At the digital kick-off workshop for the Tunisian-German cooperation project "SmartHeads" from 15 to 16 December 2020, scientists and industry partners discussed joint project goals and future activities via Zoom.
The first kick-off workshop of the Tunisian-German cooperation project SmartHeads took place virtually from 15 to 16 December 2020. Project manager Prof Dr Faouzi Derbel from the Faculty of Engineering at HTWK Leipzig and Prof Adel Ghazel from SUP'COM at the University of Carthage (Tunis, Tunisia) discussed further cooperation, joint project goals and future activities with potential industrial partners from Germany and Tunisia in a Zoom meeting.
Project objective
The aim of the cooperation project"Symbiosismethodsfor Automotiveand Digitalization Sectorsin Tunisiabetween highereducationand industry for advancedlabour market-orientation of graduates", or "SmartHeads" for short, is to investigate, initiate and implement measures to build and intensify industrial influence on the higher education structure in Tunisia through cooperation and knowledge transfer.
"By closing the gap between the more theoretical university education and the practice-oriented industry, the project ensures that the education at the universities better meets the requirements and developments of the labour market and ultimately leads to a strengthening of Tunisia as a business location in general," emphasises Prof. Dr.-Ing.
Virtual kick-off meeting
At the beginning of the virtual kick-off workshop, Prof Derbel and Prof Ghazel presented the objectives and agenda of the "SmartHeads" project and the two industrial partners Leesys - Leipzig Electronic Systems GmbH and Wevioo (Tunisia).
In the subsequent discussion rounds with other interested industrial partners from Germany, Tunisia, France and Canada, the wide gap between the requirements of the Tunisian labour market for university graduates and the actual skills acquired at university was discussed.
As a result of these discussions, the organisers formulated recommendations on how they would like to structure future courses at the partner university in Tunis in terms of content and practice in order to close this gap. These include the targeted involvement of industry partners through practical research projects, the establishment of research competitions, further exchange projects with German and Tunisian students and more hands-on courses.
"The kick-off meeting has laid the foundation for further successful project work," emphasises M. Sc. Florian Strakosch, organiser of the workshop and coordinator of the measures.
DAAD funding
"SmartHeads" is being implemented as part of the DAAD programme "Practical Partnerships between Universities and Companies in Germany and Developing Countries", which promotes the development of courses that are relevant to the labour market and practice-oriented, in line with the local context and the state of the art.
