Dr. Susanne Pfenninger

Cooperation with university staff

The cooperation with the lecturers, the staff at NUST and the students was respectfully, encouragingly and very satisfactory. The mutual good and open-minded exchange as well as the flexibility contributed to the success of the assignment.

The students in the 4th year of the course "Environmental Health Practitioners" were taught in the basics of international law, like audits, execution of audits and with an overview of quality management. The theory was deepened with many practical examples. The students had to apply the daily learning step by step in a case study. The task of the case study was to export a product from Namibia to a suitable country somewhere in the world. First, a product had to be selected, the Unique Selling Point (USP) for the product had to be elaborated, two suitable export countries had to be selected, up to the legal requirements that have to be fulfilled for an export.

The students had many creative ideas, were committed and enthusiastic. However, during the process they noticed that not each product idea is always well received in a foreign country. The meaning of the saying "other countries, different customs" or, in this case, different habits, required some adjustments to the original idea.

Memorable Event

The first week is over. In Europe the Corona virus was already on everyone's lips and the number of cases was increasing daily. Namibia had been spared until then. But on Friday 13th March 2020, a poster at the entrance to the Faculty drew attention to hand hygiene. Coincidence, or maybe was the situation in Namibia also becoming more acute and therefore the poster of the Global Handwashing Day on 15 October 2019 was taken out? However, there was reason to discuss the topic of the coronavirus pandemic in Europe in class.

Topics, such as Independence Day, how nice it would be to have some days off from school but also concern for many people in the countryside who cannot be informed about the problem were discussed. - On Saturday, after the first Corona case in Namibia was confirmed, the President announced that the borders would be closed within a few hours and a partial lockdown was planned for the next few weeks.

The NUST was closed for this reason, so it was clear that an earlier return trip to Switzerland would make sense. The Federal Council also asked travellers to return to Switzerland.

Personal Message

I was sorry, that it was not possible to carry out the assignment to the end and that it had to be abandoned in the middle due to the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, the knowledge imparted could not be deepened and the case study could not be accomplished. Saying "goodbye" was not possible as the lockdown was initiated unexpectedly fast.

The many positive reactions of the class via e-mail and the enthusiasm of the students, the collegiality and much more left a positive impression on me. The network was also built up in this short time and, whenever possible, it can be maintained far beyond the borders by means of electronic supplies. This exchange of expertise is an enrichment for me and I hope that many people - whether students or experts- can learn and benefit from the commitment of B360.