ANNEX 1: LIST OF PARTICIPANTS AAU-ICT TECHNICAL EXPERTS MEETING

1. Professor G. Olarere Ajayi 
Obafemi Awolowo University 
Dept. of Electronic and Electrical Engineering 
ILE-IFE, Nigeria 
Phone: 39 040 2240340, +234 36 230972 
Fax: 39 040 2240604, +234 36 231733 
E-Mail: ajayi@ictp.trieste.it,
gajayi@oauife.edu.ng
 

2. Professor Stanley Moyo 
AVU Coordinator 
University of Zimbabwe 
Mount Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe 
Phone: +263-4-0333669/ mobile: 263091315847 
Fax: 263-4-307137 
E-Mail: stanley.moyo@uz.ac.zw, 
stanleymoyo@yahoo.co.uk

3. Dr. Eric Kluyfhout 
Free University Amsterdam 
Centre for Development Cooperation Services 
Amsterdam, The Netherlands 
Fax: +31-20 4449095 
Email: e.kluyfhout@dienst.vu.nl

4. Dr. Henri M. Thairu, 
Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) 
Jomo Kenyatta University 
Nairobi, Kenya 
Phone: +254-2 151-52053 
Fax: +252-2 151-52164 
Email: dvcaca@nbnet.co.ke

5. Dr. Derek Keats 
Director 
International Ocean Institute Regional Operational 
Centre for Southern Africa 
(IOI - SA) 
Botany Department, University of the Western Cape 
P. Bag X17, Bellville 7535 
South Africa 
Ph: +27 21 959 2304 or 2594 
Fax: +27 21 959 3573 or 2266 
Cellular: 082 341 8600 
Email: dkeats@icon.co.za

6. Prof. Mumuni Dakubu 
Chemistry Department 
University of Ghana 
Legon, Ghana 
Phone: +233-21-767886 
Email: mdakubu@ncs.com.gh,
mdakubu@ug.edu.gh

7. Mr. Yawo Assigbley, 
Head, Information and Communication 
Association of African Universities 
P.O. Box 5744 
Accra-North, Ghana 
Phone: +233-21-774495/761588 
Fax: +233-21-774821 
Email: yassig@aau.org

8. Mary Materu-Behitsa 
Senior Programme Officer (DATAD) 
Association of African Universities 
P.O. Box 5744 
Accra-North, Ghana 
Phone: +233-21-774495/761588 
Fax: +233-21-774821 
Email: mary@aau.org
 
 

9. Dr Magdallen N. Juma 
AVU Coordinator 
Kenyatta University 
Phone: +254-2-81 20 65 
Fax: +254-2-81 24 67 
Email: mjuma@nbnet.co.ke,
mjuma@ku.ac.ke

10. Mr. Justin Chisenga 
Department of Information and Communication Studies 
University of Namibia 
Private Bag 13301 
340 Mandume Ndemufayo Avenue 
Pionners Park 
Windhoek, NAMIBIA 
Tel: +264 61 2063851 
Fax: +264 61 2063806 
E-mail: jchisenga@unam.na

11. Professor Matthew L. Luhanga 
Vice Chancellor 
University of Dar es Salaam 
Phone: +255-51-113654 
Fax: +255-51-410023 
Email: vc@admin.udsm.ac.tz

12. Prof. T.S.A. Mbwette 
University of Dar Es Salaam 
PMU/UDSM - 2000 
P.O.Box 35091, 
Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. 
Phone: +255 - 51 410515 
Phone/Fax: +255 -51 410514 
Email: pmu@admin.udsm.ac.tz

13. Prof. A. Ishumi 
University of Dar Es Salaam 
PMU/UDSM - 2000 
P.O.Box 35091, 
Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. 
Phone: +255 - 51 410515 
Phone/Fax: +255 -51 410514 
Email: pmu@admin.udsm.ac.tz
 

14. Mr. J.N. Kinyaha 
University of Dar Es Salaam 
PMU/UDSM - 2000 
P.O.Box 35091, 
Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. 
Phone: +255 - 51 410515 
Phone/Fax: +255 -51 410514 
Email: pmu@admin.udsm.ac.tz

15. Prof. B.M. Mutagahywa 
University of Dar Es Salaam 
PMU/UDSM - 2000 
P.O.Box 35091, 
Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. 
Phone: +255 - 51 410515 
Phone/Fax: +255 -51 410514 
Email: bmutag@udsm.ac.tz

16. Prof. Henry R. Mgombelo 
Department of Electrical Engineering 
Faculty of Engineering 
Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. 
Phone: +255 - 51 410515 
Phone/Fax: +255 -51 410380 
Email: mgombelo@ee.udsm.ac.tz

17. Dr. Akin Adubifa 
Program Officer 
Carnegie Corporation of New York 
Phone: +212 371 3200 
Fax: +212 223 9822 
Email: OAA@carnegie.org

18. Dr. Maria A. Beebe 
Programme Advisor 
Knowledge Exchange & Learning Partnerships 
USAID Bureau for Africa Office of Sustainable Development 
Washington State, U.S.A. 
Phone: + 509 358 7947 
Fax: +509 358 7900 
Email: Mbeebe@afr-sd.org

19. Francisco Mabila Chamango 
Eduardo Mondlane University Maputo, Mozambique 
Phone: +258-1-49 26 01 
Email: mabi@nambu.uem.mz 

 

ANNEX 2:

DAY/DATE	TIME	EVENT	RESPONSIBLE
Day 1 Wendnesday 17/05/2000	9.25	Arrival of Guest of Honour	Vice Chancellor
	9.30	Introductory remarks and Introduction of the Chairperson	Prof. T.S.A. Mbwette  LOC Chairman
	9.35	Welcome Remarks	Chairperson,  Prof. M.L. Luhanga
	9.40	Brief Remarks by Carnegie representatives	Prof. Akin Adubifa
	9.45	Brief Remarks by AAU representatives	Mr. Y. Assigbley
	9.50	Introduction and Welcome to the Guest of Honour to Open The Meeting	Chairperson,  Prof. M.L. Luhanga
	9.50-10.05	Opening Address	Guest of Honour  Hon. Dr. Pius Ng'wandu, Minister MSTHE
	10.05-10.30	Tea/Coffee and Group Photograph with Guest of Honour	Secretariat
	10.30-11.00	Background Information on the Project and Meeting	Mr. Y. Assigbley
	11.00-11.30	Overview of the Literature Review and Presentation of Synthesis and Conclusion of the On-line Discussions	Moderator  Prof. Ajayi, G
	11.30-12.30	General Discussions and Identification of Key Issues	Chairperson  Prof. M. L. Luhanga
	12.30-14.00	Lunch Break	All
	14.00 - 14.30	Lessons Learned and Needs Identified: Ten Years of ICT Experience in Selected African Higher Education Institutions	Dr. Eric Kluyfhout
	14.30 - 15.00	Discussion of the Presentation on Lessons Learned and Identified Needs	Chairperson,  Prof. M.L. Luhanga
	15.00 - 15.20	Status of ICT at UDSM: Presentation	Prof. B. Mutagahywa
	15.20-15.35	Tea/Coffee Break	All
	15.35-16.35	AAU Study Proposal and Questionnaire	Mr. Y. Assingbley
	16.35-18.00	Discussion of the AAU Study Proposal and Questionnaire	Chairperson,  Prof. M.L. Luhanga
	18.00-18.15	Announcement of Group Membership	Secretariat
	18.15-19.45	Cocktail - Computing Centre building	All
	19.45	Return to Whitesands Hotel	Visitors
Day 2 Thursday 18/05/2000	9.00-9.15	Introduction of TOR of the Working Groups	Mr. Y. Assigbley
	9.15-11.15	Working Groups
		No. 1: Drawing up Focused Recommendations and Guidelines for the Main Report (Conf. Room).	Group 1
		No. 2: TOR for the Proposed AAU Survey and Methodology (Project Room)	Group 2
	11.15-11.30	Tea break	All
	11.30-13.00	Continuation of Working Groups	All
	13.00-14.00	Lunch Break	All
	14.00-16.00	Continuation of Working Groups	All
	16.00-16.15	Tea/Coffee Break	All
	16.15-18.00	Plenary: Presentation Group 1 and Discussions	All
	18.00	Departure for Hotel	Visitors
Day 3 Friday  19/05/2000	9.00-11.15	Plenary: Presentation and Discussion of the Report of Working Group No. 2	All
	11.15-11.30	Tea/Coffee Break	All
	11.30-13.30	· Rapporteurs Report Presentation  · Comments on Rapporteur's report  · Wrap up and Final Closing Remarks  -- Carnegie Representative  -- AAU Representative  -- Wrap-up and closing Remarks	Rapporteur Mary M. Behitsa  All  Prof. A. Adubifa  Mr. Y. Assigbley  Prof. M.L. Luhanga Chairperson
	13.30-14.30	Lunch Break
	14.45	Return to Hotel/Guided Tour of the  Main Campus and The City	PRO
	18.00-19.30	Closing Cocktails	AAU (White sands Hotel)

