[game_edu] Appropriate Emouluments

[Benedict Olumhense]

Thanks Ian for your detailed response. I understand what you meant by
Nigeria is a
haven for online scam but that situation is seriously changing with a lot
of our youths
engaged in genuine business ventures these days. Though I may confess, we
haven't totally
fixed the online scam situation but there has been a major improvement as
compared to the past.
Let me briefly outline some of the new business ventures I know that you
may not have heard of.


1 Co - Creation Hub (CCHUB): Till date Nigeria's famous tech innovation
incubator with strong corporate support
                                                   from organisations like
the Federal Ministry of Information and Communication Technology.
                                                   Started early last year
and has had foreign visitors from the British Council in Lagos, Nigeria.
                                                   You may want to Google
this organization for further information.

2 Spore Dust Media: Created the nation's first animation series titled
Chicken Core, again this company employs 37 men, who
                                  started this venture from no funding
received from any organisation, just simple pocket allowance from
                                  family and friends. Today they are
creating this series still with no funding but with the passion that they
                                  have found by wanting to change the
impression you have about Nigeria. Here is a link to their video
                                  http://youtu.be/9tI8RfN2iTA

3 Naija Game Evo : Our own local tournament styled series for games.
Started out early last year, with over 150 people
                                attending the 1st edition. As at the
finals, participants were over 400 people. This initiative was started
still
                                with no funding received from any corporate
organisation.

4 Danfo & Danfo reloaded: A game created by a 2 man team which later
received support in terms of marketing from Nokia West
                                           Africa. Today this is one of the
titles we boast about.


5 Social Media Week Lagos: For the first time since this event was held
globally, Nigeria participated this year. With a lot of
                                               corporate organisations from
Google, Microsoft, Nokia, MTN etc. supporting this venture.
                                              Organised by Storm 360
Nigeria.

6 Global Game Jam Lagos : Again, for the 1st time after my failure of last
year to hold this event in Lagos, Nigeria. We finally
                                             succeeded hosting this. I got
a lot of commendation from participants and I held this event with just
                                             support from the University of
Lagos, Nigeria.

I could go on highlighting major successful event and ventures in our
country. But I want to challenge you to look more into what's happening in
Africa. Again I understand when you say there is corruption affecting us.
But among all of that situation, there are hones people doing honest
business down here. A lot of news out there, especially on CNN is about the
negativity of thins World, what's evil or not right that's affecting
nation's and people, while Nigerians and Africans are solving their own
economic problems themselves. So please do more research on Nigeria and
Africa as well.


Best Regards
Benedict Olumhense
Chair, IGDA Nigeria

On Thu, Mar 7, 2013 at 11:37 PM, Ian Schreiber <ai864 at yahoo.com> wrote:


> I am totally going to work the word "emouluments" into conversation at GDC

> this year, now that I know what it means.

>

> A lot depends on the exact conditions. Are you hiring full-time or just as

> an adjunct and paying on a per-course basis? How many weeks are the courses

> (I've seen academic terms that range from 6 weeks to 15 weeks)? What is the

> scope of the work (sometimes the instructor does all of the grading,

> sometimes they just do the lectures and a TA does the grading) and the size

> of the class (teaching in a lecture hall in front of 300 students is a

> different experience than leading a classroom discussion with 10)? Is this

> an online course being taught remotely, or do you expect the person to

> teach on-site? And where, primarily, are you recruiting from (trying to

> recruit someone away from a high-paying position in NYC is a much tougher

> sell than pulling someone out of North Dakota or Alaska, I'd think)?

>

> I'm based in the US so most of my experience is specific to this country.

> Here, from my experience, a single ten-week course pays somewhere in the

> range of about 2000 to 4000 USD. Online courses seem to pay about the same

> as on-site teaching (there's a tradeoff of doing a bit more work in

> exchange for having a more flexible schedule, though we could debate all

> day whether this is fair or not). The huge variability in pay is mostly due

> to the variability in local cost of living; schools in expensive places

> like San Francisco or New York City tend to pay more than those in rural

> areas. This is particularly interesting for online teaching, where the

> teacher might be based in a low-cost-of-living area but be teaching for a

> school in an expensive location. I suppose it means that eventually market

> forces will either force smaller/cheaper colleges with online programs to

> shut them down because they can't compete pay-wise with the more expensive

> schools, or they'll have to settle for a lower quality of teacher or

> something since they are paying less for exactly the same work and there's

> no reason a skilled instructor should have to accept that.

>

> If you're looking for permanent relocation, full relocation expenses

> aren't ALWAYS offered but it's not exactly rare. For relocation out of

> country, providing relocation and immigration costs would certainly be

> helpful. Assistance in finding local housing is a plus. Basically, anything

> you can do on your end to minimize the disruption of moving is something

> that would be appreciated.

>

> If you're looking to bring someone on-site for a short duration, like just

> one academic term or one year, that's a pretty massive disruption in the

> life of most people. I honestly don't know what's standard there (or if

> there even IS a standard - most schools hire from at least within their own

> country) but just personally, if I were to uproot my entire family for a

> year, I'd expect extra compensation in exchange for that (and ideally,

> local housing that was paid for and already set up when we got there).

>

> Lastly, since you mention Nigeria specifically - and I know you had

> similar issues with Global Game Jam in that country - that country has a

> reputation (in the US, at least) of being a haven for online scam artists.

> Africa in general doesn't exactly have a reputation for great tourism

> (unfairly deserved, I'm sure, but that's what you've got to work with) so a

> little bit of self-promotion, showing why the area you're in is awesome to

> visit, wouldn't hurt. Anyway, it would take some extra convincing in that

> case, just to prove that you're not going to bring someone there and then

> leave them stranded or something. Even if you were just looking for someone

> to teach remotely, offering to pay some or all of the money up front

> wouldn't hurt. Again, not that you're looking to scam anyone (I'm sure

> you're totally honest here), but these are the concerns you'd have to

> address.

>

> Ultimately, just like with any job, it's a time-vs-money tradeoff. The

> more money and benefits you offer, the faster you fill the position. Offer

> below-market rates and you'll get few if any hits. Offer significantly

> above-market rates and you'll be paying more but you'll fill that position

> a lot faster.

>

> - Ian

>

>   ------------------------------

> *From:* Benedict Olumhense <olumhenseben at gmail.com>

> *To:* IGDA Game Education Listserv <game_edu at igda.org>

> *Sent:* Thursday, March 7, 2013 10:49 AM

> *Subject:* [game_edu] Appropriate Emouluments

>

> Hi everyone,

>     I just wanted to find out some info in regards to the appropriate

> emouluments for

>     instructors teaching game design and development if they were to be

> hired by an offshore

>     institution in Nigeria. Does any one have any ideas to this ?

>

>

>

> Best Regards,

> Benedict Olumhense

>

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