Partners contributing to the E-Space at Pop Up University.

In the future learning space of the Pop Up University, ICT is the key to opening a world of opportunities to teachers at Kakuma Refugee Camp.

Refugees at Kakuma are not permitted to leave the camp for work or education. They are, in essence, imprisoned. They are trapped in a liminal space where they know that further education is the answer for them but they can't access it and don't know how that will ever change. Pop Up University is the slegehammer to this brick-wall.

If refugees are unable to leave and migrate to other other countries for tertiary education, then Pop Up University will bring the education to them.

The major problem facing refugees in Kakuma is the sheer number of students who need to access primary and secondary education.

Most teachers are not trained and are desperately seeking qualifications and support to do the near impossible job they are called to.

Class numbers are phenomenally high. With an average class size of 120 students it is easy to see that more teachers and teaching assistants are desperately needed.

What can Pop Up University do?

* Pop Up University can provide short courses to gain entry to Online University courses.

-This could involve learning English or gaining an English language acreditation certificate that is necessary for some online university degrees.

* It could include training modules developed by and for the Kakuma refugees to train teaching assistants to team-teach in large classes.

* Teachers could access University level courses and gain credit towards a degree, or even a higher qualification.

* Pop Up University would have a focus on collating courses that can be completed intensively, (a few days or weeks), so that teaching work is not interrupted. This also ensures a much higher completion rate.

* Teachers would have access to necessary ICT components: electricity, computers, tablets, mobile phones, internet connectivity and projectors; all provided by contributing partners who are already actively resourcing refugees around the world.

* Pop Up University provides mentors who are trained in ICT usage and maintenance, in collaboration with our partner organisations such as: Vodaphone Instant Network School, Vodaphone Instant Classroom, Refugee Phones. They are there to assist teachers to learn how to use the ICTs, how to enrol in courses, find ways to network with other tertiary students, other teachers and experts around the world using social media platforms like WhatsApp. These networks for teachers are already in existence. Mentors open the way for Kakuma teachers to join.

(More about Pop Up University Mentors in another blog post.)

* Online education providers such as Teachers without Borders, University of the People, Kiron Open Higher Education, Coursera for Refugees are already set to welcome refugee students online. Pop Up University provides the space, the equipment and the mentors to navigate and succeed in this e-space.

For further information about our partners, click on the links underlined in the paragraphs above.