Gregory
Cowan, an Australian architect and educator from London, has been selected as
VSO volunteer 'Architecture Teacher Trainer' to be posted in the Mongolian
capital, Ulaanbataar. He will be supporting and developing architectural
teaching and training at the Construction
Technology College.
This
architectural education project is intended to support the Mongolian college's
aims in improving professional built environment education, reinforcing cultural
development to inprove sustainable livelihoods. Gregory expects to find it
challenging but rewarding to work in architectural education and training in
the context of international development in Mongolia.
A new
volunteer placement has been created to support development of an architecture
course in a small technology college in collaboration with local construction
training projects. There is an identified skills shortage in construction
design and the post aims to help teaching staff change this.
Gregory
will teach in English and German until he can grasp sufficient Mongolian. While
in Mongolia he also hopes to improve his understanding of Mongolia's nomadic
architecture and culture.
"Although
I will be teaching, there will be a great deal that I can learn and carry with
me in future. Mongolia is economically very poor, and is low on the Human
Development Index, and yet Mongolia rates above both the UK and
Australia in terms of human well-being relative to its ecological footprint: see this link."
Gregory Cowan has been selected to work with Voluntary
Service Overseas, a leading development charity with almost 1,500 skilled
professionals currently working in over 34 countries. VSO's unique approach to international development is founded on volunteers, working
together and with local communities to fight poverty and achieve lasting change. (www.vso.org)
Gregory
will travel to the Mongolian Capital, Ulaanbaator in August, to work as Architecture Teacher Trainer at the independent Construction
Technology College, БАРИЛГЫН
ТЕХНОЛОГИЙН
КОЛЛЕЖ (www.ctc.edu.mn).
Mongolia
is a developing country where forty percent of the country’s population of 2.7
million people currently live below the poverty line. Thirty-four percent of
the population depend directly on livestock for their livelihoods, and a
further twenty six percent is indirectly dependent upon livestock. With 33
million domestic animals, Mongolia is known as a “land of livestock”; most of
the population are traditional nomadic herders. Large sections of the
population today continue to live in the Ger, the traditional felt circular
dwelling of choice in Mongolia for more than 1,000 years.
The
country is rich in minerals such as oil, coal and gas, and while mining is
hugely important to the economy, recent development in the industry has created
significant environmental damage. The environmental movement in Mongolia has
appeared in the world media in April 2007 with the award of the world’s biggest
environmental prize to Tsetsegee Munkhbayar, who inspired the formation of the
Mongolia Nature Protection Coalition.
The Goldman Environmental Prize is the world’s biggest accolade for
grassroots environmental activists.
Rural communities in Mongolia are undergoing massive change in the
country’s transition from a centralized command economy to a market
economy. Many state-owned
factories have closed, with losses of jobs and poor moving back to the land,
further stretching the already depleted resources of the countryside. The work of Munkhbayar has increased
the profile of a movement to restore the vitally important Onngi river. (www.goldmanprize.org)
Contact gregory@cowan.com
Gregory Cowan
VSO Mongolia Programme Office
PO Box 678
Ulaanbaatar –13
Mongolia
VSO Mongolia decided to establish a partnership with the Construction Technology College because this organisation has been contributing to education of the young people and gradually to improvement of their livelihoods which meet the Education programme focus on “the support of the improvement of teacher training quality at both pre-service and in-service level” and Secure livelihoods programme which focuses on “providing inclusive and relevant services to target groups”.
The CTC is located in the peri-urban district of Ulaanbaatar where there is a high unemployment rate. Moreover, most of the students at the college come from low-income i.e. disadvantaged group.
The desired outcomes of the partnerships are:
· The teachers at the college will be retrained and their knowledge upgraded.
· The teachers at the college will have better teaching skills as a result of co-teaching with and learning from the volunteer
· The teachers’ confidence will grow and they will be more capable to organise more mobile training in the countryside on their own
· The partnership of the college with the relevant organisations will become more sustainable through the training courses and workshops organized by the volunteer
The CTC has successfully organised a number of
training courses for unemployed young people living in the countryside with the
support of the Employment office of Mongolia. Within a period of one year
(2003-2004) the college training centre organised training sessions in
different construction professions such as welder, bricklayer, plumber and
involved a total of 1146 unemployed people and assisted over 80% of the
participants to find workplaces in construction companies. The training centre
at the college plans to organize more training sessions of similar kind. During
the last few years the construction sector has been developing rapidly in
Mongolia and there is a growing need for well-educated, skilful professional
workers to work in this sector. Following the rapid development of the
construction sector new technologies and machinery, equipment and materials
have been introduced and used to improve the quality and the look of buildings.
