November Issue No.012
In this issue, you will find:
Message from the Director General: P1
COSTECH recognizes female entrepreneur: P2
Nokia to introduce Mobile Math in schools P3
Equatorial Guinea delegates visit COSTECH: P4
ESRF presents a third draft of EMIS and HERIs: P5
COSTECH to establish a Nanotech platform: P6
SIDA delegates visits COSTECH: P7
Did you ever know: P8
What is Biotechnology: P8
Scientific research report: P9
Pictorial: P10
Upcoming Events: P11
Message from the Director General
Welcome to the eleventh offering of our monthly e-newsletter. In this month, a lot of events continued to happen at
the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH).
In this month, COSTECH recognized and honored the achievements made by one of its cluster members for winning
various awards and accomplishments. Starting the clothing business in her backyard, she has emerged to become the
business mogul and inspire hundreds of women and young adults. After having won several awards and registered
numerous achievements in the entrepreneurship docket, the COSTECH saw the need to honor her outstanding efforts,
especially in helping to transform and improve the lives of those who once said they ‘have no future’ by employing
many and training many more. That is what the Commission is most proud of.
This month we also received the Equatorial Guinea delegation. The delegation came to Tanzania with the aim of
exploring and promoting scientific collaborations in areas of research, technology transfer, investment in areas of
biotechnology, solar energy and other areas of life sciences. It was good to have them and we hope that whatever we
planned will materialize.
Another aspect that took place, this month, is the coming together of the researchers and academicians interested in
Nanotechnology discipline. It is high time Tanzanians learn how to design and manufacture of functional materials,
devices, and systems using nanotechnology. COSTECH hopes that with the assistance from the Council for Scientific and
Industrial Research, based in South Africa, Tanzania will be able to have its own Nanotechnology platform. Our aim is to
have as many platforms as possible; currently, COSTECH has already established Biotechnology platform, Renewable
energy platform, an e-publishing platform, and now looking forwad to establishing a nanotechnology one.
I sincerely hope that this e-newsletter, together with our website, will serve as a valuable source of information to a
number of stakeholders, particularly Researchers, Innovators, Academics, R&D institutions and the public at large who
are looking forward to collaborating with us.
As you read along, I would like to remind you that as a nation, Tanzania still faces a lot of challenges which include:
climate change, environment, health, energy, space administration, ICT, food security, etc. The COSTECH needs your
inputs to address these problems and other national priority areas.
Finally, I would like to thank the people who have worked tirelessly in preparing this e-newsletter and would like to
invite all of you to contribute to it in the future issues.
I wish you a good reading.
1
Dr. Hassan Mshinda
DIRECTOR GENERAL.
By Gaudensia Mngumi
14th November 2012
th
On Thursday November 8 , 2012
the Tanzania Commission for
Science
and
Technology
(COSTECH), convened a Press
Conference in order to recognize
and honor the achievements
made by one of its cluster
members Ms. Flotea Massawe.
After having won several awards
and
registered
numerous
achievements
in
the
entrepreneurship docket, the
Commission for Science and
Technology
(COSTECH)
has
recognized Flotea Massawe as an
outstanding
achiever
in
developing
and
promoting
women in the country and in
Africa at large.
COSTECH has honoured and
recognized
Massawe’s
entrepreneurship works which
have granted her several awards
in
small
and
medium
entrepreneurs (SMEs) categories
presented by various renowned
entrepreneurship
promotion
bodies.
Speaking during the recognition
event in Dar es Salaam, the
COSTECH Acting Director of
Centre for Development and
Transfer of Technology, Dr
Dugushilu Mafunda, lauded
Massawe for her outstanding
achievements.
He lauded her for developing and
promoting
underprivileged
women entrepreneurs in the
textile sector.
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Massawe’s owns a company
which manufactures tailored
textile products handcrafts based
on the market driven economy in
2012 and won two awards.
In September Massawe emerged
the second winner of SMME in
Africa presented by African
Growth Institute based in Cape
Town, South Africa, further more
last month she won another Pan
African award bestowed to her
by the Federation of Africa
Women
Entrepreneurs
Association (FEWA).
Fig. 1: Mrs. Flotea Massawe shows off her
SMME award to the media anchors (not
pictures). Looking on is the Acting Director of
the Centre for Development and Transfer of
Technology, Dr Dugushilu Mafunda
The latter was presented to
Massawe by the UN Women and
the
International
Labor
Organisation (ILO), in recognition
of her economic participation
and support of women’s
entrepreneurship development
in Africa.
COSTECH supported Massawe’s
company, under textile cluster
category
which
supports
entrepreneurship groups that
undertake innovative production
activities, according to Dr
Mafunda.
Speaking about herself, Mrs.