 
 

ANNEX 3: LIST OF ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS OF THE ON-LINE DISCUSSION

1-Professor G. Olarere Ajayi 
Obafemi Awolowo University 
Dept. of Electronic and Electrical Engineering 
ILE-IFE, Nigeria 
Phone: 39 040 2240340, +234 36 230972 
Fax: 39 040 2240604, +234 36 231733 
E-Mail: ajayi@ictp.trieste.it, gajayi@oauife.edu.ng

2- Prof. Jorry Mwenechanya 
Professor 
McLink Consulting Services 
Lusaka, Zambia 
Phone: +260-1 232295 
Fax: +260-1 227528 
Email: jorry@zamnet.zm

3- Professor Stanley Moyo 
AVU Coordinator 
University of Zimbabwe 
Mount Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe 
Phone: +263-4-0333669/ mobile: 263091315847 
Fax: 263-4-307137 
E-Mail: stanley.moyo@uz.ac.zw

4- Dr. Henri M. Thairu, 
Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) 
Jomo Kenyatta University 
Phone: +254-2 151-52053 
Fax: +252-2 151-52164 
Email: dvcaca@nbnet.co.ke
 
 

5- Dr Nmah D. Tarpeh 
Acting Secretary-General 
Association of African Universities 
Accra, Ghana 
Phone: +233-21-774495/761588 
Fax: +233-21-774821 
Email: dtarpeh@aau.org

7- Mr. Yawo Assigbley, 
Head, Information and Communication 
Association of African Universities 
Accra, Ghana 
Phone: +233-21-774495/761588 
Fax: +233-21-774821 
Email: yassig@aau.org

9- Dr. Akin Adubifa, Program Officer 
Carnegie Corporation of New York 
Phone: +212 371 3200 
Fax: +212 223 9822 
Email: OAA@carnegie.org

10. Prof. Mumuni Dakubu 
University of Ghana 
Accra, Ghana 
Phone: +233-21-767886 
Email: mdakubu@ug.edu.gh

11- Maria A. Beebe 
Programme Advisor 
Knowledge Exchange & Learning Partnerships 
USAID Bureau for Africa Office of 
Sustainable Development 
Phone: + 509 358 79........ 
Fax: +509 358 7900 
Email: Mbeebe@afr-sd.org

12 John A. Daly 
Consultant 
phone: (301) 460-6364 
fax: (773) 913-0403 
dalyj@erols.com

13- Dr. Eric Kluyfhout 
Free University Amsterdam 
Centre for Development Cooperation Services 
Amsterdam, The Netherlands 
Fax: +31-20 4449095 
Email: e.kluyfhout@dienst.vu.nl 

14- Justin Chisenga 
Department of Information and Communication Studies 
University of Namibia 
Private Bag 13301 
340 Mandume Ndemufayo Avenue 
Pionners Park 
Windhoek, NAMIBIA 
Tel: +264 61 2063851 
Fax: +264 61 2063806 
E-mail: jchisenga@unam.na

15- Mary MATERU-BEHITSA 
Senior Program Officer-DATAD 
Association of African Universities 
P.O. Box 5744, Accra North, GHANA 
Tel: 233 21 774495/761588 
Fax: 233 21 774821 
e-mail:mary@aau.org

-16- Dr. Derek Keats 
Director International Ocean Institute Regional Operational 
Centre for Southern Africa (IOI-SA) 
Botany Department, University of the Western Cape 
P. Bag X17, Bellville 7535 
South Africa 
Tel: +27 21 959 2304 or 2594 
Fax: +27 21 959 3573 or 2266 
Cellular: 082 341 8600 
Email: dkeats@icon.co.za 

17- Prof. John Rogan, 
Centre for Science Education, 
University of Pretoria, 
Pretoria 0002 
Phone (012) 420 3088 
Fax (012) 362 5288 
jrogan@scientia.up.ac.za

18- Kelly Wong
Email: KWONG@cidcm.umd.edu

19- Shirley Walters
ferris@iafrica.com

ANNEX 4: SUMMARY OF ON-LINE DISCUSSIONS
ON ICT IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN AFRICA

1. PREAMBLE:
In order to ensure that the discussion is focused the attached structure, Attachment 1 was developed and this was acceptable to the participants. There is now a concerted effort to solve the problem of ICT development and usage in the HEI in Africa. The history of the Internet clearly shows the leading role played and which is still being played by the HEI in the developed countries. In many cases the HEI are in the forefront of the development and usage of the ICT especially the Internet. A dozen or so of US HEI institutions are already enjoying the benefits of Inter2 with the speed in the Gbps range. Many HEI in Africa have not been part of the globalisation and the information age, thus being left out of the unprecedented tools made available by the ICT revolution for education, learning, research and development and for various categories of management activities. 
 

2. FUNCTIONS OF THE UNIVERSITIES.
The functions of the Universities can be summarized as follows as described by Daly.: 

 
i) Education: conventional, distance education and others 
ii) Knowledge creation, organization and management 
a) Research capacity, which requires strong ICT support, is a priority for knowledge 
creation 
b) Evolving technology changes R & D and expands the topics suitable for research 
c) Laboratory without walls (Virtual Laboratories) 
iii) Knowledge Management 
iv) Knowledge Gate Keepers

Keeping track of knowledge generated globally and adapting appropriate 
ones for local needs and demands 
HEI to be first adopters of new ICTs and the training of professionals 

v) Archival and Library services 
vi) Other services: socio-economic-technological services 

Some of these are: Medical, technical, consultancy, agric and small business extension services as well as technological and business incubation services 

vii) Management and University Administration. 

It has also been pointed out that Universities have key roles to play in overcoming the digital divide: preparing human resources, providing intellectual and ICT services, technological gatekeeping, technology transfer and adaptation, identifying opportunities and inequities in the process, etc. The digital divide can be visually considered as a mountainous barrier which must be explored and transversed, in a major socio-economic and political effort to obtain and utilize the resources on the other side. The universities in the developed countries had been up to these tasks, especially when one considers the contribution of the academia in the development of the Internet and the web technologies. It becomes imperative that the HEI especially in the developing countries cannot afford to fail in these tasks, because there will be no other options for the survival of the African nations in the knowledge based millennium propelled by ICT. 
Donors of development assistance reduced support for higher education in Africa and other regions for decades, primarily because of their perception of the benefits of higher education. They often failed to realize that the benefits to the country of a cadre of graduates of universities goes beyond the income advantages to those graduates. This situation has changed and there is the renewed interest in the development of HEI in Africa, recognizing the enormous role these institutions can play in the technological, socio-economic development of their countries. 
This on-line discussion initiated by the AAU and Carnegie offers Africa an opportunity to revitalize the interest of international agencies and governments in Africa in ICT development in HEI on the continent. 

