This report is a result of the Association of African Universities' initiative to promote the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Higher Education Institutions in Africa. This has been greatly enhanced by the collective efforts of individuals and institutions through the intellectual, financial, material or otherwise support throughout the process. 

The Association wishes to acknowledge the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) for their financial contributions, the University of Dar es Salaam for hosting the meeting, the Knowledge Exchange and Learning Partnerships (KELP/USAID) and all those institutions that availed their staff to participate in the experts meeting. 

Individual contributions of the participants of the on-line discussion under the moderation of Professor Olalere Ajayi, and the participants of the AAU/ICT technical experts meeting and all others who directly or indirectly contributed towards the accomplishment of the initiative whose visible output is the current report, are highly appreciated by the Association of African Universities. 
 
 

1. Introduction
 

One of the objectives of the Association of African Universities is to study and make known the educational and related needs of African universities and as far as practicable, to coordinate the means whereby those needs may be met. For more effective attainment of the objectives, the Association has directed its efforts in formulating a coherent Core Program of activities for which the 1997-2000 aimed at among others, contributing more effectively to building capacity in African Universities. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has globally emerged as a necessary facility in enhancing both academic and governance activities of an institution. In realizing this fact, the Conference of Rectors, Vice Chancellors, and Presidents held in Arusha (Tanzania) in 1999, recommended among others the following:

assessment/survey of ICTs capacities at every African University should be undertaken soonest and within agreed upon time interval;
AAU is requested to assist any African university that may require such assistance, in developing guidelines for the formulation of strategic ICTs plans.

There is now a concerted effort to solve the problem of ICTs development and usage in the higher education institutions (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 Internet2 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. 

This exercise about the development and use of ICT in HEI in Africa, therefore now offers a unique opportunity to revitalize the interest of African academic community, private sector, and other stakeholders, as well as international agencies and governments in Africa in the ICT development and use in HEI.

The AAU-ICT Technical Experts Meeting held at University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, from 17^th to 19^th May, 2000 is one of a series of activities planned to formulate a strategy for the implementation of the two recommendations stated above.

Opening the meeting, the Guest of Honour, Minister for Science, Technology and Higher Education, Honourable Dr Pius Ng'wandu (MP) commended the founder of the Carnegie Corporation of New York Mr Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) for his intuition towards technological and educational causes. He also paid tribute to the good and honourable work done by the Carnegie Corporation in pursuit of the founder's causes, which has directly translated into the financial contribution towards the accomplishment of activities aimed at improving ICT in Higher Education Institutions in Africa in general and particularly, holding the experts meeting in Dar es Salaam.

He also commended the Association of African Universities whose activities are aimed at strengthening higher education in Africa. He urged universities in the region to particularly strive to remove the grave inequalities existing amongst countries of the world as regards to access to modern information and communication technologies and the development of the necessary infrastructure.
 

The main objectives of this meeting were to:

• - identify key issues which need to be addressed through a comprehensive study of the gaps in the current knowledge base of African needs and capacities for ICTs application;
• - identify areas of mutual interest and establish priorities to address them;
• - propose goals that can be achieved in short and long term; 
• - deliberate on the AAU proposed survey in order to reformulate the scope, time frame  and funding requirements for each of the identified parts that will be addressed within the study. 

Part One - Summary of the main presentations
Part Two - Outcomes of Working Groups

¨ Group 1: Key issues and framework for development use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in higher education institutions in Africa 
¨ Group 2: Proposed role of AAU: Strategic plan to help African Universities to build capacity through using ICT and questionnaire

PART ONE: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN PRESENTATIONS
1. The Program
The working sessions were chaired by Professor Matthew L. Luhanga, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Dar es Salaam. A review of the program was found necessary so as to provide for more time for intellectual input to the development of the framework and strategies for the study and AAU and less time for the discussion of the survey tool, i.e. the questionnaire. The work program is appended.

2. Presentation of Background Information on the ICTs Project and the Experts Meeting
The AAU representative Mr Yawo Assigbley provided a brief background to the experts meeting which he elaborated as being a response to one of recommendations of the Conference of Rectors, Vice Chancellors, and presidents of African Universities (COREVIP'99) held in Arusha, Tanzania in 1999which upon recognizing the role of ICT in improving higher learning education in Africa, urged the Association of African Universities to advance the development and use of ICT in revitalizing African Universities in the 21^st century. The same conference recommended a study of ICT status as well as exploration of experiences in ICT development and use.
He indicated that two meetings of representatives of interested agencies were held during the Conference of African Development Forum held in Addis Ababa in October 1999 in which a study with four main parts was planned as briefly noted below: 

