Career Service

Career Services Unit at PAUWES is a comprehensive career counseling and resource center designed to engage students as active participants in their career development from their very first day at PAUWES through alumni.

The central purpose of Career Services is to support PAUWES students in their transition from students to change makers as well as become a trusted partner to a diverse and strong network of employers and preparing them to pursue meaningful careers and lives so they can make their own unique marks on Africa and the world.

PAUWES Career Services helps students explore possibilities and develop a powerful personal brand. Empower students to be employed in public, private and academic sectors in relevant jobs in the areas of Water, Energy and Climate Change or start their own enterprises upon graduating.

We intensively make use of our employers, alumni and faculty network to facilitate meaningful partnerships that position students for success in their careers and their communities.

At PAUWES Career Services :

We believe that PAUWES offers graduate students access to leading academic research and the latest theoretical and hands-on training in areas vital to the future of African development  water, energy and the challenge of climate change.

We believe that secure water supply and innovative energy sources are of vital importance for the future of sustainable growth on the African continent, PAUWES is seeking to train a new generation of highly educated, well-trained students, who are committed to this goal.

We believe in PAUWES students and alumni and in their potential to have successful, fulfilling careers and to have the capabilities to be change makers for a better Africa.

We believe that PAUWES Competencies Framework based on Curricula and Extra Curricula activities provides students with the knowledge, skills and hand-on experiences to succeed in a continually changing workplace.

We believe that our main partners: employers, alumni and faculty provide meaningful experiences, academic and industry knowledge that can help us to enhance and update our curriculum and strengthen PAUWES professional network of public, private and civil society actors.

We believe  that science and technology are essential for the rapid development of Africa and that policy issues are a key element for the training of intelligent young Africans leaders in fields of key importance to African development.

AU’s Agenda 2063 We are committed to the AU’s Agenda 2063, with the vision of “An integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in international arena.”  Agenda 2063 foresees, among other aspirations, two which are especially relevant to PAUWES graduates:

• A Prosperous Africa, based on inclusive growth and sustainable development
• An Africa whose development is people driven, relying on the potential offered by people, especially its women and youth and caring for children

PAUWES graduates can also play a role in helping to respond to the AU draft Climate Change Strategy which identifies 4 thematic pillars underpinning its strategy:

• Climate Change Governance
• Promotion of research, education, awareness raising and advocacy
• Mainstreaming and integrating climate change imperatives in planning, budgeting, and development processes

UN Sustainable Development Goals: SDGs are an important global framework that help to focus the world’s attention on areas which are essential to human progress.  Many SDGs are most closely aligned to the work that PAUWES students and alumni can take up:

• SDG 4 – Inclusive and equitable quality education with lifelong learning opportunities
• SDG 6 – Availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
• SDG 7 – Access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all
• SDG 9 – Resilient infrastructure, inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation
• SDG 11 – Cities and human settlements which are inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable
• SDG 12 – Sustainable consumption and production patterns
• SDG 13 – Urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
• Indirectly SDG5 – Gender Equality (by promoting women in engineering through various incentives)

AFDB Hi5s: The African Development Bank has identified 5 priority areas to focus on, which include ‘Light up & power Africa’ which PAUWES work is directly relevant to.

• Light up and power Africa - to help the continent achieve universal electricity access by 2025 with a strong focus on encouraging clean and renewable energy solutions
• Feed Africa - to make Africa a net food exporter by 2025
• Industrialize Africa - is to help double the industrial GDP by 2025, and by so doing help increase its industrial GDP to US $1.72 trillion, with overall GDP increasing to US $5.6 trillion, mainly by giving the private sector the means to effectively drive the industrialization process on the continent
• Integrate Africa – cutting across the other high 5s, targeting both “hard” and “soft” infrastructure including regional markets, regional infrastructure, cross-border investments, trade barriers, quality and certification standards and others.
• Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa - is to ensure that Africa’s demographic growth yields significant economic dividends and contributes to inclusive growth

CV Clinic service is offered to all PAUWES students, available every Monday afternoon at Career Services office, it’s a “walk in” service.

