Strengthened cooperation with Tanzania

A recent visit from Tanzania to Volda will ensure close cooperation between the VUC Department of Social Work and child welfare institutions in East Africa.

Since 2016, the VUC Department of Social Work has been aided by the organization World Unite (WU) to arrange internships for students in various institutions in Tanzania. The international work placement is an opportunity for final year students in the BA Social Work programme.

This year, the department has allocated 14 placements in Tanzania, and the last week the group of excited students started on their first day of placement at institutions on the island of Zanzibar and in the Kilimanjaro province.

This cooperation means that WU will make practical arrangements with social work institutions in Tanzania and follow up and mentor the students during their placement period abroad. The placement lasts for the majority of the autumn semester. WU also provides an introduction to local cultuer and customs, and provides practical assistance for housing and immigration.

A staff member from VUC will also travel abroad to follow-up on the students during the placement period. They can clearly see how the local know-how and day-to-day monitoring of students from WU is important for the safety and learning outcome for the students.

Visited Volda to strengthen the cooperation

For the first time, one of the local representatives of World Unite in Tanzania had the chance also to visit Volda. The WU Country Coordinator for Tanzania, Adelina Michael, travelled to Western Norway and met with the staff at VUC to share from her experiences with the partnership so far.

Michael sees the students from Volda as knowledgeable, curious and well prepared for their placements abroad. In further meetings with the department, it was discussed what type of preparation and knowledge the students should have prior to departure, what expectations there are for the learning outcomes from student placements and also how to further develop the partnership.

Unique competence

The semester abroad will provide the Norwegian students with a unique insight into Tanzanian culture and provide several layers of understanding. Not only in the field of social work, but also in general about meetings between cultures and the quality of live in various social and societal contexts.

– The knowledge and competences will provide a richer understanding of important concepts such as poverty, equlity and minority rights. These abstract concepts are crucial for the social work sector, says Michael.

Below, social work institutions in Tanzania in the WU network and mutual visits between Volda and Tanzania.

Better equipped for working life

Associate Professors, Ann-Iren Høgalmen and Malene Øvrelid, are responsible for the follow-up of students on placements in Tanzania. They have experienced how students feel better equipped to work in a multicultural setting life after their semester in Tanzania.

– The students come back with a greater understanding of minority groups in Norway, with increased inter-cultural competencies and with more confidence after having faced many challenges and felt the consequences of cultural differences in practice, says Høgalmen and Øvrelid.

PS! Adelina Michael was very impressed by Volda University College and the nature surrounding the campus! The highlight of the stay was the visit to the Western Cape (Stadtlandet) and wading in the Atlantic Ocean at Hoddevika, together with the Dean of the Social Science Faculty Jorunn Sem Fure.