3. KEY ISSUES

i) Assessment of the present state of ICT in HEI on the one hand and the future 
needs on the other hand in order to give an indication of the existing gap and also point at some critical issues. 
ii) Adequacy or otherwise of the ICT infrastructure to the needs of training 
students to use the available ICTs in the Africa workplace after graduation. Curricula development to ensure that all graduates are ICT literate. 
iii) Appropriateness of ICTs to achieve the functions and goals highlighted in Section 1 above and in particular to increase the efficiency of education delivery and adequate response to the new learning paradigm. 
iv) Adequacy of the ICT for research and development in the light of globalization 
v) Provision of Internet facilities to the community and being in the fore front of ICT development in the country. 
vi) Steps to be taken to ensure that HEI could perform the roles expected of them in ICT innovations. Necessity for institutional ICT policy, plans and strategies for implementation. 
vii) Identification and development of ICT models that can be utilized from the experiences gathered from the case studies. 
viii) Curricula development for optimal utilization of African academics and possible credit transfer for on-line courses 

3.1 Further Issues

i) In view of the many opportunities provided by recent ICT innovations on the one hand, and the limited personnel and financial resources available on the other hand, ICT priorities should be determined. 
ii). ICT tools do get installed (are technically operational), but somehow never seem to get fully implemented (are not used to their full potential by the intended audience). 
iii). Organizational sustainability, sustainability and brain-drain syndrome 
v). Financial sustainability through appropriate funding. 

i) Support of HEI's core process of teaching & learning: 
(a) Provision of contents. 
(b) A professional tool in preparation for the future labour market
(c) Support teaching methodology 
(d) Support management and monitoring of the teaching & learning process 
ii) Support of HE's core process of research 
(a) To collect, exchange, and disseminate academic information. 
(b) In support of conduct of research. 
© In support of management of research projects. 
iii) In support of HEI's core process of academic information services. Transformation of the library from the traditional book-oriented approach to outward looking with emphasis on information handling (not only cataloguing information) but in fact collection, processing, compiling, and disseminating it in support of students and researchers, inside and outside the institution. 
iv) Support of administration and operational management. 
v) Support of tactical and strategic management 
vi) The ICT technical infrastructure. 
vii) The ICT organizational infrastructure. 

4. SOME CASE STUDIES
During the discussion, the case studies of the ICT in Universities in Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa were studied. More information was given about the ICT in the University of Zambia (Computers for Administrative, Management and Academic Support (CAMAS) to compliment the information circulated as background documents sent to discussants. The distributed literature also contains the case studies at University of Swaziland (Systems Development at the University of Swaziland: An evaluation of Applied Methodology, Strategies, Techniques and Organizational Structure) and the National University of Lesotho (Microcomputers training and application (MICRO)/ 1993-2000. Some references were made to the situation in the USA and in the UK. 

4.1 University of Ghana

i) Full Internet access in 1997 through the USAID Leyland Initiative 
ii) Initially networking was limited and wireless link used to link to an ISP 
iii) Cyber café with facilities to dial in through PSTN telephone network 
iv) Optical fibre backbone at 100Mbits/s developed through the Danish Royal 
Embassy of Ghana (DANIDA) financial support. Library connected to the 
backbone. 
v) Three nodes serving 10 departments/Units/Schools 
vi) Information Technology Systems Office to be set up for ICT matters 

i) Insufficient computers for staff and students. 
ii) Limited bandwidth 
iii) High ISP fees 
iv) Staff not yet capable of writing on-line courses 
v) ICT not fully integrated into the teaching and research 
vi) Absence of ICT policy, plans and strategies. 
vii) ICT funding is very essential 

4.2 Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

i) Project started in 1995 with a feasibility study 
ii) MoU with the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste, Italy 
with an equipment support of $30,000 
iii) Capacity building was given priority and this was achieved under the 
collaboration with the ICTP 
iv) Campus Area network initially consisting of 3 LANs, but later increased to 8 
LANs. 
v) Wireless technology to link LANs. 
vi) Critical mass of competent staff for design and implementation of network 
expansion. 
vii) HRD ICT training workshops for ISPs, other tertiary institutions, government 
organizations and private sector in general held regularly 
viii) New digital exchange to facilitate connectivity on the campus. 
ix) University library has its own network connected to the campus network 
through wireless radio. Digitalization of the library is in progress.. 
x) Development of the MIS as a Unit 
xi) Central laboratory equipped with ICT facilities for distance research 
collaboration. 
xii) VSAT Internet connectivity in order to solve the telephone problem 
xiii) A new 1000 line exchange was integrated for provision of access to the network 
xiv) Local champions and committed staff ensured the success of the project 
Achievements 

i) Establishment of the Information Technology and Communication Unit under 
the Vice Chancellor's office for ICT matters including development in the university 
ii) Establishment of a Consultancy Unit for ICT for revenue generation 
iii) Acquisition of ICT technology which is being transferred to other public sector 
as well as the private sector. 
iv) Research and development projects between staff of the university and 
colleagues world-wide. 
v) Graduate studies in ICT 
vi) Curricula development in some departments to reflect the ICT environment. 
vii) Gradual digitalization of library services 
viii) Progress in the use of the network in University administration and 
management 

ix) Gradual extension of the use to students (Student population of 20,000). 
viii) University declared ICT as a priority project 
Lessons learned 
i) No ICT policy, plans, and strategies at the beginning of the project. One is in 
the making 
ii) More funding is required. 
iii) Ability to continue with the project development because of the HRD after the 
initial one year support from the collaborating institution. 
iv) Peer-peer research collaboration with the collaborating institution now. 
v) Capacity building has made it possible to give technical assistance to other 
universities and HEIs in the country in the establishment of their network

¨ Nigerian Universities Information Network Project (NUNet)

i) Network for about 46 universities and university centres in Nigeria under the aegis of the National Universities Commission (NUC) 
ii) Capacity building for HRD in collaboration with the ICTP, Trieste, Italy as a follow-up of the collaboration between the Obafemi Awolowo University and the ICTP. Engineers, Computer scientists and Chairmen of NUNet have been trained in Nigeria and at the ICTP. 
iii) A VSAT academic network backbone has been planned for the Nigerian universities. 
iv) Most of the universities have the dial-up e-mail facilities through the NUC and the ICTP, Trieste. Most of them use a campus Internet café room for the e-mail services. 

i) Collaboration with Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VUA), The Netherlands 
ii) Period: 1993-2000 
iii) Donor funding: US$1.75 million 

Activities and Results

i) Development of information policy/strategy for the University 
ii) Implementation of administrative and financial systems 
iii) Establishment of a campus network backbone, LANs and Internet access 
iv) Strengthening of the Computer Services Unit (CSU) to support ICT services 
v) Establishment of ICT facilities for staff and students 

i) Top management awareness and support for ICT for success of the project. 
ii) Introduction of the usage of commercial administrative software package 
iii) Project response to changes in ICT development 
iv) Brain drain of competent technical staff 
v) Substantial increase in ICT budget for sustainability of the project 

i) Information policy planning 
ii) Information system development, selection and implementation 
iii) Campus network infrastructure development 
iv) ICT management and support 

Observations
Over a total period of 7 years, technical assistance was provided comprising a long-term secondment of a VUA staff member in Lesotho for a period of 72 months (6years) and 31 weeks of short term missions of VUA staff members to Lesotho 
The technical assistance and the level of involvement of the donor appear too high for transfer of the technology. 
 

4.4 University of Swaziland / Microcomputers: training and application
(MICRO) / 1988-1997

i) Collaboration with Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VUA), The Netherlands 
ii) Period 1988 - 1997 
iii) Donor Funding: US $0.9 million 

Achievements

i) Capacity building to develop, implement and maintain administrative systems 
ii) Establishment of an Information Systems Development Unit 
iii) Student Information System and University Personnel Information System 
Activities and Results 
i) Information Policy Planning 
ii) Capacity building and HRD 
iii) Localised system development and implementation method 
iv) Survey for a library system 
v) Network infrastructure development 

Lessons learned

i) UNISWA was able to keep in line with development in ICT 
ii) Integration of ICT into teaching programmes and introduction of 4^th generation programming languages. 
iii) Problem of appropriate remuneration for ICT technical staff, thus affecting staff stability. 

