Title: Recommendations for Human Capital Development for Earth Observation Programs within the Republic of South Africa
1Recommendations for Human Capital Development
for Earth Observation Programs within the
Republic of South Africa
- Report of the
- IEEE International Expert Panel
2Outline
- Introduction of Expert Panel
- Terms of Reference
- Process
- Issues from the Perspective of the Expert Panel
- Proposed Structure
- Essential Skill Sets for Earth Observation
Program - Curriculum Components for Partner program in
Overarching Themes - The water cycle
- Disasters
- Global climate
- Human settlement.
3The IEEE Expert Panel
4Terms of Reference
- Review the assessment, carried out by
consultants, of the current status of teaching
and research in Earth Observations at the
institutions of higher education within South
Africa. - Assess the Human Capital Development (HCD)
required for the Earth Observation programs at
these institutions to be competitive in the
international arena within 5 to 10 years. - Provide advice on the processes, procedures and
financial instruments that would be most
effective to achieve those goals.
5Process
- Provided guidance for Questionnaire Structure for
the Audit Report of the Consultant Team - IEEE ad hoc Expert Panel hosted by the government
of South Africa from June 29 to July 1, 2010 in
Brussels, Belgium - Drafts by Writing Team and reviews by ad hoc
Expert Panel - Review of other relevant institutes, programs,
funding models etc. - Peer Review
- Presentation on February 21
- Continued development through a live process
6Writing Team
- Dr. Ellsworth LeDrew, F.IEEE, F.CASI (Team
Leader) - Dr. Jay Pearlman, F.IEEE
- Dr. Melba Crawford, F.IEEE
7Issues from the Perspective of the Expert Panel
(1)
- Study and training in Earth observations is
markedly challenged by the lack of depth of
faculty expertise and programs at the majority of
institutions. In some cases there is only one
faculty member at the institution and the time of
that faculty member may be focused on other
activities, notably teaching use of GIS software.
8Issues from the Perspective of the Expert Panel
(2)
- Effective access to appropriate imagery for a
particular study theme or research project must
be improved. - With the exception of access to commonly
available PC computer resources, access to
specialized software, high performance computing,
specialized field equipment in Earth
observations, and airborne imaging systems needs
considerable improvement.
9Issues from the Perspective of the Expert Panel
(3)
- There is no single initiative or a program that
currently provides experts in Earth Observations
of an international caliber. - Financial resources are scarce throughout the
educational system. - There is little evidence of systemic partnerships
or dialogue between institutions of higher
education and private industry, government, or
international organizations.
10Issues from the Perspective of the Expert Panel
(4)
- There is little evidence, with the exception of
the University of Stellenbosch, of long-term
strategic planning in Earth Observations
curricula. - High Band-width internet capacity is critical for
all university, government and private
institutions involved in the Earth-Observations
initiative within South Africa and with the rest
of the world.
11Keystone Concept for the Proposed Structure
- The focus will be to develop a system such that
individual students will not need to leave South
Africa for universities in other countries to
have a world-class higher education at any degree
level.
12Strategy in Developing Structure
- develop an end-to-end program for Human Capital
Development for specific key Earth Observation
user requirements identified by the government of
South Africa. - This program will include the skill sets of the
students as they enter the institutions of higher
education and the skill sets required by
employers within private industry and government
in South Africa. - include international and national networking
with partners in education, industry and
government.
13Guidance in Developing Structure
- A priority of the government of South Africa is
Human Capital Development and this includes
decent employment through inclusive economic
growth. - The objective of the government is to be a
leading nation in the use of space science and
technology in service to its people. - The government has identified four overarching
themes for focus that may serve as catalysts for
human capital development and Earth observations - The water cycle
- Disasters
- Global climate
- Human settlement.
14Tactics in Developing Structure
- The tactics may include
- centers of excellence,
- research chairs,
- development of mentoring and communication
processes within the country, - collaboration with institutions in other
countries, - sandwich programs with institutions in other
countries, - development of programs that emphasize community
participation in remote sensing, - cooperative education programs,
- in-career professional development,
- accreditation for specific earth observations
skill sets, - and oversight by an advisory council.
- Any plan must include milestones and benchmarks
that can be assessed in terms of success of the
program at periodic intervals.
15Exemplars
- National Astrophysics and Space Science Programme
(http//www.star.ac.za/) - African Institute for Mathematical Science Next
Einstein Initiative (http//www.nexteinstein.org/h
ome) - EIS-AFRICAS MODEL FOR TRAINING AND CAPACITY
BUILDING (http//www.fig.net/pub/proceedings/nairo
bi/nkambwe-TS18-2.pdf) - CSIR Earth Observations (http//www.csir.co.za/SAC
/eo.html) - Chair and host of the IEEE IGARSS09
(International Geoscience and Remote Sensing
Society) International symposium in Cape Town,
July, 2009
16Two Structures for Consideration
- Networks of Excellence hub and spoke model
- National Institute informed by the African
Institute for Mathematical Sciences AIMS, the
Next Einstein Initiative - South African Institute for Geomatic Sciences
SAGE - Or a combination of the best parts of both?
