The MIT-Empowering the Teachers (MIT-ETT) program at MIT strives to foster innovation in science and engineering education in tertiary academic institutions in Africa through an intense engagement with faculty members from African universities is a teaching-focused fellowship, offered by MIT- AFRICA together with its corporate partner NNPC/Total E& P Nigeria Ltd.
MIT-ETT enables Nigerian faculty in science and engineering to experience a semester at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Selected fellows will observe instruction in their disciplines and work as a group under the guidance of MIT faculty member, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Professor Akintunde Ibitayo Akinwande to prepare innovative curricula and approaches to teaching that can be introduced into their home universities on their return.
Objective
The overarching goal of MIT-ETT is to facilitate the development of young African faculty leadership in science and engineering education who will introduce innovation and creativity into science and engineering curricular.
There are two main objectives of the MIT-ETT program:
- To provide young African professors with exposure to cutting-edge pedagogical methods in the highest-rated engineering and science departments in the U.S.
- To provide American faculty who have a deep interest in connecting with those in their disciplines in emerging economies a concrete means of engagement.
Approach
In an attempt to address the problems articulated above, MIT established the MIT-Empowering the Teachers (MIT-ETT) Program lead by Professor Akintunde Ibitayo Akinwande (EECS). The program invites young, brilliant and upcoming African academics, who recently completed their doctoral degree, to spend an intensive and inclusive semester at MIT in a bid to understudy the mode (& dynamics) of curricula development and content delivery at MIT. The aim is to facilitate in African institutions improved teaching content development that is geared towards (1) students-centered content delivery (2) problem solving and (3) creativity. This amongst other things will result in the development new courses and the modification of existing curricula to ones that are geared towards critical thinking, open ended problem solving and hands-on design but also promote innovation and creativity. While at MIT, these African academics developed new course content for their home universities which are consistent with the objectives of developing these skills in their students.
During their semester at MIT, Fellows do the following:
- observe instruction in their own disciplines & subjects
- interact with MIT faculty teaching in their own disciplines & subjects
- develop courses based on problem-solving approach inspired by equivalent course at MIT
- discuss & explore curricular enrichment & reform through both formal and informal interaction with the MIT community
- The ultimate goal is to reform their current curricular using new materials, approaches and methods that exemplify the best of MIT’s practices: problem-solving, student-centered, innovation and bringing knowledge to bear on the world’s greatest challenges.
Worth
Selected fellows will observe instruction in their disciplines and work as a group to prepare innovative curricula and approaches to teaching that can be introduced into their home universities on their return.
MIT-Empowering the Teachers will cover the travel, living and instructional materials expenses of the participants. The home universities of the successful applicants will commit to provide paid leaves of absence during the period of the MIT program.
They will attend twice-weekly MIT-Empowering the Teachers Seminar meetings, one which will focus on curriculum review and development led by Professor Akinwande.
Eligibility Criteria
MIT-ETT welcomes applications from all qualified faculty who are:
1) interested in developing new curriculum and teaching methods and consider themselves to be change-agents;
2) a faculty member holding a PhD and teach in a department corresponding to Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering or Petroleum Engineering at a university in Nigeria;
3) Lecturer One rank. Applications will be thoroughly vetted.
Guides for Applicants
- To apply, please visit here
- Candidates will be interviewed in Abuja by MIT faculty and representatives from NNPC/Total E & P during the last week of January 2018. If selected for interviews, you will be notified of your date and time in early January 2018.
Deadline
Friday, 1st December, 2017 8pm EST
Further Information
Visit webpage here or send any questions to: mit-ett@mit.edu