Professional inputs provided by VUA

i) Information policy planning 
ii) ICT resource management 
iii) Information systems 
iv) Network infrastructure and services 

4.5 South Africa

i) Development of a "Shared Library Information System (SLIS) by 5 tertiary institutions in the Cape Town area to have a common on-line catalog of library resources accessible to staff and students 
ii) Testing of the web interface in progress. 
iii) Improvement in academic connectivity to the USA 
iv) Bottleneck in the connection of institutions to the backbone due to bandwidth problem 
v) Institutions opt and complement academic connectivity with commercial connectivity, due in part to the high connectivity charge of Uninet 
vi) Need for standards-based implementation of technological infrastructure in tertiary education 
vii) Uninet is the ISP for the national academic backbone 
viii) Division of universities to historically advantaged and historically disadvantaged for sharing ICT facilities. 
ix) Tertiary institutions made up of 14 technical colleges, and 22 universities 
x) Universities in Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho are connected to the national backbone thus creating a regional academic network 
xi) Academic backbone subsidised by the state. 
xii) A 5-node backbone spans the major centers of the country. 
xiii) Traffic saturation due to limited bandwidth 
xiv) Universities possess campus-wide network and some of them are planning to upgrade network to ATM (155Mbits/s or shared 100Mbits/s 
xv) In some universities, the majority of desktop computers are connected to the network, but in others only a small portion is connected. 

Generally HEIs in South Africa enjoy a good level of ICT development compared to their colleagues in other countries. 

4.6 Zambia (Computers for Administrative, Management and Academic Support (CAMAS)

i) Location: University of Zambia, Lusaka 
ii) Funding Agencies: Dutch NUFFIC and the University of Zambia (UNZA). Centre for Development Cooperation Services, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, was the executing partner 

Activities and Results
i) Establishment of a Campus-wide campus network, with optical fibre 

ii) 1,600 connection points and a new 700 line digital telephone system 
iii) Implementation of administrative and financial systems 
iv) Provision of library and Internet access 
v) Strengthening of the Computer Centre to stop brain-drain with salary supplementation 
vi) Establishment of a Consultancy and Training Unit for revenue generation 
vii) Empowering users and management through training 
viii) Establishment of the Zamnet Communication Systems, Zambia's first ISP and even today a national leader 
ix) Internet services to the university community at a highly subsidised rate 

i) Vision of top management. Project derived from University's strategic plan 
ii) Multi-donor project requiring efficient coordination 
iii) Champions and dedicated staff 
iv) Close coordination through ICT between the University and donors 
v) Organisational change proved a bigger challenge than the technological ICT innovations 
vi) Financial sustainability not secured. 
vii) The mid- to long term success of the project depends on economic and political developments which are largely outside the control of the university. 
viii) There must be a strong, shared will to transform the nature of the university experience for staff and students. The University must recognise and accept that the quality of education and the services it provides can be improved substantially and that an ICT solution offers the best means of doing so. This refers not only to the academic process, but also to the management of finance, personnel and student affairs. This kind of general understanding is essential to justify the application of resources to ICT development rather than to other competing needs. 
ix) Strategic Planning is a good way of achieving institutional consensus. Furthermore, a clear vision of institutional development facilitates the mobilisation of resources. The University's Strategic plan was the most important single factor that persuaded the Dutch NUFFIC organisation to fund the CAMAS Project. 
x) An ICT regulatory framework is important, but not essential. Zamnet was packaged more as an academic resource than a commercial enterprise and therefore not a direct threat to the Posts and Telecommunications Corporation, which, at the time, was not an Internet Service Provider. 
xi) The university community must believe that it has the primary responsibility for the success or failure of the institution. It is especially important that governments allow universities to manage their affairs without undue interference. This gives the universities confidence to be innovative and proactive in mobilising resources for development. External partners also feel encouraged when universities have freedom to manage projects outside governmental procedures. The 1992 review of the law governing universities in Zambia limited the direct participation of the Government in management affairs. This was a significant factor for enabling the University to negotiate substantial funding from external agencies. 
xii) Linkages with institutions in more advanced countries can be used to good effect, but local IT capacity is essential. Direct contact with such partners enables African universities to accelerate the assimilation of new methods and systems. All over the world universities have used IT in teaching, research and administration for many years. The partnerships provide a mechanism for learning the lessons of experience and avoiding costly pitfalls. The caution is that ICT development is dynamic, and not all the lessons of the past are applicable to the present. The technology is in constant flux and yesterday's experts are not necessarily those of today. Everyone needs to constantly update their knowledge. Therefore it is important for universities to have sufficient in house capacity to participate fully in the development of ICT systems in order to avoid costly mistakes. ICT projects in universities must have a long-term perspective because universities change slowly. A much more difficult and longer process is the full integration of the ICT in the functions of the university. 
xiii) Institutional stability is essential for continuity and sustained progress. 
xiv) Universities need effective strategies for continuous IT development. Many of our universities are poorly funded either because the governments are poor or because higher education does not have a sufficiently high priority. Often it is a combination of both adequate incentives to specialised staff. 

4.7 University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Pre-Planning Phase lasted for about 6 months and resulted in the formulation and approval of an ICT Policy and ICT Master Plan. 
Two main success factors for this phase are: 

i) Solid support of top University Management 
ii) Involvement and dedication of a University organization unit in-charge of this process 
The ICT Policy Plan (IPP) and ICT Master Plan were developed and approved in the pre-planning phase. The ICT Master Plan was aligned to the UDSM Rolling strategic plan. The ICT projects identified included the following: 
i) Financial Information System (FIS) 
ii) Academic Register Information System (ARIS) 
iii) Human Resources Management Information System 
iv) Library Information System (LIBIS) 
v) Contract/Project Information System 
vi) Management Information System 
vii) Computer and Communication Network Infrastructure (INFRA) 
viii) Systems Development Environment 
ix) Computing Centre Building (UC-CON) 
x) Upgrade professional level Computing Centre 
xi) Upgrade of functional application management expertise 

The grid consisted of four quadrants: 
¨ The support quadrant, representing information systems that form the base registration systems to capture operational transactions within UDSM. 
¨ The factory quadrant, representing information systems that improve operational control of the University processes. 
¨ The break through quadrant, representing information systems that can drastically improve the competitive position of the University and support the decentralization process. 
¨ The strategic quadrant, representing information systems that influence the long term viability and responsiveness of the University to environmental changes 

Funding:

i) Royal Netherlands Government(MHO-Programme)
ii) NORAD
iii) Sida-SAREC and
iv) The government of the United Republic of Tanzania

i) Organizational 
Clear terms of reference have been established for the central ICT Resources Management Organizational Unit, the University Computing Centre (UCC). Service level agreements are worked out to guide the service delivery of UCC and to ensure accountability 
ii) Technical 
Technical training has been given to all cadres to ensure competence to offer ICT services and to provide the required leadership in this area at University level 
iii) Financial 
The policy specifies the charge back principle for all ICT services. 
To further ensure financial sustainability and in a way organizational/technical sustainability, USDM has approved transforming the UCC into a Limited Liability Company with the UDSM owning all the shares to start with. This made it possible for staff and the University community to enjoy subsidized ICT services. 

i) Necessity for the development of ICT Policy Plan (IPP) and ICT Master Plan aligned with the University Rolling Strategic Plan. 
ii) Identification of strategic ICT projects 
iii) Prioritization of projects using the strategic grid system 
iv) Funding by international agencies and the government of Tanzania 
v) Strengthening of the University Computer Centre as the Unit responsible for development of ICT in the University. 
vi) Sustainability of the ICT through organizational, technical and financial strategies 
vii) Formation of a limited liability company and becoming an ISP in Tanzania 
viii) Wide Area Campus Network using optical fibre backbone and wireless system 
ix) International connectivity through a VSAT network. 