Massawe said: “I started the
business in my living room two
decades ago. Starting with just a
few friends, but the business has
now grown to over 40 employees
and serves as a model business
structure in Africa,” says
Massawe.
She added that her business is
largely run by women and
focuses on employing women
although men are also employed.
She mentioned that inter alia her
major achievements are job
creation for more than 40
employees who are engaged in
production of various textiles
brands that fetch local and
international markets.
Massawe is proud of supporting
various disadvantaged women
through
employment
and
providing on-job trainings to
update their skills in order to
promote spirits of innovations so
as to better lives and working
standards of the employees.
Fig. 2: Mrs. Flotea Massawe shows off her
other award to the media anchors (not
pictures), during the Press Conference that
took place at COSTECH Conference hall on
November, 2012
Source:http://www.ippmedia.com/f
rontend/index.php?l=47987
On November 13th, 2012 the
Commission for Science and
Technology (COSTECH), hosted a
presentation led by Riita Vansika,
the project coordinator for
Mobile Learning for Mathematics
from the Nokia Company, in
Finland.
The presentation, titled, “Mobile
Learning for Mathematics in
Formal and Informal Education,”
intended to introduce the easiest
way of learning mathematics
through mobile phones program.
Ms. Vansika pointed out that
after conducting a feasibility
study in some of developing
countries; Nokia found out that
many developing countries suffer
from high unemployment and a
dysfunctional education sector.
To solve that problem, mobile
learning can fill this void by
delivering high quality and
reliable content and learning
activities for learners and
teachers, thus empowering low
income learners to access high
quality education and to aspire
for a brighter future.
It is through that study the
company came out with the idea
of introducing a system that will
stimulate
interest
in
Mathematics,
and
thus
encourage students to have
passion in nurturing a science
culture in Tanzania schools.
She also pointed out that despite
encouraging Tanzania students
to like Math, the programme will
enable learners to access content
and study packages for grade 1012 Mathematics, interact with
others, participate and learn
3
actively, collaborate on problem
solving, motivate and be
motivated.
The system also enables teachers
to manage learner participation,
communicate with learners,
motivate learners, monitor,
analyze and assess learners’
achievement,
access
class
relevant content, and enrich
teaching activities.
“In some African countries such
as South Africa and Senegal, the
Mobile Math has proven to
improve learners’ confidence by
14%, Math confidence increased,
more collaboration between
learners, and learner to teacher,
and very interestingly, 82% of the
usage happens outside school
hours,” Ms. Vansika added.
Fig. 3: Ms. Riita Vansika addresses the
importance of Mobile Math to some of the
COSTECH employees (not pictured), when she
delivered a presentation on November 13th,
2012.
Nokia plans to expand the service
to new countries, such as Senegal
(in co-operation with UNESCO),
Tanzania, Nigeria, and Kenya.
If the pilot project will be
accepted in Tanzania, Nokia
plans
to
start
the
implementation in 2013, and be
the main funder but with strong
support from the Tanzanian
government.
In the same year, the project will
go
through
continuous
evaluation and review of impact
and if pilot experiences have
been positive, in 2014, scaling up
the project to new schools
(formal & informal will continue).
The project itself will be
implemented by the Nokia
Company in collaboration with
partners such as COSTECH,
Tanzanian Institute of Education,
Dar es Salaam University College
of Education (DUCE), Mobile
Operators, Tanzanian Education
Authority
(TEA),
Tanzanian
Communication and Regulatory
Authority (TCRA),, Ministry of
Education
and
Vocational
Training (MoEVT), Ministry of
Communication, Science and
Technology (MCST), TANZICT,
Commonwealth of Learning, and
UNESCO-Dar es Salaam Office.
According to Ms. Vansika, the
partners will be responsible for
the overall project roll-out in
Tanzania, performs negotiations
with local service providers and
government and NGO partners,
learn the impact evaluation and
research, collect feedback and
experiences as well as prepare
reports and usage statistics,
manages user accounts and roles
for local project coordinators and
teachers and external reviewers,
enroll teachers in courses and
assign in groups, distribute
enrollment keys to teachers,
encourages
and
supports
teachers to use the service,
organize
competitions,
and
provide support for learners in
collaboration with schools and
education institutions.
On November 19th, 2012 the
Tanzania Commission for Science
and Technology (COSTECH),
hosted an Equatorial Guinea
delegation that came in the
country to learn about the
Commission.
Equatorial Guinea is located in
west central Africa. The country
consists of a mainland territory,
R'o Muni, which is bordered by
Cameroon to the north and
Gabon to the east and south, and
five small islands, Bioko, Corisco,
Annobón, Small Elobey, and
Great Elobey. The petrol-rich
country is one of the smallest
countries in continental Africa
but has one of the highest per
capita incomes.
