. Globalization and improvement in communication have affected the way organisations operate and hence influenced whom they hire. Today, it is common practice to work with people from diverse backgrounds and it requires competencies that go beyond general project management. Intercultural awareness, networking in different global communities, and learning to develop specific communication strategies for different stakeholders is all part of the package of skills and competencies that are required in today's interconnected world. This has indirect implication on the nature of skills and competencies institutions/universities must equip their students with to enable them to compete successfully in the working world.
Evaluation is of crucial importance and should meet professional standards in its design. In practice, organizational peculiarities and available resources characterize the search for the "right" approach. When used as a quality development tool, internal or self-evaluation should primarily be useful. It should generate information to answer organizational questions and provide results as a basis for discussion in decision-making processes.
The most prominent education reform in Europe started in Bologna, Italy, in 1999, when the European Ministers responsible for higher education met to set the foundation for the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). The following process to reform and unify higher education and its systems in Europe is therefore known as the Bologna Process.
Project Overview
(2018)
The project "German-African University Partnership Platform for the Development of Entrepreneurs and Small/Medium Enterprises" started in 2015 within the framework of the program "University-Business-Partnerships between Higher Education Institutions and Business Partners in Germany and in Developing Countries", funded by the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). It is carried out by Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, University of Applied Sciences in Germany (H-BRS), the University of Cape Coast (UCC) in Ghana, and the University of Nairobi (UoN) in Kenya.
Welcome to the first edition of the Handbook for Applied Teaching and Learning designed primarily for educators, administrators, and students interested in applied teaching and entrepreneurial education. This handbook documents some of the outcomes of a very fruitful German-African collaboration among higher education institutions in the field of entrepreneurial education which was funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).