i) Formulation of strategic policy, plans and strategies for implementation. Availability of such a document can attract external international funding. 
ii) Local champions and committed staff 
iii) Prioritization of ICT for funding and declaring ICT a priority project in the University. ICT to be recognized as a utility such as water and electricity of the development of the University. 
iv) Human Resources development (HRD) for sustainability 
v) Organizational, structural and financial sustainability 
vi) Integration of technology into the new learning and research paradigm. Training of staff and students for the new academic environment 
vii) Coordination of donor support for cost effectiveness 
viii) Development of a campus-wide area network with fibre optics cable backbone and /or wireless radio technique. This will be an inter-connection of the various LANs in the university 
ix) Use of digital PABX for expansion of local connectivity within the campus 
x) Establishment of an Information Communication Technology Unit for ICT provision and development , with a Consultancy Unit for income generation, which can help in supplementing the staff salary to reduce or prevent brain-drain or brain-push of highly qualified technical personnel. Alternatively, the Computer Centre Unit can be strengthened. 
xi) Desirability for commercialization of the ICT into a commercial venture from where ICT services to staff can be subsidized. 
xii) Transformation of the library from the old "book oriented " and often inward looking approach (only traditional cataloguing of information) to an outward looking approach with emphasis on information handling - collection, processing, compiling and dissemination 
xiii) Integration of existing African Virtual Library and digital library projects into a unified resource for optimal on-line library services. 

5.1 TECHNICAL

Telecommunication and other relevant infrastructure

i) The poor telecommunication infrastructure, quantity and quality constitute a major problem to ICT development in many HEI. In some cases the telephone system is still analogue and the speed of transmission grossly inadequate. The national telephone companies constitute obstacles as well. They have been least cooperative, although the situation will start to change with the wind of deregulation blowing across the continent. 
ii) Absence of a National Information Communication Infrastructure (NICI) policy, plans and strategies. The NICI policy for African countries was a major issue at the African Development Forum (ADF) held in October, 1999 at the UN-ECA HQ in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Little or no avenue for concessions to be granted to the universities. 
iii) Lack of the University coherent plan for ICT. 
iv) Internet Points of Presence (POP) in the country may not be reachable by the university by a high speed telephone system 
v) Problems associated with connectivity and in particular the issue of limited bandwidth, thus leading to traffic congestion or saturation 
vi) Gross under utilization of existing infrastructure due to ignorance and lack of awareness and in some cases due to lack of interest or commitment 
vii) Limited bandwidth availability 
viii) Lack of low bandwidth ICT tools for teaching, research, distance education and distance research collaboration 

i) Non-reliability of the public electricity supply, thus necessitating extra cost for standby generators. Frequent outages also necessitate use of expensive and reliable UPS system. Inability to use alternative energy supply such as solar power, despite the abundance of solar energy in Africa. 
ii) Inadequate protection for buildings leading to frequent damage to equipment. 

Human Resources for development and sustainability of ICT

i) Availability of trained technical and support staff 
ii) External and internal training in order to establish a critical mass of competent staff 
iii) HRD in many cases are not given enough consideration in ICT policy and plans 
iv) Identification of local champions and innovator. When absent the grooming of champions becomes important. Various forms of champions, such as: 
Those who fight to build campus networks, those who introduce ICTs in curricula, those who fight to build the library and content infrastructure, those who view the impact of ICTs on their society and fight for policies that will encourage more and better use of the ICTs, those who build ISPs and new community ICT services and service using ICTs. 
v) Universities have rigid promotion criteria and are insensitive to individual contributions/championship. Effort to introduce ICT into curricula and teaching may not be appreciated. 
vi) Lack of skills by both lecturer and staff to integrate technology into the learning system 

Lack of enabling environment

i) Many telephone companies have been a major obstacle in some cases. Either out of ignorance, lack of funds or fear of losing autonomy they have been least cooperative in helping universities improve their local or international connections. 
ii) The enabling environment is not usually present. In particular the environment does not appear friendly for the ICT development. It takes time to drive awareness into the decision makers. The follow-up is usually less hazardous once the initial obstacle is scaled. 
iii) ISP may not be easily available to provide service. Note in the case of Zambia, the university became the first ISP. The bandwidth of ISPs may not be suitable in some cases. 

5.2. NON-TECHNICAL

i) The need for professional development in the integration of technology into 
education and learning. 
ii) Lessons from the corporate world suggest five levels of technology professional 
development: 

- entry (teachers teach students to use the technology) 
- adoption (teachers use technology to support traditional instruction) 
- adaptation ( teachers use technology to enrich curriculum) 
- appropriation (technology is integrated; used for its unique capabilities) 
- invention (educators are prepared to develop entirely new learning environments that use technology as a flexible tool; learning becomes collaborative, interactive, and customized) 

iii) Success in the integration of technology in teaching and learning may require that faculty members reflect on the following questions: 
Why use technology? Why integrate multimedia into a course? Why use online collaborative learning in a course? Why build distance courses that are completely online? Why assess the effectiveness of technology in a course? Why engage in the design (not just use) of web-based course materials? Answers must be provided in order to carry along the faculty members. 
iii) Thus, the drive to the use of the Internet and associated technologies must be part of a broader discussion on commitment to learning quality and equality. Traditional teaching practices result in modest improvement in easily measured areas of student achievement. To gain higher order skills development requires a new pedagogy; variously referred to or described as "generative", "constructivist", "learner-centered", and "collaborative". This will require moving learners (whether faculty members or students) beyond the presentational use of the Internet to interaction and generation. A continuum of Internet use, starts from presentation (by self or others) and moves to interaction (peer review and critique of work of themselves and others) to generation (where new work is created as the systematic response to other information and participants). 
iv) Professional development in content generation for various levels of student's 
skills and learning pace 
v) National, social and political climate in the country. Upheaval and student 
unrest in the university could be another obstacle. Donors/collaborators will not be comfortable in a state of political instability and upheaval. The case in Zambia that led to the withdrawal of international collaborator is a good example. 
vi) The deregulation in the ICT sector is still in its infancy in many countries. 
There are no special exceptions for ICT service to the HEI. For example there is the monopoly in the provision of VSAT services for international service in some countries. 
vii) There is poor level of awareness of even senior academic staff to the facilities 
and potentials of the ICT and some of them are conservative and are not ready to face changes. In some cases some of these senior academic staff might be in position of authority. 
viii) Cost of equipment can be an obstacle. HEI should be encouraged to assemble 
their own computers and have expertise in the design and installation of most if not all their network, thereby eliminating the costly contract awarding system. Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria practised this approach, which has led to large reduction in cost of the project. 
ix) Many of the HEI are poorly funded either because the governments are poor or 
because higher education does not have a sufficiently high priority. Often it is a combination of both 
x) Imaginative solutions are needed to break out of hierarchical salary structures, 
which are an obstacle to giving incentives to specialized staff. 

i) Inadequate planning for integration of ICT in the regular activities of the 
universities. 
This in turn may be due to inadequate capacity for planning of any kind; lack of appreciation of the possibilities for improving institutional performance by the use of ICT methods; inadequate information about ICT techniques in academic and management systems. In many instances, such planning seems pointless unless the plans have a reasonable chance of implementation through Government support and external assistance. If Governments are not part of the university planning processes and if external funding cannot be secured, there are not many universities that can successfully implement the fundamental institutional restructuring needed for ICTs to have an impact. 
ii) Inadequate human resource base 
An external input can probably assist to overcome inadequacies in the purely technical aspects of an ICT implementation project. But ICTs have little chance of success if they are viewed purely as machines and cables. And it is no good imagining that with just a little tinkering, systems that have worked elsewhere (in the developed world) will work in African universities. They may, but only if such tinkering is fully informed by local (academic and administrative) traditions, practices and especially perceptions of the future. Rather than focusing on foreign experts, it is probably more effective to target selected staff for ICT development so that they can meaningfully participate in systems development. Universities must also be prepared to pay a premium for the retention of such staff for only such a core can sustain the systems 

5.3. Critical Factors that led to success in the concrete examples
Assistance of external bodies
In almost all the case studies, there was the assistance from external bodies as shown below: 

i) University of Ghana: 
USAID Leyland Initiative 
Danish Royal Embassy of Ghana 
ii) Obafemi Awolwo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria 
International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy 
iii) National University of Lesotho 
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VUA), The Nertherlands 
iv) University of Swaziland: 
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VUA), The Nertherlands 
v) University of Zambia, Lusaka: 

i) development of strategic policy and plans 
ii) financial assistance 
iii) HRD and capacity building 
iv) technical assistance 

i) Strategic policy and plan formulation 
ii) LAN and campus-wide area network 
iii) ICT campus backbone - either optical fibre or wireless 
iv) Internet connectivity 
v) Integration of technology to teaching and research in order to transform traditional methods unto new learning and research paradigm 

i) Although in all the case studies, LANs and campus area network were established, this is not necessarily the case in many HEI in Africa, which claims to have Internet connectivity. In many cases, either a single computer or a LAN located in a campus cyber café is connected to the Internet. The entire university community makes use of this single location for the ICT services. 
ii) The level of technology professional development can be considered in terms of entry, adoption, adaptation, appropriation and invention. The integration of technology in teaching and learning through the processes of moving learners (teacher and students) beyond the presentational use of the Internet to interaction and generation should be considered. 

i) The Internet bandwidth connection of most HEI is very low for these institutions to enjoy most of the multi-media services and on-line academic facilities available on the Internet. Whilst only a few universities has bandwidth of 64 Kbits/s or more bandwidth connection, 12 uinversities in the USA are already connected to the Internet2 with Gbits/s bandwidth. In many countries in the developed world, the bandwidth available to academic institutions, which are in the Mbits/s range are not even available to national Internet connectivity of many African countries. 
ii) Many of the HEI still use store and forward connection and others are connected with dial-up facilities with the bandwidth limitation due to the poor telephone facilities. The bandwidth can be as low as 19.2 Kbits/s. Some of the universities have dedicated line access. 
iii) The VSAT satellite facilities, however offer tremendous opportunities and can eliminate in many cases the problem of poor telephone lines. The wireless access has been useful in offering reasonable speeds of connection. 

i) There is generally the lack of maintenance culture in many African countries, including the HEI. Projects can easily become "white elephants if sufficient maintenance component is not incorporated into the strategic planning. 
ii) Adequate HRD, where the University staff participates in the design and installation will ensure maintainability and sustainability of the project. 
iii) Brain drain of competent staff can also be mitigating factor in the maintenance of the system 
iv) Availability or provision of sub-system spares and spare parts in general will be crucial 

i) This is an aspect that should be well managed especially in the strategic planning for the ICT project. The needs assessment has to take the following into consideration: teaching, research, administration and management, curricula development, library and archieval services, integration of technology into the learning and research processes and the transformation of the university into the modern eductaion paradigm offered by the ICT and its pervasive working environment of the students after graduation. 
ii) The process should take into consideration and reconcile between the NEED and the WANT of the HEI for the ICT 
iii) The usual actors in the assessment of needs in ICT are: the academics, the senior administrators, top management, donor agents, local champions and leaders, innovators, etc. 

v There is a need to look at where ICT would help HEI education for an affordable price. 

v Application of wireless Internet technology to African higher education can be assessed. This is a cost-effective technology with minimum time of installation. 

v It is important to drive as many departments and universities as possible to use ICTs for teaching, dissemination of the technology in university services, and provide leadership in transfer and adaptation of ICTs to the larger African society. This can be achieved through empowerment of change agents, financing them and the innovations they create and recognition of their value and leadership with praise and public recognition. 

Two basic questions however should be addressed:

6.1 QUESTION 1: WHO SHOULD DEFINE THE HEI's ICT NEEDS ?

Consider two scenarios: 

Scenario 1: Players/Actors driven

i) A full and coherent picture of the ICT needs can be obtained in an ideal case when almost all or all the players or actors are invoved. 
ii) A well-designed and managed approach can greatly increase the outcome of the exercise. 
iii) The lecturers, researchers, students, administrators, ICT technical team, the library and academic and administrative senior managers would constitute the relevant internal audiences. 
iv) External audience may also be taken into consideration in order to serve a larger community. 
v) This will be a natural approach by HEIs of high level of ICT maturity. External consultant or donor representation may also be desired. 

Scenario 2:The Champion's approach
i) The few champions or leaders, really interested and be willing to invest time and energy are the main actors 
ii) Advantageous with balanced output if the champion is part of the senior management. 
iii) Care must be taken to ensure that it is in the long term interest of the institution as a whole 
iv) This is usually the case for relatively low ICT maturity institutions 
v) Quality of needs assessment is crucial for this class of institutions. 
vi) If ICT development starts with Scenario 2, it is necessary at a stage for Scenario 2 to be applied in order for the institution to take optimal advantage of the facilities and potentials of ICT 
vii) In order to promote innovation, there is a need for a "self organizing" process to complement assessments. 
viii) This process recognizes successful innovations, rewards the innovators to stimulate more innovation and scales up and replicates the successes. 

6.2 QUESTION 2: AT WHAT LEVEL SHOULD ICT NEEDS BE DEFINED ?

i) The market-type university - open to the outside world and open internally is the institution of the future, rather than the old ivory tower concept. 
ii) ICT contributions to realizing an institution's overall strategy: 
¨ The demand for relevance: not only from the employers, but increasingly also from the Government, parents, and students.
¨ The demand for accountability: closely linked to the previous demand, but emphasizing internal efficiency rather than external effectiveness. 
¨ Increased competition: for Government funds from other sectors from society; for well qualified staff from other universities and the private sector; for research funds from specialized research institutions; for good and rich students by prestigious international universities; etc. 
¨ New learning needs: the student population is changing in terms of the type of skills they want to acquire (learning to learn, emphasizing learning over teaching) and in terms of background (returning students, life-long learning, distance students). 

iii) It is necessary to define an HEIs higher-level needs first and then identify how ICT can make valuable contributions. 
iv) How far, should the bottom-up process with ICT champions in the lead continue, and at what moment should HEIs management take over to make sure that initiatives are integrated and coordinated in the best interest of the institution as a whole must be determined. 

v The role of donors can be harmful when they support sectoral ICT interest over institutional interests, and bordering institution in the long run with ICT maintenance, replacement, and staffing costs. 
v The setting of priorities is inevitable, because resources in terms of staff and fund are scarce and must be optimally utilized. 
v ICT can also be regarded as not just a tool, but a new paradigm to transform the whole society, including HEI. 
v In whatever direction HEIs will change, they will always need access to ICT. 
v The minimum requirement for any HEI therefore is access to Internet, a university-wide network, and ICT applications in teaching professional skills and research. 

6.3 LIBRARY AND ARCHIVAL SERVICES

The library is expected to serve as the lifeblood of HEI with well stocked books, journals and provide archival services utilizing all the tools offered by the ICT.. However, due to its inability to serve in this capacity as a result of poor funding and other HRD related matters, there has been low level of use and visit to the library by the academic staff and even the students themselves. In The information technology age library must have a new outlook: 
v Transformation of the library from its traditional book-oriented and often inward looking to the outward looking attitude with emphasis on information handling 
v Instead of cataloguing information alone, library must lay emphasis on collection, processing, compiling and disseminating it in support of students and researchers both inside and outside the institution. 
v Transformation of the library into a new Information Services Unit 
v New outlook, structure, skills and attitude , which some library staff cannot easily adapt to 
v Removal of the artificial dividing line between the library and the teaching and learning and research functions 
v Generally there is the need to integrate technology into the library functions 

Current situation of the libraries:

v Poor funding making it impossible for the library to perform its traditional role 
v No infrastructure of professional support and expertise on the ground 
v Some libraries that introduced through donor assistance find it difficult to maintain and further develop after the expiry of the aid period 
v Funding of the library can no longer cope with the cost of acquisition and maintenance of ICT facilities 
v Subscription to journals and book purchase decreased 
v Establishment and maintenance of integrated library systems are beyond the reach of most libraries 
v Few librarians are available with ICT skills and the conservative top management of the library services are in many cases slow or reluctant to change 
v Shortage of system librarians to establish and maintain automated library systems 

Integrated Library Management Systems will be able to provide the following:

v Electronic cataloguing 
v Electronic on-line public access catalogue (OPAC) 
v Electronic acquisition and serials control 
v Electronic, on-line inter library loan 
v Electronic circulation services 
ICT in the form of PCs, diskettes, CD-ROM, e-mail, intranet and Internet facilities 
Facilities offered to African libraries by the ICT tools will include: 

¨ Development of database of theses and dissertations from African Universities 
¨ Journals published in Africa to be accessible on-line as part of the contents provided by Africa on the Internet 
¨ Retrospective scanning of abstracts and bibliographic information to database. 
¨ Preservation of valuable old documents 
¨ Scanned core collections to be available on campus intranet with Internet connectivity 
¨ Joint subscription of African libraries to electronic journals and others for cost effectiveness 
¨ Development of subject based information gateway 
¨ Internet travelling workshops for librarians can help develop human capacities 

African Digital Library

§ There are at present a number of digital/virtual library projects in Africa such as the AVU project, the African digital library by Technikon South African Centre for Life Long Learning in conjunction with AAU, etc 
§ An integrated African digital library/ Virtual Library with links amongst its component parts should be established. 
§ More publishers of books and journals will offer assistance 

Needs Assessment for the Library and Archival Services
Ø The needs assessment will be similar to that of the University taking into consideration the peculiar circumstances of the library as specified above. 
Ø Digitalization of the library is of utmost importance 
Ø Establishment of a LAN within the library with connectivity to the campus-wide network 
Ø Planned phasing of the actualization of an Integrated Library Management Systems 
Ø A strategic planning and implementation must be done 
Ø In many of the HE, the library through the combination of local champions and donor agencies has played some pioneering role in the establishment of e-mail facilities on small localized scale 
Ø The champion scenario will have to transform in to the all actors/players scenario in the needs assessment. 
Ø In view of the limited knowledge of the vast facilities offered to the library and archival services, it may be desirable to utilize the experience of experts from outside the University community 
Ø Intensive HRD is absolutely a priority for the library staff. 
Ø Needs assessment of the library must incorporate specific goals, funding, HRD, etc 
Ø The Medical library will have to be considered as a special case 
Ø Libraries should endeavour to generate funds from some specialized services for financial sustainability. 

7. STRENGTHENING INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITIES

7.1 NON-TECHNICAL

1. Formulation of a strong and well articulated ICT policy by the university community. Guidelines can be made available especially in the case of "starter" HEI in ICT. 
2. Setting up of an ICT Unit to plan and implement ICT development and use in teaching, research and management. 
3. Both the technology as well as the human and organizational aspects of ICT should be developed. 
4. ICT policy and plan should also address human organizational capacity such as strategic management, tactical management and operational management. These management structures must be well defined for optimal realization of the HEI objectives and goals 
5. Distribution of responsibilities into classes such as technical, applications and purely functional. This will ensure cost-effectiveness in the implementation of the policy document. 

7.2 TECHNICAL ASPECT

1. Train the trainer with its multiplying effect in the development of a viable HRD base 
2. Regular review of emerging technologies for network improvement e. g wireless access technology has potential for future applications in HEIs in Africa. Leapfrogging will be possible with emerging technologies. IMT-2000 with multimedia mobile Internet capabilities, World Space radio with Internet interface, etc 
3. Strengthening the HRD capabilities of the technical staff so as to carry out design , development and implementation of future network expansion 
4. Upgrading knowledge of user group in the application of technology to learning, education and research. 
5. Curriculum development: institutional, national, regional and international 
6. Encouragement of formation of cooperative University system for course credit transfer 
7. ICT has become a utility such as water and electricity, hence institutional budgeting should recognize this fact for appropriate allocation 
8. Integration of the technology into teaching, research and management 
9. Establishment and extension of campus-wide area network to all parts of the campus 
10. Optimal utilization of the campus intranet for teaching, research and management 
11. Establishment of national academic and research ICT backbone and the encouragement of regional networks 

8. ROLE OF HEI /AAU

v AAU to serve as catalyst of growth and development of ICT IN HEI. 
v AAU to encourage all HEI to create an ICTs Unit with a Director, preferably under the VC's office for strategic reasons. Apart from being responsible for ICT matters in the university, the unit must assemble computers for the HEI, staff and students at affordable price. 
v HEI must create access to computer facilities for staff and students. Ownership, modular approach must be looked into. 
v Donor assistance could accelerate the development of ICT in HEI but should not be made pivot to the project. 
v HEI should make basic ICT literacy a must for both staff and students and necessary strategy for implementation worked out. 
v An integrated digital (virtual) library for Africa must be set up AAU, AVU and other stake holders should cooperate in order to achieve this. 
v AAU through the Ministries of Education and Communication of African countries should request for special consideration for HEI in ICT regulatory matters. For example, special tariff, special ISP deals for connectivity and permission to use VSAT for international connection. WMO has an international telecommunication tariff reduction agreement for member states 
v Training of faculty members to produce online materials /courses for sharing or for fees. 
v Creation of network of ICT experts 

Survey of ICTs in HEI should include questions such as
v Is the ICT infrastructure adequate to the needs of training students to use the available ICTs in the work place after graduation. Can the graduates also stimulate further use and development of ICT in their discipline 
v What level of integration of technology into learning and education delivery 
v Do faculty have ICT adequate to their research and development needs 
v Are HEI providing Internet services to their communities 

Classification of success stories and lessons learnt and making the information available in print and electronically on web site. On the website there must be web page dedicated to ICT in HEI 

Guideline to the setting up of ICT facilities 
· Strategic policy and plan 
· Integration of technology with learning, education, research . Training of faculty members to produce on-line materials/courses 
· Stages of ICT introduction 
ü LANs, Campus-wide network 
ü Intranet 
ü Backbone campus network using optical fibre or wireless connection 
ü Internet connectivity with adequate bandwidth, not less than 64Kbits/s 
· Cost implication for the stages 
· Source for fund for further support of the success stories for development 
· Survey of ICT facilities in the HEI to be made available to international funding agencies. 
· Network of champions And innovators 
· Strengthening the existing reserve of ICT experts for periodical on-line discussion on typical issues on ICT in HEI. 
· Development of ICT tools box including help desk for HEI 

8.1. AAU ICT Survey in HEI

The submission by Daly with some expansion given below is worth consideration in the AAU survey: 

1. As a result of the convergence between computers, telecommunications and broadcast communications, indicators should probably currently include all three technologies, and be planned for change; 

2. Indicators for both the ICT infrastructure (ICT backbone for a campus, mainframe computer systems if they serve overall campus needs, campus gateway to the Internet, etc.) and the decentralized ICTs serving individual colleges, departments, etc. 

3. Some of the indicators are: 
i) ICT backbone on campus 
ü Optical fibre/wireless 
ü Bandwidth 
ü Type of Internet connectivity 
ii) Computer systems 
ü Mainframe or distributed network of PCs 
ü Network type and topology 
iii) Campus Gateway to the Internet 
ü Dial-up 
ü Dedicated line 
ü VSAT/wireless connectivity 
iv) Decentralized ICTs in Colleges, Faculties and Departments 
ü Isolated PCs 
ü LAN topology 
ü Type of PCs 
ü Network platform 
ü Operating system and network protocol 
ü Connection to campus area network 
ü Number of computers connected 
v) Telecommunication Facilities 
· Type of campus PABX - analogue or digital 
· Number of lines 
· PSTN telephone exchange 
ü Analogue switch 
ü Digital switch 
ü Analogue radio transmission 
ü Digital radio transmission 
· Availability of national Internet Points of Presence (PoP)
ü Distance to nearest PoP 
ü Available ISP facilities 
ü Type of telephone connection to ISP facilities 
ü Bandwidth of ISP 

4. A general schema of the following type might be helpful: 

· Inputs 
· Facilities 
· quantity 
· quality 
· human resources 
· quantity 
· quality 
· financial resources 
· software, courseware, etc. 

· Processes 
· courses offered 
· services offered 
· library 
· ISP 
· consulting 
· technical services 
· etc. 

· Outputs 
· Students graduating 
· with ICT degrees 
· with ICT competence but other degrees 
· Indicators of Service Outputs 
· library requests filled 
· ISP subscribers and utilization 
· ICT consultant services delivered 
· ICT technological services delivered 
· etc. 
 
 

· Impacts 
· On government 
· On commerce 
. On health services 
· On primary and secondary education 
· On agriculture 
· On industry 
. etc. 

9. ROLE OF CARNEGIE AND OTHER PARTNERS

¨ Support of Carnegie to AAU in the realization of the roles and goals of AAU specified above 
¨ Establishment of ICT facilities in HEI with Internet connectivity 
¨ Bandwidth of not less than 64 Kbits/s 
¨ Establishment of ICT tools box and help desk 
¨ Setting up of models of ICT policy, plans and strategies making use of ICT experts from and outside of Africa. These models can be modified depending on local conditions. 
¨ Establishment of a network of ICT Experts in Africa for periodic on-line discussion of topical ICT matters in HEI in Africa and the global trend 
¨ Selection of universities at various levels of ICT development for ICT pilot projects to be funded by Carnegie, other interested partners and locally 

Level 1: 
HEI with well established ICT. 
Strategic policy and plans. 
Increase in b/w establishment of large b/w optical fibre network. 
Network expansion 
Integration of technology into learning, education, research and management. 
Development of online courses 
Distance research collaboration 
Networking the universities in this class. 

Level 2: 
HEI with or no ICT facilities. 
Identification of champions/innovators strategic policy and plans 
LAN and campus-wide area network 
Integration of technology into learning, education, research and management. 
Development of online courses 
Distance research collaboration 
Networking the universities in this class 

¨ Establishment of an African digital/ virtual library in collaboration with other stakeholders in the project, such as the AVU 
 

10. SHORT AND LONG TERM PROPOSED GOALS
¨ "African universities have to run very fast to avoid falling very far behind" - Daly 
This is a good starting philosophy. The dynamic nature of ICT will be taken into consideration in setting time periods in view of the rapid development in the field. 

¨ Time Period And Time Frame for Implementation 
i) Short term - approximately 1 year duration, if possible 6 - 12 months 
II) Long term -- approximately 1 to 3 years 

¨ Short term Goals must be designed so as to obtain results that can be felt in the institution in order to obtain local support and commitment to ICT 's development. 
¨ For institution with little or no ICT facilities 
¨ Establishment of ICT strategic plans and implementation procedure 
¨ Identification and use of local champions and innovators 
· Establishment of Local Area Network (LAN) 
· Provision of adequate number of computers for staff and students use 
· Establishment of campus-wide network 
Optical fibre for long term goals 
Wireless technology for short term goals 

¨ HEI to develop ICT Unit for assembly of computers so as to bring down the cost 

11. CONCLUSIONS

The on-line discussion has demonstrated that the Challenge to Africa of Globalization and the Information Age is in reality the Challenge to HEI in Africa of Globalization and the Information Age. Africa cannot be truly part of the Information Age without active participation of the HEI in the use and development of ICT. The HEIs constitute the gateway for Africa's entry into the global market place. 

The on-line discussion has been based on the structure mapped out and agreed to at the on-set of the discussion. Although the report has included the summary in most cases of the discussion on each item of the structure, it is pertinent to underscore some of the following findings: 

¨ ICT provides powerful tools and a new paradigm for the execution of the functions and roles of HEI in Africa, such as education, knowledge creation, knowledge organization and management, knowledge gate keeping, archival and library services and other socio-economic-technological services to the community 
¨ Transformation of HEI from the traditional roles to a more demanding role catalyzed by the ICT 
¨ A learning paradigm has become necessary and students must be prepared for the ICT all pervasive environment or work place after graduation. 
¨ New curricula have become necessary, which is more learner-centred. 
¨ Various levels of the use of Internet in learning such as entry, adoption, adaptation, appropriation and invention have been identified 
¨ A number of key issues have been addressed 
¨ Six case studies of HEI development, carried out in 6 African countries, showed a lot of similarity in the establishment of ICT with local variations depending on the prevailing circumstances in the University and in the country. 
Donor financial and technical assistance, especially in form of Human Resource Development (HRD) were significant in the success of the projects. In the case of Ghana, Nigeria, Lesotho, Swaziland, the Champion's need assessment scenario was adopted, while the Zambia's scenario was that of Players/Actors scenario 

· In all the case studies the HRD played a major role. 
· However, the integration of the technology into learning, research and management is still at its infancy in most of the cases 
· The need to create an ICT Unit with a Director under the Vice Chancellor's office with a Director became mandatory from the case studies. 
· Two scenarios of the needs assessment were identified as Actors/Players scenario and the Champion's scenario. 
· All HEIs must declare ICT as priority in budgetary allocations, because of its importance as a major utility after water and electricity 
· The Internet based degree programmes, especially the M.BA in Business and e-Business mounted by renowned universities in Europe and the USA as well as the Internet based open Universities could constitute challenges to the brick and mortar traditional University education, if the latter does not adequately respond to opportunities offered by ICT. 
o The case studies also showed that an ICT strategic policy, plans and implementation document is mandatory. The strategic plan should be linked with the overall developmental plan of the University. Such a document could attract external funding as in the case of Zambia. 
o There is the need to integrate technology into the learning, research and management (tactical, operational, and strategic) in the institution 
Lack of adequate telecommunication infrastructure, utilities such as electricity, lack of a National Information Communication Infrastructure (NICI) policy, plans and strategies in addition to political instability in the country as well as instability in the HEI, could constitute obstacles to the use and development of ICT in HEI 
o Inadequate planning for ICT integration, inadequate human and organizational base as well as inadequate funding can be obstacles as well. 
o HEI must not only develop ICT and utilize the facilities, the HEI as knowledge gate keeper is expected to champion the national ICT development in the country 
o Transformation of the library into the new Information Services Unit from the conventional book-oriented institution 
o Establishment of Integrated Library Management System 
o AAU/Carnegie to collaborate with other stakeholders such as the AVU in the establishment of an African Digital/Virtual Library 
¨ African HEI without adequate ICT facilities in the next 3 years will not be able to discharge the functions for which they are established and will be serving little or no role in the advancement of knowledge. The continued existence of such HEIs becomes debatable. 
 
 

12. RECOMMENDATIONS

1. The dynamic nature of ICT and the rapid changes accompanying the ICT revolution calls for immediate action on the establishment of ICT facilities in HEI in Africa 

2. The AAU Survey incorporating the suggestions made in this report should be given urgent action and funding 

3. The survey should cover as many HEI as possible with adequate regional representation in order to provide a good databank, which can be utilized by other international agencies interested in the development of ICT in HEI in Africa. 

4. The on-line discussion has provided wonderful opportunity for brainstorming on the problems of the establishment and use of ICT in HEI. A network of experts should be set up and they can carry out periodical discussion on topical issues of ICT in HEI, 

5. The HEI should be classified according to levels of ICT maturity and development. Appropriate strategies should be worked out for each level 

6. Formulation of General Strategic Policy, Plans and Implementation procedures for the establishment of ICT in HEI. Local variations can be applied according to the local conditions. 

7. Development of ICT Tools Box and Help Desk for ICT in HEI 
8. Establishment of an African Digital Library by all interested stakeholders 
9. All HEI should be advised to establish campus-wide area network with Internet 
connectivity. 
10. Some short term and long term pilot projects should be identified and funded. 
1. ¹ Director, Information Technology and Communication Unit, Obafemi Awolowo University (Nigeria) 
. ² See Appendix 1 for list of participants of the online discussion and Appendix 2 for list of participants at the Technical Experts meeting.