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Training for Inter-University Junior Academic Staff
A programme of research, publications, grants and lectures designed to increase the links between young academics in universities in different parts of Sri Lanka.
Description
The target group of the initiative are the young academics in Sri Lankan universities. So far seven universities including Jaffna, Eastern, South Eastern and Trincomalee which are dominantly Tamil and Muslim universities are involved in this programme, along with three major dominantly Sinhalese universities. It started in 2004 to support postgraduate research on social integration and poverty analysis, and to improve connections between academics living in the North-East and South, and is still actively operating.
The initiative has different components such as research, grants, capacity building programmes, public lectures, etc. This gives the young academics an interest in peace and conflict processes from the beginning of their careers, thereby encouraging them to direct their studies and research towards related issues, and to take a similar approach when teaching their particular subject area.
Aims / Objectives
There is limited interaction and exchange between Sri Lankan universities, since they are divided along ethnic, language and geographical borders. Many young academics remain monolingual and are unable to establish links with universities in other areas. SPARC identified this as a critical issue that requires practical intervention and designed this programme accordingly.
The main objective of the initiative is to build bridges across regional divisions between various academic communities in the country, while simultaneously building capacity in social policy research in Sri Lankan universities.
Therefore it has social integration -improving inter-ethnic communication and interaction between universities - as its main theme, and facilitates this through joint research programmes, publications and grant programmes for young academics from different universities and disciplines.
The programs provide the space and context for the academics to share their knowledge and experience in training programmes, thus establishing connection between universities.
How it is Articulated
The participants were selected through an application process and were guided to develop their research hypothesis. They were provided with workshops on applied field research methodology, data analysis and report writing. An applied field research component was conducted in mixed-ethnic groups.
Furthermore, grants are provided under this programme for related research, as well as capacity building programmes for undergraduates. Public lectures are held for the lecturers as well as by the lecturers. SPARC also publishes selected research data. So far, four such publications by young academics have been made under this programme.
Achievements / Learning Points
This initiative has been able to address the issue of universities being separated along ethnic, linguistic and geographical lines in an effective manner in its first steps, and has been able to provide opportunities for a number of academics drawn from several prominent universities in the country to interact and cooperate. The outcomes of the project are very encouraging and it has become clear that it has the potential to bridge the existing gaps between academic institution as well academic individuals who ordinarily have little or no opportunity for such close collaboration.
The academics who participated in the programme have established course units on peace and conflict processes in their universities as a result. Therefore the undergraduates in universities away from the centre of the country also get the opportunity to study the conflict from an academic perspective.
The Tamil and Muslim academics who came from the Universities of Jaffna, Eastern and South Eastern had the opportunity to experience the difficulties facing a Sinhalese village in a rural area for the first time. This was an important opportunity for them to realise that the economic hardships they experience are similar to the hardships experienced by Sinhalese people in most rural areas. Through these experiences they were able to connect with these villages, forming inter-ethnic bonds.
Programmes of this kind implemented on an ongoing basis will be extremely beneficial in the context of the country’s ethnic conflict and disparities between ethno-linguistic communities.
Due to the contribution this programme made to their lives, participants in previous activities are keen to participate further. However, SPARC faces difficulties in allowing this since the resources we have are limited and because we would like to reach as many individuals as possible with those resources.
Even though present limitations pertaining to resources prevent it, we believe that the impact of the programme would increase if all the universities in Sri Lanka were included in it. Therefore, we would like to find ways to incorporate all universities into this programme in the future.
Geographical area of operation
Island-wide.
Funding resources
GTZ (German Technical Cooperation)
Associated Organisations
Other universities, resource persons from different organisations, NGOs and INGOs.