We will help you to answer these kinds of questions regarding your CV:

• Standard or Creative CV?
• Does it look attractive at first glance?
• Would an employer want to read it?
• Does it fit on to one, two full pages or more?
• Has it been checked for accurate and consistent grammar and spelling?
• Are fonts (type and size) consistent and not too small?
• Is the layout well balanced, with effective use of space, using the full width of the page?
• Broadly speaking, does the most relevant information occupy the most space?
• Are dates reverse chronological if you are using this type of format?
• Have you quantified your achievements?
• Have you checked for gaps in your history?

We also offer help and advice for cover letters.

Curriculum review workshop with Practionners

PAUWES organized a workshop with practionners coming from various industries and African institutions and also alumni to understand and specify the skills and capabilities that need to be embedded in the existing curricula in order to make the PAUWES graduates appeal to potential employers and to narrow the gap between academic curricula and practical skills needed by the job market but also to ask about the new trends in the fields of water, energy and climate change.

‘’A research carried out by the Carnegie Institute of Technology shows that 85 % of your financial success is due to skills in “human engineering,” your personality and ability to communicate, negotiate, and lead. Shockingly, only 15 % is due to technical knowledge. Additionally, Nobel Prize winning, Daniel Kahneman, found that people would rather do business with a person they like and trust rather than someone they don’t, even if the likeable person is offering a lower quality product or service at a higher price. You should make an investment in strengthening your EQ (Emotional Intelligence) and MQ (Moral Intelligence). Therefore, at PAUWES we offer to every class two important bootcamps: Leadership bootcamp and entrepreneurship bootcamps digging deeply in the notions of empathy and entrepreneurial mindset.’’ 

Leadership Bootcamp

from 8th to 10th January 2019 by Rachel Nyaradzo Adams

The leadership boot camp will take PAUWES Students through the three components of leadership: Leading Self, Leading Others, and Leading Change. Each section will provide the latest research and tools and will offer an opportunity for embodied learning and practice. Under Leading Self, students are given tools for developing a deeper relationship with yourself so that they can harness their authentic power. Students will also learn to appreciate their strengths and accept their weaknesses. Under Leading Others, students will learn how to create social safety so that others around them can thrive, grow, and develop. Students will learn about how different personality types function, how diversity trumps ability and the importance of growing women in today's workforce. Finally, under Leading Change, students will learn how to assess the current states of organizations and how to use influence and inspire to design exciting and sustainable shifts. The facilitator draws from neuroscience, ontology, anthropology, and psychology to create deep learning and facilitate shifts.

Hi5 for success workshop series

At PAUWES we aim to graduate not only the best students OF Africa but also the best students FOR the Africa we want, not only engineers and policy makers but also entrepreneurial solutionners dedicated and equipped with the right tools and mindset to tackle African challenges.

Through one of our must succ0essful partnership, now in its third year, we provided our students in collaboration with Sustainability Institute (a leading expert institution in navigating the transition towards social justice and change in complex futures in Africa, and forms an institutional base for some of the top academics in the field, whom research and practice maintains a strong focus on sustainable African futures, through their student, faculty and consulting research), the Hi5 for success workshop series 

which aim to strength the employability and professional skills of our students, teach them to lead with impact, capacitate them with innovation management methodology, entrepreneurial mindset and provide them with the right tools to forge their own future for a brighter Africa.

Career Service workshop series

PAUWES Career Service designed a series of workshops to enhance the employability of the students, the PAUWES Career Service workshop series include:

• CV Workshop
• Cover Letter Workshop
• LinkedIn Workshop
• Networking Workshop

PAUWES Internship Program

Internships are an integral part of the degree you will obtain at PAUWES. PAUWES internship program is an important vehicle to advance your skills and professionalism towards achieving your desired future career. It consists of two internships, the Summer (also called career) Internship, you do it during your summer break (at the end of first year master) and the Research Internship (also called data collection Internship) at you do it at the beginning of your Master Thesis (MT) in fourth semester.

During the Summer Internship you can test and apply the skills that you acquired during your studies in a real-life situation and tailor these to the specific field you have chosen. This experience will help you to narrow down your job preferences and define your professional profile.

