Progress and Challenges in Building National Research and Education Networks In Africa : A View from the Field

Summary from the meeting of Sunday, 18 September 2005

Overview

Speakers from universities, national networking and other research and education-oriented organizations in Africa (and a few from outside Africa – Ecuador, Mexico)

Campus, national and regional/continental networking issues

Keynote: Aki Sawyerr, Secretary General, Association of African Universities

Campus network session

F.F. Tusubira, Makerere University, Uganda Kunle Kehinde, Obafemi Awolowo

University (OAU), Nigeria Ibrahima Niang, Cheikh Anta Diop

University (UCAD), Senegal Enrique Pelaez, Escuela Superior

Politecnica del Litoral (ESPOL), Ecuador

Campus network – highlights

Networking must be driven by the high level motivation of learning and research

There has been significant progress in many African universities in establishing campus networks – but in most African countries, these remain in the minority

A key element of coordinated progress is a clear policy and master plan that spells out the grand long term vision that leads to phased implementation

Campus network – cross-cutting themes/issues

ICT Policy and master plan – needs to be addressed in most of the universities through supporting the development of internal capacity

Funding is a major challenge – there is available funding for capital expenditure. The challenge is knowledge and the ability to tap into the sources

Campus network – cross-cutting themes/issues

Capacity building across the board to continuously equip staff with information resource management skills

Staff retention will always be a challenge. Universities must accept their role as training grounds, training and utilising students and young graduates to provide services, and maintaining working linkages with those who leave.

Campus network – themes/issues

Sustainability is a challenge, the major component, for most universities, being bandwidth. This however extends to hardware and software. Strategies for addressing these: Working through consortia to reduce costs of

procurement and ownership Development of capacity to use open source

tools

NRENs session

Duncan Martin, TENET, South Africa Victor Kyalo, KENET, Kenya Aminu Ibrahim, Nigeria ICT Forum Anthony Muyepa, University of Malawi

College of Medicine Moses Bayingana, Rwanda

Information Technology Authority

NRENs - highlights

NRENs have a role to play There are needed much more in developing

countries where resources are scarce Leverage heavily on economies of scale for:

Negotiating better deals Mass generation of resources Favorable advocacy etc

NRENs – themes/issues

Institutional arrangements/frameworks Challenges:

Capacity, infrastructure, interventions Leverage on existing initiatives to achieve

some wins Collaboration avenues (existing and to be

created) Its possible and efforts will be started to

achieve some progress in the next 12mnths

Regional/Continental Session

Sandra Aluoch, African Virtual University Isatou Jah, AfNOG (African Network

Operators Group) Americo Muchanga, SARUA (Southern

Africa Regional Universities Association) Dark Fibre Study

Carlos Casasús, Cooperación Latinoamericana (CLARA)

Regional/Continental – highlights

Partnership for Higher Education in Africa Bandwidth Consortium

Lease entire transponder Price savings from $20 Kbps to $2.33

Kbps over past 10 years using consolidated approach

Regional/Continental – highlights Committed to over 51 Mbps

University of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) Makerere University (Uganda) Eduardo Mondlane University (Mozambique) University of Ghana (Ghana) University of Education (Ghana) Ahmadu Bello University (Nigeria) Obafemi Awolowo University (Nigeria) Bayero University (Nigeria) University of Ibadan (Nigeria) University of Jos (Nigeria) University of Port Harcourt (Nigeria) Association of African Universities (Ghana) Kenya Education Network (Kenya)

Next Steps

Continue negotiating for lower bandwidth pricing.

Provide training to universities on bandwidth monitoring, control and management.

Pass savings to other Universities on the continent.

Thanks!

Presentations and archived webstream http://international.internet2.edu Courtesy of Ohio State University, home of the Internet2

Commons service Major travel funding for speakers:

Carnegie Corporation Canada’s International Development Research Centre

(IDRC) Rockefeller Foundation Ford Foundation EUMEDCONNECT

Workshop support: Microsoft Research – Internet2 Corporate Partner