Durumi IDP

camp, Abuja,
Nigeria, 2016.

internship overview

cohort a/b
 Durumi IDP
camp, Abuja,
Nigeria, 2016.

Welcome!

Welcome to the ACID internship program for

development planning. The African
Collaborative Institute of Design (ACID) is a new-
age critically evaluating place for design at
various current levels that is mostly anchored in
the African context. If you are reading this, you
may be one of the incoming interns for the new
cohort of the ACID internship program.

The internship program is structured to bring The next three months will be the work-learning
together a very small, intelligent, highly phase where you will engage in both
motivated and dynamic cohort of people who conventional and unconventional discourses
are willing to work towards pushing the current around the sustainable development or
boundaries of knowledge in development engagement of the stated themes. You will be
planning in the context of Africa. The program is introduced and integrated into ACID’s work
an 8-month program split into: 3 months for flow and investigative techniques that will
working on ACID projects, 3 months for working enable you find your footing in the world of
and administering of coursework which will be investigative design and research consultancy.
done in parallel to related ACID projects... The
last two months will be spent researching a mini
- project which will have been proposed
"The internship
midway into the project. There is a possibility for
some funding to be provided for the Internship
program is structured
Personal Project (IPP) on grounds of relevance &
significance, scope and propensity of
to bring together a
completion within a short period of time. This,
of course will be due to availability of funds.
very small, intelligent,
During the first three months you will be
working on different projects at ACID
highly motivated and
particularly on Internally Displaced People (IDP),
urban and rural resilience and the circular
dynamic cohort of
economy.
people"
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 Durumi IDP
camp, Abuja,
Nigeria, 2016.

Your work will involve speculative as well as real-world issues

and scenarios to which you will have to contemplate and
respond to with critical thinking, constructive interdisciplinary "ACID coursework is
reasoning and research. Teams and cross clusters may be set up
at certain times within (or across) projects to help approach vital. It is the most
certain tasks with is
ACID coursework a corresponding sophistication.
vital. It is the most distinctive phase that
makes the ACID Internship program stand out. Very many distinctive phase that
companies and platforms pursue the traditional work-to-learn
method of internship without any formal means of makes the ACID
administering pedagogy. The organized study of some
knowledge areas; while simultaneously being confronted with Internship program
the opportunities and contexts to test them brings to fore a
unique system. We believe at ACID that this framework will stand out. "
help catalyze more intellectually and pragmatically driven
attempts of confronting urban and rural problems.

The Development planning cluster will undertake five courses

during the 2-month learning phase:

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 the ACID
research
workshop,
Lagos, Nigeria,
2016.

introduction to research
This module provides a foundation to research and its basic
technicalities. The thinking, gathering, and writing of it will be
discussed, taught and practiced. Various aspects of critical
thinking as a skill in approaching methodologies for research
will also be proper points of discussion. This course is the most
important course of the internship in terms of pedagogical
progression. This is because skills and techniques learnt in this
course will be needed throughout the other courses.
Especially in the IPP.

introduction to
development planning
This module provides a careful introductory overview of
planning and the socio-environmental domains it responds to.
Planning will be looked at with the aim of bringing about
development. The idea of sustainability and economics will
be channeled chiefly for the purpose of discovering avenues
for developmental change, accelerating urban, rural and socio
-economic growth as well as maintaining existing positive
trajectories of urban and rural development. Due to the
potential large scope of this course, it will be run alongside
real world scenarios with ACID to bring about clearer levels of
hands-on engagement and learning. The course will cover the
full scope of any one domain but will sufficiently endeavor to
introduce the intern to the theory, study, and practice of
development planning.

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analyzing demographics
In a continent mostly bereft of the willingness to purse,
acquire, study and document data, a lot of care must be given
to the engagement and handling of data. This module will
help understand methodologies of measuring and analyzing
population data of various typologies and renditions. The
course will however focus primarily on the thinking process of
relating variables, connecting data-trajectories and piecing
together narratives based on critical juxtapositions with
contextual problems. ‘Seeing beneath the data’ is very
important in development planning; conventional and
experimental avenues towards this will be sought and
explored.