Delivering a presentation on the
Research Trends in Tanzania:
status, challenges and prospects,
the COSTECH Director General,
Dr. Hassan Mshinda said that
research collaboration among
African countries is highly
needed.
Dr. Mshinda pointed out that
research in Tanzania is used to
improve
human
resource,
finance, publications, patents,
and products. He also pointed
out that Tanzania has several
research
institutions
that
conduct research on agriculture,
livestock, fisheries, energy and
industry, natural resources,
public health, higher education
and others being private
research organizations.
The delegation came to Tanzania
with the aim of exploring and
promoting
scientific
collaborations in areas of
research, technology transfer,
investment
in
areas
of
biotechnology, solar energy and
other areas of life sciences.
Led by by the country's Minister
for Health and Social Welfare, Mr
Tomas Mecheba Galilea, the
delegation comprised of other
eleven members some of them
being, Secretary General of
Ministry of Health and Social
Welfare, Victor Sima; Director of
the National Malaria Control
Programme,
Gloria
Nseng;
Director of Laboratory Services,
Máximo Miko Ondo Obono;
Director General of Public Health,
Jose Raso Bijeri and Angela
Katherine Seone, the WHO
Representative in Equatorial
Guinea.
4
Fig. 4: A group picture featuring COSTECH
staff, IHI staff, together with the Equatorial
Guinea delegates.
He also pointed out that a survey
conducted by COSTECH in 2009
revealed that most researchers
hold a masters and a bachelor’s
degree, while a few have PhD;
half of them are aged above 40
years, majority of them being
male researchers.
He added, “Most research funds
come from foreign countries,
although
the
government
through the National Fund for
the Advancement of Science and
Technology (NFAST) contributes
some money that plays a big role
in complementing wherever the
foreign fund is insufficient.
Dr. Mshinda mentioned that
currently, the COSTECH is
working hard to make sure
research funds benefit the
Tanzanian community by putting
much emphasis on human
resource development, research
infrastructure
development,
technology
transfer,
and
investing in research of national
importance.
On
human
resource
development
Dr.
Mshinda
mentioned that more than 300
scientists are receiving training in
more than five universities, most
of them doing masters and PhD
studies.
On the important of using
research to solving problems, Dr.
Mshinda said, “The biggest
challenge in Africa is that we
tend to solve problems without
using evidence. Most of decisions
made are based on intuition or
ear say. The culture of using
evidence through research has
not been cultivated, and that is
where we need to focus our
attention. We need not only to
see the research being done but
also understand its impact to
economy,
policy,
and
improvement of social services.”
Mr. Galilea thanked the Director
General for his presentation and
promised to look into areas of
future collaboration between
Tanzania and the Equatorial
Guinea. He added, “As a
continent, we need to put more
emphasis
in
developing
knowledge
and
technology
whereby we can make a better
contribution to our continent’s
economy.”
th
On November 28 , 2012 the
Economic and Social Research
Foundation (ESRF) presented its
third draft of the manual that will be
used as a guide for the
implementation of Education and
Management Information System
(EMIS), and E-library systems for
Higher Education and Research
Institutions (HERIs), in Tanzania.
The event that took place at the
Kunduchi Beach Hotel in Dare es
Salaam, was attended by more than
100 participants most of them being
directors
of
library
studies,
librarians, ICT professionals, World
Bank delegates, the Tanzania
Commission for Science and
Technology
(COSTECH)
staff,
Ministry of Education and Vocational
Training (MoEVT) staff, together
with the Ministry of Communication,
Science and Technology (MCST)
officers.
After winning the contract that was
advertized by the Government of
the United Republic of Tanzania
through the MCST, and COSTECH, in
June this year, in August, the ESRF
was commissioned to undertake a
feasibility study for the EMIS and Elibrary systems in sampled 128
higher learning and research
institutions in the country.
The second report was presented
during the Science and Technology
Higher Education Project (STHEP),
stakeholders’ meeting that took
st
place on 21 November, 2012.
Delivering the welcome remarks, Dr.
Ken Hosea, from the MoEVT noted
that a successful implementation of
EMIS will lead the government to
invest more money on education. He
commended the COSTECH for
working hard to make sure the
project fruitful. He added, “This
project was supposed to begin in
early 2009 but for some reasons it
didn’t. May I take this opportunity to
congratulate the COSTECH team for
5
making sure this project works.” Dr.
Hosea envisions that the project will
support the initiatives to build
capacity in higher learning and
research institutions and thus
enhance Tanzania’s capacity to apply
knowledge to economic activity by
building and strengthening its higher
education system.