- Technical Meeting of experts which will involve about 10 African scholars and experts from HEIs, and representatives of donor agencies. The experts will issue a joint report on their findings and conclusions. The experts meeting was proposed to take place in May 2000 in an African University having appropriate facilities for the use and application of ICTs;
- Implementation of the survey in the Higher Education and Research Institutions in Africa. To be carried out by three consultants representing the Anglophone, Francophone and Lusophone institutions.
- Review of the draft report of the study, especially by the participants who attended the first meeting of experts through on-line exchanges and discussions and finalization of the report.
- Development of a coherent program by the AAU for strengthening institutional capacities in the use of ICTs, drawing from the recommendations of the report. This part will involve collaboration with other stakeholders, including donor partners.

He finally informed the participants about the completed activities which included:

- literature review and the assembly of background information on the use and application of ICTs in Higher Education Institutions done by a Consultant in February/March 2000; and 
- a moderated on-line discussion organized in April 2000 which involved thirty experts and scholars from African Universities, Research Institutes and experts from Africa, USA and Europe with experience in ICTs projects in developing countries. 

The literature review has been done by Dr John Daly, an independent consultant, to synthesise the knowledge base of global trends of ICT applications in academic settings, with possible case studies of experiences and best practices. The synthesis report along with additional relevant published materials were disseminated to some thirty selected African and international scholars and donor representatives to facilitate their contribution to a three-week moderated on-line discussion in April 2000

The moderator of the on-line discussion, Professor Olalere Ajayi (Obafemi Awolowo University) highlighted the centrality and benefits accrued from the development and usage of ICTs in meeting the challenges of higher education provision in the world in general and Africa in particular. He summarized the on-line discussion report under the following key outcomes:

1. Functions of the university outlined as: educational, knowledge creation, knowledge management, knowledge gatekeepers, archival and library, management and administration, and other socio-economic and technological services.
 

2. The key issues needing assessment which included: 

·assessment of current ICTs status and future needs;
· adequacy or otherwise of the infrastructure;
· appropriateness and adequacy;
·provision of Internet facilities to community;
·necessity for institutional ICTs policy plans and strategies for implementation;
·identification of development models that can be utilized
·curriculum development for optimal utilization of African academics and possible credit transfer for on-line
 courses prioritization of ICTs requirements;
·underutilization of existing ICTs facilities;
·organizational culture, sustainability, and the brain-drain syndrome.

3. Uses of ICTs in HEIs to:

·support the core processes of teaching, learning and research;
·provision of content;
·management support;
·information generation and communication;
·research support;
·support to core academic processes through the transformation of the libraries to information support centers;
·decision and strategic planning support.

4. Case studies of the ICTs development and use from a number of institutions were 

presented. These included the University of Ghana (Ghana), Obafemi Awolowo University (Nigeria), National University of Lesotho (Lesotho), University of Swaziland (Swaziland), South African Universities, and University of Zambia (Zambia). 

· electricity and power related;
· human resource for development and sustainability of ICTs
·enabling environment
·non-technical issues 

6. Critical factors leading to success in given examples/case studies included:

· adequate financial assistance;
· good plans;
· human resource/staff development and retention schemes;
· availability of maintenance schemes

· need for plans to move departmental/champion level towards institutional level plans and control;
·exploration of the use of wireless technology to overcome the telephone line related problems;
·move towards Information & Communication Science, especially more use of ICT in the university academic processes

8. Definition of ICTs needs

9. Library and archival services: There is a need for the transformation of traditional 

Libraries to information handling units or information support centers/unitswith digital collections proving access through the Intranet and the Internet;

10. The Role that the AAU and the HEIs can play in the use and application of ICTs.
 

The presentation was followed by a general discussion. The participants commended the moderator for work well done and urgedthe meeting to come up with a concrete plan for immediate implementation.For this to happen, the meeting recommended the development of a framework for the assessment and provide guidelines for development of ICTs in HEIs in Africa. It was also noted that HEIs in Africa are at different levels of ICTs development implying different ICTs development strategies. The need for the identification of these development levels and their respective characteristics was found to be a necessary step in the establishment of framework for the development of a self assessment tool and an ICTs development strategy.
 

During the discussion, it was also observed that many universities in Africa seemed to be ivory towers in many respects. The need for fostering partnerships with the civil society, and ministries of education to improve teaching and learning, and strive to create awareness amongst decision makers for the importance of ICTs in improving education was necessary.The need for fostering links and establishing partnerships between institutions and local business community was stressed. This was found to be instrumental in developing market focused programs, and on the other hand enhance resource mobilization efforts. 
 

