Volunteer Opportunity
Instructional Skills Workshop: Training of Facilitators and Trainers
Academics Without Borders (AWB) is a Canadian nonprofit organization. Its mission is to help low and middle-income countries improve their universities and colleges so that they can train their own experts and conduct research to promote their countries’ development.
AWB’s projects are involved in the full range of university and college activities from expanding and improving existing institutions and programs to helping create new ones. AWB fulfills its mission by sending volunteers on projects that originate in and are owned by developing world institutions. AWB volunteers are reimbursed for their expenses but are not paid a salary.
Volunteer Opportunity Reference: Enhancing Learner-Centred Pedagogical Skills of Faculty Members
Number of Volunteers: 1 volunteer needed
Partner Organization: Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (UBIDS), Ghana
Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (UBIDS) was founded in 2019. The University has eight faculties, including Integrated Development Studies, Planning, and Land Management; Education and LifeLong Learning; Social Sciences and Arts; Information and Communication Technology; Public Policy and Governance; School of Business; and School of Law. UBIDS has more than 7,500 full-time undergraduate and graduate students, 235 members of faculty, and 145 non-academic staff.
Location: Wa, Ghana. This project will be conducted both online and on-site.
Language: English
Volunteer Role Description:
UBIDS is committed to institutionalizing a learner-centred teaching approach by shifting from a lecture-based model to an interactive, student-centred methodology. In partnership with AWB, UBIDS seeks a volunteer to facilitate the Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) for selected UBIDS faculty members across the University. The trained facilitators will, in turn, train their colleagues, ensuring ongoing professional development across all faculties.
One AWB volunteer, an ISW/FDW facilitator, has already been identified for the project. The AWB volunteers will lead both online and face-to-face sessions covering lesson planning, learning outcomes, pre-assessments, and participatory teaching strategies.
The project will begin with remote collaboration, where the volunteers will train facilitators on ISW concepts and procedures. This will be followed by a two-week working visit, during which the volunteers will facilitate supervised ISW teaching and training for facilitators and train a select group of facilitators to become ISW trainers.
Requirements:
We are looking for an experienced ISW/FDW facilitator (working or retired). Applicants should have excellent interpersonal, communication and facilitation skills and be excited about the role
of higher education in global development. Those with experience working in academic settings in low and middle-income countries are especially encouraged to apply.
Start Date and Duration:
The volunteer must be available to travel to Ghana from June 24 to July 7, 2025. Prior to those dates, meetings will take place online.
Applications:
Please send to Corrie Young, cyoung@awb-usf.org:
- Your CV, including your contact information
- A statement of your motivation in seeking the position
- Two (2) letters of reference – please either include the letters of reference with your application package or have them sent separately to Corrie Young, Associate Executive
Director – Projects & Network, cyoung@awb-usf.org, by the application deadline.
Deadline: Monday, March 31st, 2025