– Youth unemployment is a major problem in South Africa. A central reason for this is that education does not meet the needs of professional life.
One of the companies involved in the project is Sandvik, which produces underground drilling solutions for mines. The use of this machinery requires a high level of expertise, and Sandvik trains the local maintenance staff in the use of the drill rigs.
– We aim to transfer this technical expertise to individuals operating in South Africa and the local culture, says Senior Advisor Jari Kymäläinen from Sandvik.
In the project, Finnish and South African researchers embarked on redesigning education together with businesses. In addition to the mining industry, key collaboration targets included training in the construction industry and in the fields of water supply and digitalisation.
The collaboration resulted in new forms of teaching and studying, such as the utilisation of simulations.
In Sandvik’s case, researchers at the local university assessed the company’s training practices and interviewed both the training providers and the participants. After the assessment, Sandvik organised a new intensive training period for the local staff.
– Intensive interaction boosted dialogue and trust. Unlike in the local workplace culture, the project allowed our local staff also to courageously provide us with constructive feedback, says Kymäläinen.
Hannele Niemi too emphasises the importance of trust.
– You don’t engage in collaboration through emails in Africa: instead, you first have to create a foundation of personal contact to build cooperation.
The Digital Academies in Africa project included five Finnish companies. In addition to business collaboration, it provided new research-based knowledge and brought together researchers and businesses from Finland and South Africa. The collaboration has resulted in publication of the research results as well as dozens of articles.
An important part of the project was a longer visit by six South African researchers to Finland as well as visits and data collection in South Africa by researchers from the University of Helsinki. The results were presented at two major national conferences in Pretoria.
– The project was a huge learning experience for all participants and an excellent opportunity to explore new cultural and operating environments. We learned how researchers can contribute to the development of new skills through education, Niemi sums up.
For Sandvik, long active in South Africa, research collaboration and training development brought new credibility locally.
– Investment in training paid off, since our South African customers now trust our staff in a completely new way, says Kymäläinen.