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 Durumi IDP
camp, Abuja,
Nigeria, 2017.

ethnography for
development planning
This module is an exploratory course that attempts to understand how people live and work in their
communities in relation to their cultural experiences and shared languages. Over the years, ACID has worked
on developing bespoke techniques and methods of ethnography. Ethnography will be studied as an art and a
method of enquiry. Existing methods of ethnography will be studied, debated and contextualized in various
scenarios and domains of knowledge enquiry. This will help in understanding how to obtain knowledge
without altering or adversely evading the giver(s) and the knowledge itself. Ethnography in itself will also be
experimented on as a direct tool for sustainable urban development.

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 ACID design
Workshop,
Ogbomoso,
Nigeria, 2013

design thinking
What does the state of mind of a designer look like? Designing,
and thinking about design—even though they often happen
simultaneously are actually different. Thinking about designing
and design thinking are also different activities. The course will
explain these phenomena while trying to interrogate new ideas
of thinking out the process of design. Approaches will be
technological methodological, ethical and theoretical. From
process focused to user-centered thinking to broad empathy.
The design thinking course will survey and study various thinking
processes of engaging various types of problems and
communicating phenomena. This skill will prove useful in the
development of networked strategies to confront complex and
complicated urban and rural problems with the aim of
accelerating sustainable development.

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 personal project
This is a 2-month research exercise which the intern is
expected to carry out independently (through some
supervision). It is not a group exercise and the intern is
responsible for the planning and execution of the project.
The personal project is the last module of the internship
program and it serves as an oppurtunity for the intern to
explore and critique all that has been learned during the
program.Usually, interns focus on a theme they find
peculiar or interesting . Most personal projects are funded
by the institute and are formatted for various
publications. The projects may be presented to the
public in an exhibition alongside other interns.

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 Durumi IDP
camp, Abuja,
Nigeria, 2017.

work process
The development planning program requires a great deal of multitasking as projects with simultaneous
pathways are usually the order of the day. Bespoke meeting periods are arranged with individuals or groups of
interns. The time to be dedicated to the workload will vary drastically across the program period. A projected
peak of 5 hours per week will be required in terms of work input . This means the program can be carried even
while fully employed. The writing internship can mostly be carried out by distant correspondence but some
period of time will need to be spent at the ACID proxy office and at the Unviveristy of Lagos seminar room
where most of the courses and the workshop will take place. The internship proxy office is at:

Office 1 (c/o S. Akerele),

Landscape Architecture
studio, Department of
Architecture, University of
Lagos, Akoka, Yaba, Lagos,
Nigeria.

For this cohort of development planning, ACID will like to infuse the courses into the work periods of the
internship. This is expected to improve the output efficiency of work done as well as provide new, unique dual
experience for the interns in which they can learn and test almost at the same time. The projects and tasks will
be assigned to interns with target dates and expected deliverables. All non-course internship related questions
should be directed to the media department. A WhatsApp group will be set up to keep all the interns in a close
group connection with the course tutors. While being a ground to practice and to refine the skills that can be
acquired in the course program, ACID projects may also require skills demonstrated by the interns in their
application. Some work may require study away from the office, however, negotiations will be made with the
interns to set aside time that will be convenient for everyone involved. Interns should come to the office with
their laptops and writing materials. Other materials needed (which may include, modelling materials, sticky
notes, media and other electronic equipment) will be provided by ACID as the need arises.

