A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Master’s in Information and Communication Science and Engineering of The
Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology
Work-based learning is what equips students with practical skills. All higher learning
institutions (HLIs) have a specified period of time for students to carry out field based
practices in companies which are relevant to their fields of study. As the number of students
in Tanzanian HLIs become larger, coordination and allocation of students to relevant
companies is becoming tougher. This study therefore intended to examine a better method to
facilitate coordination and allocation of students to relevant companies through development
of an online system. The research study to determine systems’ requirements was conducted in
Arusha and Kilimanjaro by involving 62 HLI students, 3 HLIs and 5 companies. Data were
collected using key informant interviews, observation and workshop. Both informative and
descriptive information regarding current practices and desired features were collected and
analyzed. The results show that, a platform need to have main features of Students’ profiles,
companies’ information, application feedback, supervision reports, and assessment of
students by companies and their respective HLIs to address the challenge. The features
determined gave efficiency advantages to all three main stakeholders who are HLIs, students
and companies.
Prior to actual system implementation, collaborative prototype was designed using pencil
software and shared to 5 users from each group to evaluate the tasks based on provided
scenarios. To refine the requirements, responses from users were accommodated and the final
prototype design was used to develop Field Attachment Management System (FAMS). The
system was finally validated and tested for usability and indicated to have improved access
by students to relevant companies, reports generation, students’ assessment and follow-up
conducted by HLIs to their students.