Work Package 5: Knowledge Hubs
Work Package 5 (WP5) aims at setting up knowledge hubs in target countries to uptake training activities and support on WP, develop a MOOC on water productivity, and to integrate water productivity related topics in research projects and curriculums run by academia in target countries. WP5 has cross-cutting objectives supporting other work packages, specifically by developing open access training materials facilitating usage of WaPOR datasets by different stake holders – Irrigation/land managers (WP1), developers in the agri-business sector (WP2), policy makers/practitioners (WP3) and donors/partners (WP4). In addition, WP5 aims to increase the reach of the water productivity based assessments by developing knowledge hubs, specialized curriculums, a MOOC, and training materials in partnership with academic institutes in the south and will include additional uptake activities to disseminate the developed materials.
WP5 contributes to other work packages of the project in two ways – i) developing the training materials which support the proposed activities in other work packages and ii) developing webinars to showcase the outputs/case studies from other work packages. The training materials on analytical skills to estimate water productivity will support the activities in WP1 and proposed service hubs in WP2. This will be also made demand driven based on the inputs from project partners if there is need of having these materials on particular topics which will support their activities. Webinars on topics supporting WP3 on assisting national policies and WP4 on international upscaling will be developed.
Activities and Outputs
MOOC on Water Productivity in Practice
A massive open online course (MOOC) on water productivity in practice is now available, teaching the fundamentals of water productivity analyses and indicators and showing how they can be applied. Find out more here
Establishment of Knowledge Hubs
The WaterPIP project is partnering with knowledge institutes across Africa to develop Knowledge Hubs for water productivity. The WaterPIP knowledge hubs are:
- Jomo Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya
- Ethiopian Construction Design and Supervision Works Corporation (ECDSWCo), Ethiopia
- Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
The knowledge hubs will act as regional centres in providing trainings as part of uptake and dissemination of WaPOR based analysis for monitoring water use and water productivity. The major functions of the knowledge hubs are to train the water and agriculture professionals, students at bachelor’s and master’s level and to promote the education materials developed as part of WaterPIP project. The regional presence will help to reach the uptake activities to the maximum end users in the region. The Knowledge hubs aim to work in partnership with academia in the region to integrate these topics in the curriculum for better outreach and nurturing future professionals using these tools. By the end of project, the goal is that these knowledge hubs will be self-sustaining in delivering specialized training materials and programs related to WP and data initiatives like WaPOR.
Training of Trainers
One of the goals of the Knowledge Hubs is to create centers where local professionals can teach others. In order to do this, the WaterPIP project is conducting a "trainer of trainers" programme, where local experts in a variety of specialties, including remote sensing and agriculture, are provided detailed training on the following topics, so they can then teach them to others in their region:
- ToT1: Spatial analysis for agricultural applications using open source tools
- ToT2: WaPOR-based Water Productivity (WP) Analysis –Part 1
- ToT3: WaPOR-based Water Productivity (WP) Analysis –Part 2