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 dance
festival,
Lagos,
Nigeria, 2018

application process
The development planning program requires a lot of interdisciplinarity. Incoming interns are
expected to have good team skills with an open mind to learn across knowledge platforms. ACID will
work with each intern to make the process as rewarding as possible. Interns are welcome from all
environmental backgorunds so anyone in the tertiary education system is welcome. Applicants from
lower education levels will need to email the the institute to solicit for a level/age exemption which
will be considered on a case-by-case basis. For an application to the program, please send in the
following as a single pdf document (maximum 10mb) to media@acigroup.org :

A completed internship application form

A 1000 -5000 word writing sample. Please note that the writing sample MUST be about the
environment and MUST be within the word count range.
A maximum 500 word personal statement on why you want to be a writing intern at ACID

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 "ACID projects may also
require skills
demonstrated by the
interns in their
application"

course papers
At the end of each of the courses, interns may be asked to write on particular topics which will not
only show that they have gained sufficient knowledge of a course, but also show an evidence of an
attempt to take the discourse further. The course papers will range from 1000 to 5000 words. This
will usually be submitted in-between following courses as stated by the coordinator. The work is
expected to be well refined as a there is a possibility for an internship journal to be set up at the end
of the project. Some of the essays/papers may also be included in the maiden edition of ACIDIC;
ACID’s critical thought magazine. There are no set rules for the papers and specific instructions will be
given in each case. At the end of the program, each intern is expected to have written atleast 3
essays/papers including the IPP.

internship by correspondence
For international interns and some interns out-of-state, the correspondence method is often
preffered. If you are an intern by correspondence, an internet based communication link will be setup
for you via WhatsApp, skype or Imo. ‘Virtual Office’ office hours will be planned with careful
considerations of the intern’s schedule and the time zones. It will however be helpful if the interns by
correspondence can tune in during some of the office hours to have a full house. Apart from meeting
periods and allocation of equipment, all other conditions apply to interns by correspondence.

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 plagiarism &
other ethical issues
Even at its inception and minimal popularity, the ACID internship usually
brings in applications from all over the continent. The office is currently too
small to handle the growing number of applicants; therefore, a very small
cohort is selected each year. It must therefore be known that the internship
may consist of people with different age group, culture, gender, sexual
inclination and religion. Care must be taken to respect these differences. All
concerns and questions should be directed to the coordinator of the
program.

Plagiarism is a serious shortcoming and it is not expected of any intern.

ACID is known for original forward thinking work and it is our mandate that
this continues to be a hallmark of our identity. Instances of plagiarism may
lead to the cancellation of an internship.

ACID does not take responsibility for the positions of papers and other
work output of the internship however, it will not support solidarity stances
of racism, religious bias human/animal hate, gender inequality, exclusion
and similar states of mind. This is because these positions go against the
very motive of sustainable development that ACID constantly strives for.

"Plagiarism is a serious
shortcoming and it is
not expected of any
intern."
Though ACID has very little work hours, serious work ethics is needed for
work to be done. By becoming an intern, you must have exhibited a
strong interest for what ACID is about. The zeal for the internship should
also be taken into the organization’s projects as they focus primarily on
sustainable development.
Interns may not publish course papers without a stated affiliation with
ACID. However, if they choose to publish, it must pass through a standard
vetting process which will involve a thorough scrutiny of the work with a
possibility for publication. Course papers that have passed through the
ACID vetting process must be published with clear affiliation to the
institute stating that it is a workout from the internship program. It must
also be noted that ACID may decide to publish the work of the all or some
of the interns on relevant print and electronic media. Each case will be
stated to the intern and a formal approval will be sought. The published
work will also be credited to its author(s) with a clear statement of
affiliation with ACID and the internship program.

Questions concerning ethics and plagiarism should be directed to the

coordinator of the internship program.

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 contact
credits
internship coordinator & Institute director: Stephen Ajadi
stephenajadi@acidgroup.org
Photography/diagrams
Assistant internship coordinator: Tobiloba Akibo
Seun James Taiwo pp: 1, 8 tobiloba.akibo@acidgroup.org
Jide Ayeni p. 3 Applications should be sent to:
Stephen Ajadi pp: cover, 2, 4, 6, 12 media@acidgroup.org
Umaru Afi Dibal p. 5
Chris Iduma p. 9

Graphic design

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a publication of the African Collaborative Institute of Design c 2018