Fig. 5: A cross section of participants during
the STHEP stakeholders’ meeting on
November 28th, 2012.
Delivering the objectives, scope of
the
study
and
the
study
methodology,
during
the
presentation of the first draft, Dr.
Oswald Mashindano, who is an
Associate Research Fellow with the
ESRF noted that the study was
meant to survey the existing
infrastructure, related environment,
user and system requirements;
compile technical specifications for
the EMIS and e-library system and
identify optimal solutions to best
meet the long-term requirements at
an individual institutional level and
at national level for EMIS and elibrary systems for the HERIs in
Tanzania in a cost-effective manner.
A lot of ideas were discussed base
on the nature of an individual
university, including the information
to be shared and the modality of
sharing that information. The ESRF
team was tasked with different
responsibilities by stakeholders to
make sure the project become
sustainable.
The third deliverable was presented
th
on November 28 , 2012. Based on
the recommendations given by the
EMIS
and
e-library
system
stakeholders, the ESRF reported that
120 HERIs were consulted, 8 could
not be reached due to various
reasons such as absence of
respective personnel, some were
closed, and some respective staffs
were not in a position to respond to
certain questions.
Reviewing the status of existing
EMIS Prof. Louis Fourie noted that
the very few available in the country
do not provide focal functions whci
include,
collection,
storing,
processing, analyzing, utilizing, and
dissemination
of
data
and
information for educational planning
and management to avail it to
educational stakeholders on a
timely, routine, reliable and
predictable basis via uncomplicated
and user friendly means. He
recommended that Oracle is the
state of the art, ITS can offer a
comprehensive package while ARIS
is a local contender.
To establish a strong e-library
system, Prof. Fourie noted that two
components need to be taken into
consideration: the Integrated Library
System (ILS) and the Digital Library
System (DLS).
On ILS, he recommended Koha,
although both Evergreen and
NewGenLib products could also be
taken into account and very
seriously considered.
On DLS, Prof. Fourie thinks that a
strong digital library need to have a
web-based retrieval, diversity of
document formats, diversity of
metadata formats, full-text search,
Unicode, technical compatibility
with
OAI-PMH,
interactivity,
collections and relations support,
object
management,
multiple
languages support, and a level of
customization.
Prof. Fourie ended his presentation
by saying, “The aim of ICT in
education is to harness the potential
of ICT towards achieving quality
education for all.”
A pool of Tanzania researchers and
academicians
interested
in
Nanotechnology
discipline
came
together at the Tanzania Commission for
Science and Technology (COSTECH), on
nd
November 22 , 2012 to brainstorm on
the possible areas of collaboration.
Investigator. Through Nanomedicine,
she aims to develop a nanodrug delivery
system that will improve the current
inadequate therapeutic management of
TB.
Some Tanzanians have already started to
participate in different training on
Nanotechnology, including the recent
training on nanomedicine which was
done by the Council for Scientific and
Industrial Research (CSIR), in South
Africa.
According
to
the
Institute
of
Nanotechnology, in the United Kingdom,
Nanotechnology is a science and
technology where dimensions and
tolerances in the range of 0.1 to 100 nm
play a critical role. Nanotechnology
(molecular manufacturing) is a branch of
engineering that deals with the design
and manufacture of functional materials,
devices, or systems built at the
nanometer level through control of
matter. It is a new interdisciplinary field
that converge various science disciplines.
Nanotechnology can be applied in
aerospace, shipbuilding, and defense; it
can also be applied in electronics or ICT,
energy, life sciences or healthcare,
construction, textiles, environment,
water, food, drinks, consumer goods,
and on automotive.
Recapitulating the COSTECH’s mandate,
Mr. Omar Bakary, the Coordinator of the
Nanotechnology platform at COSTECH,
said that the COSTECH’s mandate is to
facilitate
issues
of
technology
development and promotion. Due to
this, the Centre for Develeopment and
Transfer of Technology organized a
meeting to establish Nanotechnology
platform. Interested experts came from
various research and higher leaning
institutions including the COSTECH,
UDSM, NIMR, MUHAS, and WHO-Dar es
Salaam Office.
The meeting was also attended by Dr.
Hulda Swai, the Senior Principal
Researcher at the (CSIR). Dr. Swai is very
accomplished in the Tuberculosis (TB)
Nanodrug delivery project, as a concept
idea, of which, she is the Principal
6
Fig. 6: A group picture featuring the
Tanzania’s Nanotechnology experts from
various research and academic institutions
who attended the Nanotechnology meeting
on November 22nd, 2012.
