SPOC: Sixty international students addressing the SDGs

At the end of 2021 the 37 Leiden-Delft-Erasmus African Dynamics minor students joined forces with 23 students from various African universities in a four week Small Private Online Course (SPOC) to explore different approaches to address the challenges that their not-so-far future holds.

Under the direction of Prof. Marleen Dekker – academic coordinator of the African Dynamics minor - the content and facilitation of the SPOC was delivered by lecturers from four different Dutch higher learning institutes, namely David Ehrhardt (Leiden University College); Taslim Alade (Rotterdam School of Management); Madi Ditmars (African Studies Centre Leiden); and Maurits Ertsen (Delft University of Technology).

African based students were recruited through NIMAR, members of the Leiden African academic diaspora community, and the ASCL website – where more information about the SPOC can also be found.

The objective of this course is to develop critical, trans-disciplinary and innovative approaches to sustainable development initiatives. Representing multiple disciplines, the students collaboratively explore key development planning approaches to address wicked sustainable development problems. 

Although the online course is filled with new and stimulating learning material, the co-creation of knowledge and understanding by young minds from several disciplines and institutes is by far the greatest value of this course, as can be seen in the testimonies of a few participants:

Lateefah Joseph (University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa: MA Social Development):
“The most valuable awareness - connecting with people from other countries - was really the best part of this course. Having a feel of what people are going through in their own countries by relating course material to their own experiences, or to just see them on Zoom, makes you feel like you are part of a much bigger community than just your own ‘bubble’ at home.”

Mirte Karsten (Leiden University: BSc Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology):
“Even though the entire course was online, it all felt very hands-on due to the discussion assignments and interactions with each other. I was amazed at how I learned things that felt so distant by just doing them and learning from my peers' feedback and engaging with their versions of the assignment. This collaborative learning was really helpful in adjusting to the line of thinking necessary to engage with the topics of systems, partnerships, participation and adaptation. Furthermore, I think that the course has provided us all with great materials and overall topics to dive deeper into in our future academic and personal career - I already see how a lot that I have learned will benefit me in the long run.”

Mattia Bonfanti (Delft University of Technology: BSc Computer Science and Engineering):
“It has been such an incredible experience to share the course with all the students that took part in it. I appreciate everyone's ideas and their will to share their thoughts! The ongoing discussions are what made this SPOC special and unique.”

Samuel Akindeji Akinmusuyi (University of Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria: MA English):
“Being a part of this SPOC is an experience I would always cherish; it was a privilege to drink from the pool of knowledge of diverse scholars. Whilst the contents of the courses were thorough, relatable and at the same time comprehensive, the most valuable awareness was having to connect and rub minds with diverse folks from different regions of the world to achieve a common goal. Breaking barriers to share ideas and insights, disagreeing to agree, having a feel of the happenings in other countries, learning from experts in varied fields - all these were really amazing; they awakened and sustained my enthusiasm in the course all through.”

Ivy Ruth Maruti Wafula (Kenyatta University Nairobi, Kenya: BSc. Fashion Design & Marketing):
“Thank you so much to everyone for making this SPOC so interesting and valuable! It has been such an incredible experience to share the course with all the students that took part in it. I appreciate everyone's ideas and their will to share their thoughts! The ongoing discussions are what made this SPOC special and unique.”