Cooperative projects can be developed where universities can combine resources to make discounted purchases from the market.
 

Obstacles related to low bandwidth were found to be common and very limiting. Since it may take time for individual institutions to solve this problem, it was proposed that strategies involving collective efforts be employed. This may translate into countries renting space segments as is the case with some countries like China or institutions teaming up to pay for rented space segments as currently done by the AVU. 
 

Other options included support to projects aimed at mounting an African satellite. Such efforts have already been started by South Africa. Such a facility could be sustained through e-commerce. 
 

It was noted that the key to HEIs) success rests on the establishment of mutual partnerships based on equality and mutual benefit.
 

It was proposed for the AAU (which is representing African HEIs) toget to the Heads of Governments through OAU to negotiate for reduced connection tariffs. In response to this, it was noted that such strategies had been employed by the Association in the past with little or no impact. Individual institutions were urged to make recommendations which will be collectively taken to the OAU for consideration. 

Concern was also raised on the lack of skills and motivation by faculty and students to utilize ICTs facilities even where they are in place Training at all levels was found necessary.
 

The paper presented by Prof. Ajayi titled Summary of on-line discussions on ICT in Higher Education Institutions in Africa is appendedto this report.
 

4. Lessons Learned and Needs Identified: Ten Years of ICTs Experience In Selected African Higher Education Institutions
 

This presentation was made by Eric Kluyfhout(Vrije University Amsterdam, The Netherlands) outlined the challenges facing higher education institutions. These include pressure caused by demand for relevance, catering for varying student types and needs, competition, demand for accountability, and the general requirement for offering more with less resources. As a result of these pressures, HEIs are left with no option but to respond by having appropriate strategies for teaching and learning, research extension, academic information services, administration, and management.
 

Relative to the outside world and the internal organization, there is an increased trend towards the more open factory and bazaar types as opposed to the more closed ivory tower and oasis models. It was cautioned that the university of the future are likely to assume the more open models. 
 

Critical issues identified at selected African HEIs included among others:

· ICT infrastructure valued over ICT services,
· varying levels of ICT maturity, staffing problems, 
· poor track record in system implementation,
· a weak tradition in empowering users, 
· sustainability,
· problems related to planning and setting of ICT priorities in light of limited resources. 

Staffing and human resource development problems are common and pose a big threat. This calls for strategies for staff development and retention schemes. 
 

Proposed strategies should be geared towards addressing the following:
 

• - the development of Information policy plans,
• - ICS awareness raising for both users and the management, 
• - staffing strategies, 
• - ICS responsibility and corresponding organisational structure, 
• - empowering users, 
• - and financial planning and income generation. 

· Concern for the inherent financial problems and its implications on ICT development;
· To have a mechanism whereby a university will be obliged to invest in ICT otherwise it will not be recognized as a HEI.
· The need for ICTs training and sustainability
· On the question of staffing: proposals were made to train as many as possible and to have on-going training schemes
· Peer training was found practical in some universities. Rather than training abroad, it was proposed to have a directory of African experts who can train others probably more cheaply

5. Status of ICTs at University of Dar Es Salaam
 

Made by Professor Beda Mutagahywa (University of Dar es Salaam), the presentation provided experiences in developing a sustainable ICTs infrastructure and services at UDSM. It included a six months pre-planning phase, involving:

• - review and assembly of institutional data;
• - definition of ICTs services and priorities;
• - surveying and documenting ICTs infrastructure;
• - identification of collaborators;
• - formulation of overall ICTs services development plan;
• - draft ICTs policy and master plan;
• - obtain formal approval from UDSM management;
• - formulate fundable ICTs project proposals;
• - secure funding and other resources for ICTs project implementation.

While the ICTs Policy Plan (IPP) provided the vision, ICTs Master Plan provided the course of action. The ICTs master plan was aligned to a shorter Rolling plan. At the end of the six months, the INFOPOL Project Funding document was developed. The document was constituted of several sub-projects focusing on strategic areas of the university functions. 

The network infrastructure and sustainability strategies were also presented and discussed.

The University of Dar es Salaam case provided an example of well planned ICTs development with substantial donor support. The paper 'The Status of ICTs at the University of Dar es Salaam' is appended to this report

During the discussions, participants wanted to have data on investment levels. It was appreciated that the investments were high and actual data will be compiled and distributed to members at a later stage.

Information was sought on how the Computing Centre as a Unit was assisting others, e.g. by outreach programs for secondary schools, was sought. It was explained that the unit is starting professional courses at certificate and diploma levels as well as running other tailor made short courses. The aim is to flood the market with such staff at the same time generating income from such undertaking.