During the meeting, among other things,
it was reported that there is an
opportunity
to
get
funds
for
Nanoresearch through the bilateral
agreement between Tanzania and South
Africa. The Tanzanian researchers and
academicians decided to establish a
platform that will feature the names of
Tanzania Nanotechnology champions
and other stakeholders interested in the
subject. The team decided to come up
with two proposals based on
nanomedicine and the other on
nanowater. The group will later on
expand to include simple molecules such
as lumefantrine or natural products, and
other areas.
The interest was much defined to put
emphasis on building capacity for
technical persons in science laboratories
in order to qualify for future big grants,
and if things go as planned, the platform
envisions
of
establishing
a
Nanotechnology Center for Excellence in
the later stage.
Just recently, the National Research
Foundation (NRF), in South Africa
together with the Tanzania Commission
for Science and Technology advertised a
Call for Joint Science & Technology
Research Project Proposals – 2012. The
proposals shall be submitted to the
relevant authorities in both countries for
evaluation, and the evaluation will be
done according to the following criteria:
Scientific and technical merit; Impact on
bilateral science and technology
relations; Significance for both countries;
Potential for creating research and
development capacity; Quality and
clarity
of
project
presentation;
Methodology; and Suitability and
feasibility
He also added that for the purposes of
this call, research projects falling within
the following areas will be considered:
Health,
ICT,
Palaeontology,
Nanomaterial such as manufacturing,
Agricultural value addition which
includes processing and packaging, as
well as animal embryo transplant.
The successful projects will be funded by
both South Africa and Tanzania up to a
maximum total amount of R 400,000
(Tshs. 74,000,000), where each country
will provide half of the maximum
amount per project. Funding may only
be utilized for the following items: flight
tickets, accommodation, subsistence,
consumables, and publication costs.
The joint application for funding must
include two Principal Investigators, a
Tanzanian and South African and
researchers must be employed at a
recognized higher education or research
institution such as a university, or
science council in Tanzania or South
Africa. Principal Researchers from both
countries must be in possession of a
PhD. The Principal Investigators will be
responsible for the scientific and
financial reporting, as well as other
technical and administrative coordination of the project. They will also
be required to submit an annual and
final report to their respective funding
agencies upon completion of the project.
Researchers employed at private
companies will not be allowed to apply
under this programme. According to the
call,
submissions
should
include
Curriculum Vitae of the Principal
Investigators and must be received by 15
January, 2013 via e-mail.
COSTECH has already established
Biotechnology platform, Renewable
energy platform, an e-publishing
platform, and now looking forwad to
establishing a Nanotechnology platform.
th
On 29 November, 2012 some of the
Swedish
International
Cooperation
Agency (SIDA), delegates visited the
COSTECH with the aim of getting
acquainted with the role played by
Commission in supporting Cluster
initiatives and ICT in Tanzania.
The delegation, which included AnneCharlotte Malm, the Director for
Business for Development (B4D), and
other two staff, aimed at exploring the
areas of Business as well as ICT for
Development (ICT4D), and how the
funding provided by the SIDA is used to
transform peoples’ lives.
Delivering the opening remarks, Dr.
Nicolas Nyange, the Acting Director of
Research Coordination and Promotion at
COSTECH welcomed the delegates and
briefed them about the COTSECH
mandates.
Dr. Nyange pointed out that apart from
coordinating and promoting research
done in the country, COSTECH also
advises the government on all matters
pertaining to science, technology and
innovation. Dr. Nyange told the
delegates that to fulfill all its
responsibilities, COSTECH gets financial
support from the government as well as
from donors such as SIDA, World Bank,
InfoDev, and other programs such as
TASENE.
Introducing the cluster initiatives, Mr.
Omar Bakary, a Research Officer at
COSTECH mentioned that a cluster is a
group of people with common goal of
establishing a business. A group can
comprise five to ten or more people who
have a business idea but might lack
skills, financial support or markets to sell
their products.
He also mentioned that in a situation like
that, COSTECH intervene by playing a
role as a mentor and as an intermediary
between the academia, public and the
private sectors. He added, “The
academia provides training through
seminars and workshops, the public
sector provides financial support while
the private sector provides markets and
employment.”
7
According to Mr. Bakary, the main
objective
of
establishing
cluster
initiatives is to develop innovation and
increase competitiveness for social and
economic development of the firms. In
so doing, the cluster initiatives create
employment
and
thus
increase
individual income and thus provide
human capacity development.
He also added that since their
establishment in 2003, the number of
clusters has been increasing. Most of
them vary from agriculture, handcrafts,
fruits, fisheries, food processing, sea
weed, spices, to mechanical engineering
and currently, COSTECH is registering
more than 26 clusters.
Fig. 7: A meeting in progress between SIDA
delegates, COSTECH and DTBi staff.