The Research Internship will allow you to collect data on-site for your MT (find case studies, conduct interviews, take measurements, or perform experiments, etc.). It provides you with the opportunity to get to know your research subject personally or allows you to work directly with your supervisor at his/her workplace.

PAUWES internship program provides various channels for support. However, you (yourself) are responsible for securing a placement and fulfilling all requirements to successfully complete an internship.

In a nutshell - Goals and Objectives

 For students, the internship is a chance to …

deep dive into the world of work and explore different career options

gain professional experience and soft skills needed for employment

network with professionals and researchers

develop new in-depth knowledge in your chosen field of interest

For employers, the internship is an opportunity to …

access students with specific knowledge in the field of business of the employer

get fresh ideas, new techniques and technologies into the company

evaluate a potential future employee and create a “pipeline of candidates”

Summer Internship

The Summer Internship at PAUWES is a short-term work placement.

As a PAUWES student you have been carefully selected to be a leader in shaping the development of the African continent. The summer Internship is a substantial medium in advancing your skills in areas relevant to the fast and sustainable development in Africa. It is an opportunity to acquire real-world work experience in research, public or private organizations across Africa and the globe.

This 8-week minimum internship during the summer break (after semester 2) will help you orientate amongst the multitude of career paths open to PAUWES graduates. It is your opportunity to try out what it´s like to work in a company, government agency, research institute, start-up, public organization, NGO or any other organization-type that interests you for your future career. During this period, you will acquire professional skills that will enhance your employability while gaining work experience that will help you to make your next career move. Training on-the-job is highly valued by (future) employers as it provides you with the opportunity to practice problem-solving and work in a result-oriented manner, thereby preparing you for the real-world work challenges.

When: during summer break, after semester 2, usually moths of July-August.

Duration: minimum 8 weeks, maximum 3 months

Goal: work experience and career orientation, acquire professional skills, enhance your employability, build and strengthen your personal network

Location: companies, research institutes, government agencies, NGOs etc. in Africa and abroad

Voluntary but highly recommended PAU made it mandatory starting in 2020 according to it 2020-2024 strategic plan

You will find a supervisor at your host organization

Primary purposes are to get training on-the-job, apply theoretical expertise in a practical setting and experience professional environments outside of the classroom. During this period, you will acquire professional skills that will enhance your employability and will endow you with experiences that will be valuable throughout your future career.

You will learn:

To evaluate your own expertise in a specific field within your sector

To find out where your professional talent and skills lie: Are you an innovative new product developer, or an analytical and thorough controller of production processes?

To identify which professional environment fits you best: large, structured corporations, small flexible start-ups, NGOs dedicated to direct impact, or governments working towards changing policy?

To experience what it means to work effectively in a team and under supervision

To present your skills and ideas to a professional audience to test and improve yourself

To get to know new markets in Africa outside of your home country

To expand your professional network with contacts beyond university

IBM digital nation Africa Plateform

IBM digital nation Africa Platform 

PAUWES Career Service is proud to provide our students with access to IBM Digital Nation Africa platform.

Explore a free set of online trainings with certification (posted in LinkedIn profile as an IBM badge permanently) in emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Blockchain, build innovative solutions, learn and improve your soft skills and help student re-inforce their employability chances.

https://developer.ibm.com/digitalnation/africa/

 The Fight Against Corruption

This e-learning tool is a joint product of the UN Global Compact and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. It uses six interactive learning modules to further the audience's understanding of the UN Global Compact's 10th principle against corruption and the UN Convention against Corruption as it applies to the private sector. The tool is targeted at everyone who acts on behalf of a company. Each module only lasts about five minutes, providing a quick and effective way of learning. And it is fun too!

http://thefightagainstcorruption.org/certificate/

Technical training – Introduction mapping with QGIS

 In the scope of enhancing student skills and competencies, PAUWES career service and academic coordinators took attach with Mr. El Maahfoud Sedjelmaci, manager of INFORCARTO, a training company specialized into web-mapping, GIS, tele-detection and computer solution. Web-site of INFOCARTO, is as follow for more details about this company http://www.info-carto.dz/: