ICT Parallel Event at COREVIP 2007 |
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ICT PARALLEL EVENT
Access to affordable bandwidth for African higher education institutions
Access to information and knowledge has always been an indispensable condition for knowledge creation; in this context, the availability of network infrastructure and adequate bandwidth is crucial for education and research in the 21st century.
While the education and research communities in the developed world and in emerging countries are taking full advantage of research and education networks by sharing resources, exchanging information and carrying out collaborative research, African higher education institutions (HEIs) and research centres are marginalized in this process because they do not have access to adequate infrastructure.
The biggest handicap for African HEIs seeking to build viable research and education networks is the cost of bandwidth. While they face major budget problems, African HEIs have access to connectivity in general under the same conditions than private companies. Thus, for accessing the same amount of bandwidth, African HEIs pay 50 or more times than their counterparts in developing countries.
For African teachers, researchers and students to take up the challenge African HEIs face and for these institutions to play their role in African development, they must be given the same means their partners enjoy in other parts of the world. Specifically, advanced network infrastructure and access to adequate bandwidth at affordable rates are critical for today’s higher education and research.
The ICT parallel event planned for COREVIP 2007 is intended to bring the African higher education community and other stakeholders together to discuss important issues related to connectivity and research and education networking.
The event will be divided into 2 sessions:
(1) A session dedicated to connectivity in African HEIs, with an update on connectivity infrastructure in Africa and on trends in the regulatory environment.
(2) A session on research and education networking, where the importance of research and education networks and their various establishment models will be discussed, together with successful initiatives and ongoing projects.
Each of the 2 sessions will be introduced by a presentation followed by discussion.
It is expected that the ICT parallel event will involve the exchange of views among participants on strategies for access to affordable bandwidth for African HEIs and, possibly, formulate recommendations for HEI leaders. |
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ICT Parallel Event at COREVIP 2007
