Tangaza College in Kenya, Mekelle University in Ethiopia and Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands are working together in a new format of teaching and learning, namely the so-called Intercultural Virtual Seminar. By means of virtual communication, e-mail, MSN, Skype, SMS and a common website for shared documents and forum discussions students from the three partner institutions work together on sociotechnical problems, taking into account differences of culture and context. Despite low connectivity to Africa and the need to overcome cultural misunderstandings the experience is tremendous and very motivating for all parties involved. The Intercultural Virtual Seminar is being embedded in an innovation system in which technological expertise mainly from Delft University of Technology (but in exchange with the other partners) and contextual demands mainly from Africa (but in exchange with ideas from the Netherlands) are explored, new technological devices, and social institutions, procedures, skills are developed which can find their way into vocational training and small businesses and NGOs. Such an innovation system functions as an incubator for technology transfer and exchange. Internships, master theses, common research by the staff and in cooperation with third parties can make a difference.
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