Fraunhofer Academy
Fraunhofer Academy

GIZ

GIZ – Ready for the Future

The German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) bundles the skills and long-standing expertise of the Deutscher Entwicklungsdienst (DED) gGmbH (German Development Service), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH (German Society for Technical Cooperation) and InWEnt – Capacity Building International. In their role as state-owned enterprises, these organizations support the German federal government in its efforts to achieve sustainable development through international cooperation. They are also engaged in international educational projects with a global reach.

The International Leadership Training (ILT) program, developed by GIZ, provides trainings and qualifications for technical and management staff from companies and institutions in developing and transition countries, enabling them to initiate and implement change processes within their own countries.

An ILT course comprises a number of training phases in the participant’s country of origin and Germany:
  1. Part-time preparatory phase designed to be completed alongside a full-time job (6 months)
  2. Face-to-face phase in Germany (12 months)
  3. Transfer phase in the participant’s country (6 months)

Based on the participants’ country of origin and industry background, the individual ILT programs are tailored to their region and main areas of interest.

The ILT is a key component of the InnoTALK program (Promoting innovation and technology in Latin America and the Caribbean), which goal is to promote national innovation systems and regional technology in the Latin American countries and the Caribbean, support dialog on technology and innovation policy and boost collaboration with Germany.

E-Learning program "Joint Strategy and Technology Education Facility" (JOSEF)

The Fraunhofer Academy developed the web-based e-learning platform "JOSEF" for the preparatory phase of the InnoTALK's International Leadership Training (Promoting innovation and technology in Latin America and the Caribbean).  The online training was specially designed to convey the InnoTALK participants with first knowledge about innovation and technology management, as well as to help them prepare for their stay in Germany.

JOSEF was developed under the concept of a fictional institute in the field of applied research for innovation and technology management that could also exist in the real world. The platform simulates the first days of a new staff member (the participant of the program) in the research institution. Using actors in short introductory videos, the platform cleverly emulates the induction of the participant into the different areas of the research center. Through different missions, as well as individual or group tasks, exposure to different topics in the innovation and technology management thematic is achieved. The contents of the platform are clearly divided into three major learning blocks called 'competence centers', each of them emphasizing a different area:

  1. innovation management
  2. technology management and
  3. new technologies  

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