PhD Training Week in Dar es Salaam, 9-14 March, 2015

by Mikael Hard

INVITATION

Is Small Sustainable?
Decentralizing Infrastructures and Utility Systems in East Africa

Interdisciplinary PhD Training Week, 9-14 March, 2015

In East African countries, large technical, centralized infrastructure systems are part of the colonial heritage. Despite the differences between the Global South and the North, planners still try to implement European models and ideals: large-scale energy utilities, centralized water, sanitation, and transport systems. However, during the last decades these models have come under attack. Considering the different ecological, spatial, social, economic and political conditions of the Global South, actors have begun to ask if the northern models are truly appropriate. At the same time, the sustainability of the high-modernist paradigm is also being questioned in the Global North.

Scholars from different disciplines, as well as planners, engineers and product designers have accompanied and supported these changes towards small-scale, decentralized, and user-driven solutions. In this process, they have also developed an interest in the specific characteristics of existing infrastructures systems in East Africa and sustainable solutions which challenge the paradigm of centralized infrastructure systems. The interdisciplinary PhD training week addresses this situation by critically analyzing alternative infrastructure systems in East Africa and by reflecting the design of sustainable solutions.

The aims of the PhD Training Week are to

• promote an exchange between European and African young and senior researchers working on infrastructure systems in East Africa with a focus on energy and water supply as well as waste water management and transportation
• encourage interdisciplinary and international research collaboration, as well as to include the experiences and needs of practical actors and users in the field

Objectives

The objectives are to provide the participants with:

• an overview of the multidimensionality and complexity involved in the  planning, analysis, and design of infrastructure systems,
• insights into existing theoretical and methodological approaches, thus enabling them to critically reflect over and possibly modify their own approaches,
• an interactive environment in which individual research topics are presented to and discussed with other participants and the lecturers,
• the possibility of individual consulting with single senior researchers regarding conceptual and methodological questions.

Program

This PhD course includes multidisciplinary lectures that frame the research field, specialized sessions in smaller groups, and individual consulting. All participants are expected to present parts of their research project in one of the thematic workshops. The organizers have planned a number of conceptual and methodological sessions. The topics of the various working groups may easily be modified according to the needs and interests of the participants. The last day is set off for an exciting excursion to sites of thematic relevance.

The conceptual and methodological sessions cover the following topics:

• Beyond the Networked city? Infrastructure Development and Planning in African Cities
• The Situational Character of Technological Change
• The User as Co-producer of Socio-technical Systems
• Product Service Systems as a Concept for Embedded Technology
• Participatory Approaches for Planning and Designing Community-oriented Infrastructures
• Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis
• Environmental Aspects of Infrastructure Planning: An Overview of Assessment Methods
• Bioenergy Technologies

Dates and Venue

• March 9th – 14th, 2015, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
• Deadline for application:  October 14th, 2014  
• Latest notification of acceptance:  November 30th, 2014

Prerequisites

• The PhD training week is suitable for PhD students, doctoral candidates, and postdocs who are planning a research topic in the field of analysis and/or design of infrastructure systems in East Africa, have formulated clear research questions and theses, taken preliminary decisions on appropriate methods, and developed a detailed work-plan. All participants receive a certificate for active participation at the event.

Conditions of Participation

• The course runs for one week and has to be attended the whole time. Course language is English. The number of participants is limited to 35, and we aim for a good mixture of European and African researchers. All participants are staying together in a reserved guest house during the whole week.  In case of over-subscription, the participants are selected by the organizers. Participants are responsible for organizing their trip to Tanzania and clarify the necessity for a visa on their own.

Fee

• The total fee including full-board accommodation is  600 Euros for scholars at European universities and 200 Euro for scholars at African universities. It covers accommodation and meals during the whole week, the excursion, daily transport, handouts, and supply of background material via the website. Costs of traveling to Dar es Salaam and insurance are not included.

Application 

Please use the form on the website (www.tu-berlin.de/ztg/microenergysystems) for your application and fill in the following information:

• Two pages about your research topic, including central research question, theoretical background, choice of methods, and expected results
• Your affiliation and the PhD supervisor
• Your main interest in and motivation to take part in the Training Week
• You will be notified by email no later than November 30th, 2014. At that point we will also send further details about payment formalities, the program, the venue, etc. The acceptance for the conference is only valid when the fee has been transferred.

Organizing Institutions and Lecturers

The PhD school is jointly organized by the PhD Programs “Microenergy Systems” (TU Berlin) and “Urban Infrastructures in Transition: The Case of African Cities” (TU Darmstadt). Both programs are financed by the Hans Böckler Foundation. In Tanzania the organization has been supported by various Tanzanian universities and organisations.

Course Leaders (contact for questions and the application files):

• Prof. Dr. Dr. Martina Schäfer, Center for Technology and Society, Technische Universität Berlin, schaefer@ztg.tu-berlin.de
• Prof. Dr. Mikael Hård, Institute of History, Technische Universität Darmstadt,
  hard@ifs.tu-darmstadt.de

Lecturers:

• Prof. Dr. Mikael Hard, Institute of History, TU Darmstadt
• Dipl.-Ing. Noara Kebir, microenergy international
• Prof. Dr. Wilbard Kombe, Urban Land Management, Ardhi University, Dar es Salaam
• Prof. Alphonse Kyessi, Ardhi University, Dar es Salaam
• Prof. Dr, Yusuf Lawi, Environmental History, University of Dar es Salaam
• Prof. Dr. Jochen Monstadt, Spatial and Infrastructural Planning, TU Darmstadt
• Prof. Dr. Hassan Rajabu, Engineering, University of Dar Es Salam
• Prof. Dr. Susanne Rotter, Ressource Management, TU Berlin
• Prof. Dr. Dr. Martina Schäfer, Center for Technology and Society, TU Berlin
• Dr. Lisa Scholten, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag)
• Dr. Huruma L. Sigalla, Sociology and Anthropology, the University of Dar es Salaam