# Education and Training in Applied Remote Sensing in Africa: The ARCSSTE-E Experience
## 5 The Future Plans of ARCSSTE-E  
Through its educational and training programmes, ARCSSTE-E is striving to meet the capacity needs in remote sensing in the African region. A number of initiatives are under development consequent to previous and current surveys, including:  
(i) _Dearth of equipment for practical session_: Hands-on and practical sessions are necessary for a complete academic experience. ARCSSTE-E is mindful of the need for increased hands-on sessions. For example, students in satellite communications do not have experience in setting up VSATs or a satellite communication system. ARCSSTE-E has been making efforts to procure modern equipment for teaching and learning to enrich the learning experience of the participants. (ii) _Accreditation_: Though ARCSSTE-E is located within a university campus, the PGD programme of the Centre is not yet accredited by any university other than the UN affiliation, which has given it some global acceptability. This has been a challenge for alumni whose quest for further education has been turned down, because their certificates cannot be converted into the local system. However, this does not affect the standard of the programme (as the curricula is developed by the UNOOSA) or the viability of the diploma certificate (as it is endorsed by both ARCSSTE-E and UNOOSA). Nevertheless, ARCSSTE-E is making efforts to get its PGD programme accredited by the Odafemi Awolowo University (OAU), so that the diploma certificates can be easily converted into the university system of any country. The Masters certificate is already accredited by the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Nigeria. (iii) _One-year home research project_: While ARCSSTE-E has not implemented this, alumni have indicated that carrying out a one-year research project at home would be beneficial to their knowledge/career development and for their home countries. Carrying out a project in their home country would be an effective means of solidifying the knowledge gained while studying at ARCSSTE-E, as well as allowing for its application to problems in their home country. The participants are familiar with the challenges and conditions in their home countries; hence, they would be useful there. (iv) _Online programmes_: As education and training becomes increasingly democratised and digitized, institutions need to consider the strategies for online- and distance-education. While there are a couple of popular free online courses, these are not meeting the particular needs of African countries. Online courses would also benefit interested participants who cannot leave their current work or family. In the future, ARCSSTE-E intends to run a free online course within a course option. The course could be taken at any convenient time within a stipulated period. The participants who completed the course would then be assessed while using online tools. Those that pass a minimum requirement in the online course would be invited to submit applications for a course option of their choice. (v) _E-learning programmes_: Many students are not able to travel to Nigeria to undertake the nine month PGD programme, because they are working and cannot get paid study leave, due to family commitments, or because they cannot afford the cost. With an e-learning programme, participants could participate in the programme over the Internet. With e-learning, teaching, learning and assessment is only done via the Internet. Participants have no face-to-face meetings with their instructors. Currently, the Centre is collaborating with the university's e-learning unit and the ICT department to host the space e-learning platform. (vi) _PhD programme_: Alumni have indicated interest in furthering their studies up to the PhD level. As a result of this, and considering the fact that the Regional Centres in India and China have started conducting PhD programmes, ARCSSTE-E has begun preparation to offer PhD programmes. (vii) _Short courses_: Alumni have indicated interest in short courses (less than three months) and executive courses.