TOKTEN volunteers engaging with university students across Sudan

Fifteen TOKTEN volunteers gathered in Sharja Hall on January 4th 2012 to discuss how the UNDP’s project Transfer of Knowledge Through Expatriate Nationals (TOKTEN) can adapt to meet the needs of the changing economy of the 21st century. The roundtable discussion assed current efforts bridge the gap between curriculums taught at universities and actual market needs in Sudan.

Representatives from several Sudanese universities, the Higher Council for Employing Youth and the private sector participated in the workshop where they highlighted challenges faced by young graduates such as limited work opportunities and absence of sufficient training.

Emphasizing that the Ministry of Human Resources current policy is to encourage entrepreneurship, Manager of the business development unit, graduate national fund at the Ministry of Human Resources Development Ms. Sally Abdelmoiz called for the need to develop relevant skills of micro financing of young graduates to enable them to start their own businesses, given the lack of adequate jobs.

TOKTEN volunteer Mr. Dia Al-Din Al-Naeim commended Sudanese graduates’ research work in Sudan despite limited resources available to them. “The most important thing that we have in Sudan is manpower and I was impressed with the caliber of some of the new graduates. I wish to thank UNDP for providing the opportunity to interact with Sudanese students fin order he world’s latest technology and adapt it to be context of the local context.

The TOKTEN project aims to support national capacity building of Sudanese institutions in various development sectors, through the transfer of knowledge of professional Sudanese by facilitating their return to Sudan to share their expertise with their compatriots. This provides an invaluable, efficient, and sustained input to the humanitarian, peace and development efforts to rebuild Sudan, while capitalizing on Sudan’s own human resources. To date more than 59 volunteers have taken part and provided institutional capacity building support for some 90 government institutions, universities, and private sectors in North and South Sudan, in addition to directly supporting 50 national and state government institutions, universities and research institutions, private sector organizations, and NGOs in Northern and SouthernSudan. TOKTEN has trained and built the capacity of more than 2,556 personnel from 66 national and state government institutions, universities and research institutions, private sector organizations, and NGOs across Sudan.

Trainings included governance and rule of law; HIV/AIDS and health sector; food security; basic and higher education; public administration and governance; sustainable environmental conservation; economic development; micro finance development; geographic information system; media professional training; and public administration and project management.