Therefore, it is necessary for teachers who train the professional workers to
upgrade their knowledge and experience to meet the demands of the market and
the learners.
The college needs a volunteer because:
· It costs a lot to enrol teachers of the college in various training courses and to co-work with other international agencies
· It is hard to find highly qualified trainers of teachers in construction development area
· There is a high demand for graphics design professionals on the market
The volunteer will play an important role in the
fulfilment of the objectives of VSO’s partnership with the college by
performing his/her duties outlined properly. The volunteer will closely work
with the staff of the organisation, discuss and set the objectives make plans
and evaluate their achievements together with the staff on a regular basis and
contribute to a future long-term successful partnership with the organisation.
Moreover, the volunteer is expected to encourage the employers to participate
in various activities and events targeted at partnership development organised
by VSO.
In June 2001 the first
“business partnership” conference of managers of the construction companies
that use techniques, equipment, technology and raw materials imported from
developed European countries was held in Ulaanbaatar. During the conference
participants emphasised the negative impacts of the shortage of construction
professionals on the development of the construction sector in Mongolia.
Following the conference a training centre was established to conduct short-term
vocational courses in construction. Gradually this centre expanded and in 2004
it was restructured and the present Construction Technology College was set up.
The college is the
first and the only private vocational training college and it offers bachelor
degree courses to prepare professional architects, construction engineers and
plumbing engineers, graphic designer etc and vocational training courses in
professions such as decorator, bricklayer, plumber, electrician and welder. The
college assists its graduates to find workplaces in the partnering companies as
well as other construction companies.
In 2004 the college was
accredited by the Employment Office of Mongolia and was entitled to conduct
‘mobile’ vocational training courses for unemployed people not only in
Ulaanbaatar but also in the countryside. The training courses have been funded
by the Employment Support Fund.
The college has 12 full-time teachers. 80,1% of the teaching
staff has Bachelor or Masters degrees.
Construction Technology College (Placement
Reference: MN407/2/1)
The
college building has 10 classrooms and 5 workshops equipped with necessary
machines and equipment. There is also a teaching staff room.
In January
2004 the college invested 98.7 million togrogs (£1= 2165 togrogs) in
the
school building repair work. Other facilities include 12 white and blackboards,
1 projector, 30 computers, and 2 printers. The college has got quite a rich
resource of textbooks, manuals and visual aids. There are 15 bases for
practical training at the partnering enterprises. Materials for running
workshops are available locally (e.g. stationery) and handouts etc. can be
produced in the college.
There is
limited internet access in the college that can be accessed on request by the
volunteer. However, there are Internet cafes nearby in the city.
The
volunteer will be accommodated in a one-room flat with a kitchen and a
bathroom. The flat is connected to
the central heating, cold and hot water supply and the central electricity
supply. The flat will be located close to the college in the 21st micro-district, in Songinokhairkhan
district. The utility costs and the rent will be paid by the college.
Description of the role:
· The teachers at the college will be retrained and their knowledge upgraded.
· To have an architectural background
and to have worked on different architect projects
· To be able to use AutoCAD software
· To have knowledge and experiences of
teaching architect courses
Other
useful skills:
· To be able to communicate either in
English or German
· To be able to meet the learning
needs of the students and teachers
The
volunteer will work with a resource-poor organisation and practical,
cost-effective solutions to their problems will be welcomed (practical problem
solving ability). The volunteer should be a sociable, flexible person, with
good communication skills, who is able to adapt to different situations easily
The volunteer is expected to:
· Organise workshops for teachers of
the college to improve and upgrade their knowledge and skills
· Teach an architect course students
who are studying to be architects
· To give advice to the partnering
organisations of the college.
· The volunteer should be able to encourage
students and teachers to improve their English.
Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar Location Information (VSO – notes, September
2005)
Ulaanbaatar (the capital of Mongolia) has a small city centre with grand
Soviet-style public buildings and many rather drab apartment blocks. Suburbs of
thousands of gers (traditional Mongolian round felt tents) spread up
into the nearby hills, which are sparsely forested and rocky. Although around 1
million people live in Ulaanbaatar, it seems a lot smaller because you can see
the hills from everywhere in the city. The climate in Mongolia is harsh but
predictable, with temperature swings of up to 80ºC between summer maximums and
winter minimums. The coldest month is January, the hottest is July. Winters are
long: it starts to get cold in October and is well below freezing (average
-15/-20 degrees Celsius) from November until February. There is not a lot of
snow, just enough to dust the hills, but rivers are frozen solid. The dry
atmosphere makes it easier to cope with the cold – with lots of layers and warm
boots - and the constant, brilliant sunshine makes a big difference (it is
almost always sunny). Walking around town in winter can be treacherous, though
– bring boots with rubber soles to grip on the ice.
Summers are wonderful, especially in the surrounding countryside, as
suddenly everything turns green and the hills are carpeted with wild flowers.
Summers are generally warm, with some very hot spells and frequent rain in July
and August. Mid-summer days are as hot as +38°C – bring sunscreen and mosquito
repellent as well as winter woollies. Spring is the strangest season – windy
and wet one day, balmy and mild the next, with sudden dust storms from the Gobi
Desert. Autumn is the prettiest season (though short) as all the larch trees
turn vivid yellow and the days are clear and mild.
Markets- There are two large food markets just west of the VSO Programme
Office, and smaller markets are all over the city, all with a wide array of
products. There is now plenty of food available in Ulaanbaatar, including lots
of seasonal fresh fruit and vegetables, though with more variety in summer than
in winter. Protein substitutes for meat are expensive (though available), as
are imported goods. But if you’ve got a craving there’s Pringles crisps,
Nutella chocolate spread, Maryland cookies, olives, Heinz tomato ketchup,
Tesco’s tinned fruit cocktail, German chocolates, pickled mussels … There is
also a large market (the Black Market) in the east of UB which sells clothing,
household goods, and pretty much anything you can think of.
Shops- The city is peppered with small shops, and supermarkets most of
which have opened within the last two years. Larger shops tend to be divided
into small stalls, owned and operated separately. There is one State Department
Store. It is easy to buy clothes, toiletries and electronic goods in
Ulaanbaatar, though the range is limited, and clothes and shoes in larger sizes
(i.e. ‘medium’ and above) are harder to find. It is possible to buy fabric and
have existing garments copied by a local seamstress.
Transport- The bus service in Ulaanbaatar is cheap and regular. However
the buses don’t follow certain timetables. There are microbuses that take
people to their destinations fastest although some of them are not quite safe.
Buses are extremely crowded at peak times, however, and often harbour deft
pickpockets. Most people prefer to walk around the city centre, and there is
now a fleet of yellow City Taxis and that can be flagged down or pre-booked.
Ulaanbaatar is on the Trans-Siberian railway, 30 hours from Beijing and 5 days
from Moscow. Internal flights are neither cheap nor regular but they are a good
way to get to the far flung reaches of the country in the summer. Rural
transport consists of Russian jeeps, lorries (carrying goods, livestock and
often passengers) plus post-trucks, motorbikes and horses.
Communications- Volunteers should use the Programme Office address for
their mail until we can give you a copy of your employer’s address in Cyrillic
script. Telephone calls can be made and faxes sent from main Post Offices 24
hours a day, and from the VSO Programme Office two days a week. E-mails can be
received (but not sent) at the VSO Programme Office. There are now lots of
Internet cafes and other places in Ulaanbaatar that have public e-mail
facilities. There are also pre-paid international calling cards available.
Leisure- Ulaanbaatar is an increasingly cosmopolitan place, with plenty
to do and new bars and restaurants springing up all the time. Walking in the
nearby hills is a popular activity, as are picnics, camping and horse-riding.
During the depths of winter, people tend to socialise in each other’s houses.
There is an Opera House and a Drama Theatre, which have regular
performances, plus a couple of English language cinemas, and a bowling alley
and a ski resort.
The CTC college is located in a peri-urban district where there is less
apartment blocks but ger districts.
There are few bus lines that go to that direction. It takes about 30
minutes to get the location by bus and may be longer when there is a traffic
jam during peak hours. There are not many big supermarkets in that area but
there are many small shops where you can buy everyday food and toiletries at
quite a reasonable price.
Links
Mongolia Photos www.flickr.com/photos/dumell/sets/680082/
www.flickr.com/photos/the-nomad-within/287711285/
Travel
www.ub-mongolia.mn/