Mr. Bakary also revealed that apart from
funding coming from SIDA, the Tanzania
government, through the Seed fund also
provides some financial support to the
initiative. He also revealed that most of
the clusters have started to exhibit some
improvement. Citing the examples from
mechanical engineering cluster in
Morogoro, Mr. Bakary mentioned that
the
cluster
has
managed
to
manufactures _____ machines and sell
them to Malawi.
(Morogoro), Engineering (Morogoro),
Sea weed (Zanzibar), Grassroots miners
(Tanga), Onion (Iringa), Fruits production
(Iringa),
Mushroom
(Ruvuma),
Mushroom (Pemba), Fisheries (Same),
Fish keeping (Mwanga), Spice (Zanzibar,
Poultry production (Dsm), Gardening
(Dsm) Blacksmith (Dsm), Tourism
(Zanzibar),
Handcrafts
(Zanzibar),
Renewable energy (Dsm), Cooking oil
(Singida), and efforts are being done to
conduct study to find out how many
clusters are available in the country and
find out what kind of support that they
need.
Some of the challenges facing cluster
initiatives include the absence of a
common-shared facility for cluster
members. There is also a problem of the
mass not knowing what the cluster
initiatives is all about. Mr. Bakary called
for
the
District
and
Regional
Commissioners to provide support in
spreading the importance of this
initiative to the public.
Introducing the DTBi to the delegates,
Mr. Mkange Mramba, the Financial
Manager, said that in terms of ICT, the
COSTECH
established
the
Dar
Teknohama business Incubator (DTBI),
with the aim of promoting ICT
innovation for wealth creation.
Mr. Mramba also mentioned that some
social problems that have been solved
using ICT incubation include establishing
a program for enrolling university
students, creating a voting system
suitable even to the disabled, payment
of utility bills and other transactions
through mobile phones, a device for
tracking speed limit, and so on.
Another cluster that is doing very well is
the sea weed cluster in Zanzibar which
through creativity and competitiveness,
the cluster has managed to manufacture
soap, soup, biscuits, flavor, etc. The soap
made through sea weed is believed to
cure lashes, and other skin-related
diseases.
Mr. Mramba also mentioned that the
biggest challenge that the incubatees are
facing is the on how to go about the
procurement procedures. He added,
“Some of the ICT startup companies
cannot sell their products because they
do not have patent. In that case, some
of the software that could be bought in
the country are bought somewhere in
America, Europe or Asia.”
Mr. Bakary mentioned that as of now,
more than fifteen clusters are operating
countrywide which include: Seeds
(Arusha), Tourism (Bagamoyo), Tourism
(Tanga), Mushroom (Kibaha), Rice
(Morogoro), Fruits and vegetables
The SIDA delegation, thanked the
COSTECH and the DTBi staff for their
presentations and promised to continue
providing support as the needs be.
Did you ever know that most people speak at a rate of 120
words per minute, or two words a second? Did you know
that the excitables among us, however, manage to spurt
out between 160 and 195 words per minute? Didi you ever
know that fast talkers can go up to 650 words per minutes?
If you never knew, please read on.
Those fast talking guys rushing off the terms and conditions
at the end of some American radio ads talk at about 300
words per minute. But that is only half the speed that the
real fast talkers achieve. The world record for fastest talking
is more than 600 words per minute, thus slightly more than
10 words per second.
Guys like René Tramoni of France, Steve Woodmore of
England and Sean Shannon of Canada articulate in excess of
600 words per minute. Woodmore held the Guinness
World Record for Fastest Talker at 637 words per minute
until Shannon talked his ears off too at 655 words per
minute. Fran Capo of New York holds the record for the
fastest female talker, at 603 words per minute.
There also are Guinness World Records for fastest
backward talking. David Fuhrer holds the American record
while Steve Briers, a British DJ, holds the world record for
fastest backwards talker.
Steve has the unique talent of being a fluent backwards
talker, with his unique ability to reverse words instantly,
like a new language. For example, ‘Have A Nice Day’
becomes ‘Evah A Ecin Yad.’
As you noticed, these fast talkers mostly are English
speakers. English – the second most spoken language in the
world – has more words in it than any other language but
English speakers generally use only about 1% of the
available one million-plus English words – and use them
mostly in self-talk.
The vocabulary of an English-speaking adult is estimated at
25,000 words and that of teenagers is about 10,000 words.
The total number of English words on the official list of the
Scrabble game is 143,000. And if you’re at a loss for words,
consider that the English Oxford Dictionary contains more
than 200,000 words.
Source: http://didyouknow.org/fast-talkers/
Biotechnology in one form or another has flourished since
prehistorically times. When the first human beings realized
that they could plant their own crops and breed their own
animals, they learned to use biotechnology. The discover
that fruit juices fermented into wine, or that milk could be
converted into cheese or yogurt, or could be made by
fermenting solutions of malt and hops began the study of
biotechnology.
