Mott MacDonald, the University of Cape Town and the University of Birmingham have recently started Phase 2 of a pioneering ReCAP initiative to establish a Centre for Sub-Saharan Transport Leadership (CSSTL). Whilst the programme generally focuses on rural roads, ReCAP decided to take this broader transport-focused project forward and establish a capacity building education programme that could help develop future generations of transport leaders, with the skills and vision to promote appropriate innovative and sustainable transport strategies across Africa.
It is intended that the CSSTL will recruit enthusiastic mid-career transport professionals from across Sub-Saharan Africa who have the potential to be the future leaders and visionaries; to help shape a better transport focused future for the continent.
After a robust selection process the project team have partnered with Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, Ghana, to host the CSSTL. The team were impressed with the facilities available at KNUST, the Virtual Learning Environment, the learning resources and the digital connectivity of the campus. Another benefit of hosting the CSSTL at KNUST is the opportunity to synergise with the existing Transport Research and Education Centre Kumasi (TRECK), which is a regional centre of excellence in Transportation and Mobility Education and Research and is supported by the World Bank. CSSTL will also collaborate with the very successful Graduate Business School at KNUST to delivery modules related to management, leadership and personal development.
The candidates selected for the course will eventually graduate with an MSc in Transport Leadership. The MSc syllabus is focused on developing technical, leadership and managerial skills and will give graduates a broad appreciation of the many complex issues across the transport sector in the developing world.
The post-graduate degree modules will be delivered as a series of blocks, which blend a one-week session on campus at KNUST with pre- and post-block week assignments. The candidates will also be examined at the end of the one-week block period. The Programme can be delivered either over 18 months full time basis, or part-time, with the required modules taken over a longer time period. This part-time delivery will allow more flexibility for busy professionals fitting this postgraduate qualification in and around their work commitments. Each module will also be offered as a standalone Continuing Professional Development (CPD) course to industry professionals.
In addition to the compulsory leadership and personal development modules, the candidates will be able to select from a range of optional technical engineering-based and non-technical modules, ranging from traditional highway engineering to modules focused on project management, project assessment, project procurement, transport systems and policy, transport safety, transport finance and economics, transport policy and environmental impacts. The students will also complete a research dissertation and will have the unique opportunity to network with peers and colleagues from across the continent and debate their theses with leading international experts. As the CSSTL grows and its reputation is established, it is hoped that it will also become more research active, specialising on the research issues relevant to Sub-Sahara Africa and the developing world.
While the ReCAP programme provides seed funding for the CSSTL for the first two years and are supporting the appointment of two academic staff who will be responsible for managing and delivering the programme, the intention is that following the establishment of the Centre it will eventually be self-sustaining. Support will be sought from the many stakeholders in the Sub-Saharan transport sector both through direct scholarships for students and from research funding.