17Networks of Excellence (1)Competitive Call for
Proposals
- Initial Call for NoE for two of four overarching
themes water cycle, disasters, climate change,
and human settlement - The call would be for a combination of Networks
of Excellence (NoE) and research chairs that
would encourage development of partnerships
within the various universities as well as
between universities, government and industry
18Networks of Excellence (2)Structure of Operations
- Noting that some universities have PhD programs
whilst other universities may only have Bachelor
of Science programs in Earth Observations, or
even one course in Earth Observations as part of
a spatial analysis theme, we recommend that
partnerships be developed around a hub and spoke
model of collaboration and mentoring
19Networks of Excellence (3)The Hub and Spoke
Model
- There will be a central hub with two or more sets
of rings of widening radius joined by spokes. - The central hub would be one or more universities
with accredited PhD programs that can provide
leadership in teaching and scholarship - Individual spokes would go out to the other
universities that, at the first ring, may have a
Master of Science (or equivalent) as the final
degree and - at the second ring of larger radius, may have a
Bachelor of Science (or equivalent) as the final
degree.
20Networks of Excellence (4)Ten-Year Goal
- The objective is to develop a structure for
mentoring, exchange of curricula materials and
courses, and collaborative scholarship that
would, within a decade, provide every student
equal access to a Masters or PhD program
21Networks of Excellence (5)Crucial Role of
Mentoring
- The current PhD-capable universities would act as
mentors to those in partnership with them. - This mentoring may be enhanced through both
academic exchanges and collaborative research
with principals in internationally recognized
institutions in other countries. - External international partners may also be
invited to participate as nodes in the hub or
internal to a given institutions program.
22Networks of Excellence (6)Mentoring
- Mentoring would be enabled through activities
that could involve milestones for measurement of
success - Annual symposia that include all South Africa
Networks of Excellence in Earth Observations. The
symposia would include presentation of results of
collaborative research amongst members of the hub
and spoke network, examination of procedures for
and evidence of success of networked learning,
and development of lifelong learning curricula
for partners in industry and government. - Collaboration on research by all institutions in
the network that will include participation by
the public in field programs. The citizen as
participant in science and technology is an
initiative that is growing in several areas, such
as weather and atmospheric science, and the
GEO-wiki (http//www.geo-wiki.org/login.php?menuh
ome)
23Networks of Excellence (7)Mentoring
- Sharing of undergraduate and graduate course
materials and lectures between all institutions
in the network by means of broad-band Internet
and modern communication strategies. We note
that, towards this end, R250 million was
announced on October 28, 2010, by the Ministry of
Science and Technology and the National Research
Foundation to improve broadband connectivity
throughout the South African research network. - Bimonthly meetings of faculty and students within
each Network of Excellence with emphasis on
face-to-face discussion but inclusion of
teleconferencing if necessary. - Training of Faculty through funded secondment to
highly ranked international universities in
partnership with RSA and training centres such as
ICT, Netherlands and recent opportunities
sponsored by the European Union.
24Networks of Excellence (8)Research Chairs
- A senior research chair for each center would be
resident at a PhD capable University, whilst
junior chairs may be resident at the Masters or
Bachelors capable universities - The network so developed would be able to proceed
with the research at a scale not possible before,
and achieve a scale of activity and credibility
that will foster further funding initiatives at
the international scale.
25Networks of Excellence (9)Audit and Planning
- To ensure that the objectives of the network,
including mentoring, growth of national and
international partnerships, and creation of
future capability in industry, we recommend that
there be an Earth Observations Advisory Council
for all of the Networks of Excellence in Earth
Observations - This council would be comprised of individuals
from a variety of Earth Observation specialties,
countries, and types of research and teaching
institutions. - This group, which may be very effective with the
size of 4 to 6, would participate in the annual
symposia for all of the networks.
26Dr. Neil Turok and the African Institute for
Mathematical Science
- AIMS was developed to provide an excellent
advanced education to talented African students,
encouraging independent thinkers, researchers and
problem solvers capable of contributing to
Africas development. AIMS teaching philosophy
promotes critical and creative thinking and
deliberately avoids the emphasis, all too common
in both African and international universities,
on rote learning and cramming for written exams.