When the first bakers found that they could make soft,
spongy bread rather than a firm, thin cracker, they were
acting as fledgling biotechnologists. The first animal
breeders, realizing that different physical traits could be
either magnified or lost by mating appropriate pairs of
animals, engaged in the manipulations of biotechnology.
What then is biotechnology? The term brings to mind many
different things. Some think of developing new types of
animals. Others dream of almost unlimited sources of
human therapeutic drugs. Still others envision the
possibility of growing crops that are more nutritious and
naturally pest-resistant to feed a rapidly growing world
population. This question elicits almost as many firstthought responses as there are people to whom the
question can be posed.
In its purest form, the term "biotechnology" refers to the
use of living organisms or their products to modify human
health and the human environment. Prehistoric
biotechnologists did this as they used yeast cells to raise
bread dough and to ferment alcoholic beverages, and
bacterial cells to make cheeses and yogurts and as they
bred their strong, productive animals to make even
stronger and more productive offspring.
Throughout human history, we have learned a great deal
about the different organisms that our ancestors used so
effectively. The marked increase in our understanding of
these organisms and their cell products gains us the ability
to control the many functions of various cells and
organisms. Using the techniques of gene splicing
and recombinant DNA technology, we can now actually
combine the genetic elements of two or more living cells.
Functioning lengths of DNA can be taken from one
organism and placed into the cells of another organism. As
a result, for example, we can cause bacterial cells to
produce human molecules. Cows can produce more milk
for the same amount of feed. And we can synthesize
therapeutic molecules that have never before existed.
To be continues on the next issue.
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Source:
http://www.accessexcellence.org/RC/AB/BC/what_is_biotechnology.php
After being granted the permit by
the COSTECH, to conduct his or her
research, a researcher is supposed
to provide reports on progress made
after three months, submit three
copies of the final report
dissertation/theses derived from the
research undertaken in Tanzania,
and any other papers or publications
based on the research done in the
country.
became more fluid. Second, the key
to understanding the Maji Maji war
and its aftermath in Ungoni lies in
the Wangoni’s imagined ethnicity, to
paraphrase Benedict Anderson.
Third, the author provides a
historiography of Ungoni assumes a
dichotomy between Ngoni as a slave
raiding, slave trading, and slave
owning society visa-a-vi sutu,
denoting the Ngoni’s ‘other.’
The researcher is also supposed to
send a copy of publication to the
local advisors appointed to assist
him or her.
Research objectives/goals: The
article is concerned with the
relationships linking violence, power
and social status. The central
concept that runs through this
discussion of the Maji Maji war is
Norma Kriger’s notion of struggles
within the struggle. The article also
shows that military attacks, even
when directed against the colonial
state, might not have been primarily
anticolonial in nature. In fact,
attacks against Germans appear to
have been chiefly motivated by the
goal of removing the frail colonial
monopoly of violence and thus reopening the territory to slave aiding,
and also by personal revenge.
Below is a summary of progress or
annual report received from one of
the researchers who have conducted
research in Tanzania.
Research Title: (Re) Negotiating Maji
Maji: Marginality: The Maji Maji War
and Its Aftermath in Southwestern
Tanzania, ca. 1905 – 1916
Research abstract: This is an article
that
was
published
in
an
International Journal of African
Historical Studies Vol. 43. No. 1
(2010) 27 authored by Heike
Schmidt – Florida State University.
One hundred years ago, various
societies in German East Africa
fought the Maji Maji war, mostly in
the south-western regions of the
colony. The war, which commenced
in July 1905 and in most areas ended
as a military conflict in the following
year, was chiefly directed against
the German colonial presence,
collaborators with the colonial state,
and individuals perceived to be
foreigners, such as coastal traders in
the interior.
The article presents a three-fold
argument. First, despite the severe
hardships experienced by the
majority of the population, the Maji
Maji war and its aftermath also
provided opportunities for some to
renegotiate their position of
marginality as power relations
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Research results/findings:
The
author maintains that despite the
Maji Maji war leading to intensified
suffering of the majority of African
men, women and children, colonial
troops continued to systematically
enslave women and children as war
captives; humiliation at the hands of
soldiers, auxiliaries and their allies
persisted, and now starvation, the
pawning of children into areas
where food was available, and
displacement began to disrupt
society more profoundly – the
disruption that still hold in their
memories by referring to the war as
vita ya Mjerumani, the German war
or as the time of njaa, the great
hunger.
The war also set the Ngoni apart;
especially those who had already
converted to Christianity and those
who had not, as a result, family
members were no longer sailing in
the same boat.
