Prowibo’s Summer School Tour: Sierra Leone

Summer is finally upon us, which means that Prowibo’s 2018 summer school programs will be back in session soon. The 2018 Program Cycle is particularly special to us because it will mark the completion of a longstanding goal— an expansion into India. We have secured a partnership with the Karamat Husain Muslim Girls College in Lucknow, India where we will be conducting a two week program at the beginning of August. But wait, there’s more! We have expanded our operations in Sierra Leone through our new partnership with the Institution of Public Administration and Management in Freetown. With all of these incredible expansions, we wanted to give a virtual tour of what we have in store for this summer, so our readers, supporters and donors can share in our excitement for what is going to be a great summer! This is the first of a four part series introducing our 2018 summer schools.

We will begin our tour in  Freetown, Sierra Leone, the home of our pilot summer school program. Here we will  meet two of our partner colleges—Fourah Bay College and the Institution of Public Administration and Management.

Fourah Bay College (FBC) was founded in 1827 in Freetown, Sierra Leone. This historic institution was the first modern higher education institution in sub-Saharan following the decline of Timbuktu. Sometimes referred to as the Athens of West Africa, FBC is an affiliated body of the University of Sierra Leone and offers degrees in the departments of of the Arts, Engineering and Architecture, Pure and Applied Sciences, Social Sciences and Law.

The Institution of Public Administration and Management (IPAM) was founded in 1980 in Freetown, Sierra Leone and, like FBC, it is affiliated with the University of Sierra Leone. IPAM provides students with a well-rounded list of degrees, offering courses in banking and finance, accounting, information systems and technology, business administration, entrepreneurship and governance and leadership. Additionally, IPAM has made strides to democratise higher education in Sierra Leone, by expanding its campus beyond Freetown into the city of Kenema in 2017.

The course catalog will include: “Implementing Community Interventions”, “Peace in Pieces: unpacking decision-making in interventions”,“An Introduction to financial and economic challenges of Africa”. We will also offer workshops on: IT skills and literacy, cover letter and resume building, and interview skills. In addition to our summer school programs, we will be operating a program at a local teaching hospital focusing on the management and containment of infectious diseases. The programs at FBC and IPAM will run from July 22nd to August 5th.