27Dr. Neil Turok and the African Institute for
Mathematical Science
- AIMS declared goals are to
- Promote mathematics and science in Africa
- Recruit and train talented students and
teachers - Build capacity for African initiatives in
education, research and technology
28Dr. Neil Turok and the African Institute for
Mathematical Science
- AIMS is a partnership project of three South
African universities Cape Town, Stellenbosch,
and Western Cape, and three international partner
universities - Cambridge, Oxford, and Paris-Sud
XI (Orsay). Universities, both within and outside
Africa, are seeking to join AIMS, in the
expansion of the AIMS model to create new AIMS
centres throughout Africa as set out in this
Plan. (http//www.nexteinstein.org/)
29Dr. Neil Turok and the African Institute for
Mathematical Science
- As an example of the impact of this project, Dr.
Barry Green, the current Director of AIMS, notes
in the 2010 Annual Report - South African institutions of higher education
have the responsibility of graduating more South
Africans with postgraduate degrees in the
sciences, particularly Master's and Doctoral
degrees. AIMS is working hard to encourage South
African students in particular, to pursue
scientific careers. One of the initiatives
introduced to address this is a joint
biomathematics programme offered in collaboration
with Stellenbosch University with half of the
course taught at AIMS. At the end of 2009 the
?rst group of ?ve South African honours students
with biomathematics focus graduated at
Stellenbosch University, with seven more
registering for this programme at the beginning
of 2010.
30South African Institute for Geomatic
SciencesSAGE
- is a high impact venue to enhance the learning
environment very quickly - if the AIMS model is used or an affiliation with
AIMS is pursued, there may be minimal risk - With partnerships between many South African
universities, with highly ranked international
universities, and with government and private
institutions of notable research in Earth
Observations, a high quality academic program can
be delivered with results visible within the
short term
31South African Institute for Geomatic
SciencesSAGE
- With careful planning and implementation, this
may be designed so that students from any South
African University, regardless of historical
status, may realize immediate value. - The challenge will be to adapt this model to
bring cutting edge post-graduate research into
the academic process - Incorporate the Networks of Excellence Funding
Model
32Essential Skill Sets
- Specify skill sets for an International caliber
program in the Earth Observation Science at the
BES, MES and PhD level - Each may partner with one or more of the
overarching themes of - The water cycle
- Disasters
- Global climate
- Human settlement.
- Curriculum components developed for each of these
that include Earth Observations
33BES Skill Set (1)
34BES Skill Set (2)
35BES Skill Set (3)
36Human settlement Forestry and Natural Resources
- Advanced fundamentals organic chemistry,
biochemistry, microbiology, statistical methods - Dendrology
- Forest soils
- Conservation genetics
- Tree physiology
- Principles of silviculture
- Forest ecosystems
- Landscape ecology
- Field measurements sampling and data analysis
- Natural resource issues, policy, and
administration - Natural resource and environmental economics
- Human dimensions of natural resources
- Degree dependent electives related to fisheries,
aquatic science, wildlife management, urban
forestry
37Human settlement Agriculture
- Advanced fundamentals organic chemistry,
biochemistry, microbiology - Soil science (chemistry, physics, fertility,
pedology) - Hydrologic processes
- Plant genetics
- Plant science and physiology
- Cropping systems and production
- Weather and climate
- Agronomic systems analysis and management
- Agricultural economics
- Economics and management of Natural Resources
38Global climatePhysical Processes
- Introduction to Global Change
- Principles of Climate Change Economics and Policy
- Meteorology and Climate
- Boundary-layer Processes
- Earth System Modelling
- Atmospheric Dynamics
- Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation and
Mitigation - Atmospheric Chemistry and Air Quality
- Atmosphere-Vegetation-Soil Interactions
- Field Experiment Meteorology and Air Quality
39Global climateImpact Assessment
- Environmental Systems Analysis Methods and
Applications - Integrated Environmental Assessment Pollution
Management - Integrated Environmental Assessment Regional
Management - Principles of Earth and Ecosystem Science
- Environmental Economics for Environmental
Sciences
- Economics and Management of Natural Resources
- Advanced Environmental Economics and Policy
- Theories and Models in Environmental Economics
- Environmental Policy Analysis and Evaluation
- Sustainable Technology Development
- Environment and Development
40Water Cycle
- Hydraulics and fluid mechanics (open channel and
closed conduits) - Hydrologic processes (surface and groundwater
flow, contaminant transport) - Water resources systems analysis and management
- Water supply, distribution, collection and
treatment
- Land surface-atmosphere interactions
- Biogeochemical systems
- Global and regional climate
- Meteorology and weather
- Earth system coupled modelling
- Sensors and instrumentation
- Economics and environmental policy
41Thankyou