Research recommendation/output:
Ngoni political identity was defined
by a certain understanding of
masculinity. Ngoni masculinity found
two manifestations: (1) the authority
of male elders as descendants of the
great migrant kings, military and civil
leaders, warlords, traffickers in and
providers for women and children;
and (2) the awe of young warriors
and their raw power that could
become Ngoni and acquire elder
status.
The article shows that an
understanding of the experience of
the Maji maji war in Ungoni requires
as approach that differentiates by
gender, age, ethnicity and social
status. Young women and children,
both Ngoni and sutu, were almost
indiscriminately victimized as war
booty, though Ngoni females were
specifically targeted.
According to author, in Ungoni, the
Maji maji war and its aftermath
were times of universal destruction
and suffering, and of changing
power relations. This profoundly, if
temporarily,
challenged
the
authority of the male gerontocracy
when political authority was
renegotiated and the meaning of
age and gender identities was
transformed. In Ngoni itself, there is
still a notable sense of shame among
the descendants of those who were
pawned during the time of famine.
What clearly persist in social
memory are accounts of the Maji
Maji war as a time when those
proud Ngoni warriors were defeated
and shamed, when slaves forced to
drink beer from the skulls of their
fallen comrades.
Fig. 8: Dr. Dugushilu Mafunda (left) speaks to the media personnel (not
pictured) during the Press Conference held at COSTECH to honor Ms.
Flotea Massawe’s outstanding achievements. The Press Conference was
held on November 8th, 2012.
Fig. 9: Eng. Andrew Mnzava (middle), the Physical Scientist at COSTECH
stresses a point during the Workshop organized by Tanzania Renewable
Energy Association on the Tanzania energy policy challenges and the need
for renewable energy policy at the University of Dar es salaam on
November 12th, 2012.
Fig. 10: Mr. Omary Bakary (first right), the Coordinator of the
Nanotechnology platform at COSTECH, airs his views during the
Nanotechnology stakeholders’ meeting held at COSTECH on November
22nd, 2012.
Fig. 11: Dr. Fidelis Myaka, the Director of Research and Development at
the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Coperative speaks on the
role of the ministry towards recognizing the contributions made by
agricultural researchers when our journalist held an interview with him on
November 16th, 2012
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Fig. 12: Mr. Nyandalo Mboyi expresses his good wishes to the members of
the National Research Registration Committee (not pictured), during the
134th NRRC meeting held at COSTECH on November 30th, 2012. Mr. Mboyi
is retiring from his duties as Executive Director of Policy and Planning at
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
Fig. 13: From left-to-right: Conrad Katakweba, Rahma Bashary,
Ramadhani Athuman, Victoria Rutakara, Sarah Makoi together with Damas
Makweba, all from COSTECH, introduce themselves as EMIs and HERIs
exeperts to the rest of the stakeholders during the EMIs and HERIs
stakeholders’ meeting held at the Kunduchi Beach Hotel, Dar es Salaam,
on November 28th, 2012.
Fig. 14: A crosssection of the National Research Registration Committee
(NRRC) members during the 134th NRRC meeting held at COSTECH on
November 30th, 2012.
Fig. 15: A group picture featuring the Tanzania delegation together with
their host during the visit paid by Tanzanians to Burkina Fasso to learn on
how Biotechnology is being utlized in growing cotton (BT Cotton). Photo
courtesy of Michuzi blog.
Upcoming Event
TTA Workshop in Dar es Salaam
Technology Transfer Alliance (TTA) is happy to announce that it will have its very first
Kick-Off Workshop in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, February 2013. The workshop is being
hosted by KTH, Royal Institute of Technology, and sponsored by Spider, the Swedish
Program for ICT in Developing Regions.
The aim of the workshop is to gather key stakeholders from different European and
African universities to:
Present project examples of society driven innovation projects based on societal
needs.
Raise awareness about the reward systems and examination methods for the TTA
course.
Match universities with external stakeholders from the public and private sectors to
generate socioeconomic development projects driven by demand in real-life. The
projects are meant to be the foundation of a future project bank that enables matchmaking between universities and industry.
The workshop will be hosted at Kunduchi Beach Hotel & Resort, at February 26th-28th.
There will be approximately 20-30 different universities and organizations from the
private and public sectors attending the workshop. If you are interested in discussing
new projects for TTA and attend the workshop, please contact us [email protected].
Regards, Ramon Wyss, Vice President of KTH, in cooperation with the KTH-TTA team.
For more information, please visit:
http://ttaportal.org
So, what do you think of this e-Newsletter?
If you have any comments or suggestions on how we can improve
this newsletter, or have any feature story to share, please email
the editor at [email protected]
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