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Information and communication technologies
While there is increasing acquisition and use of
Information and Communications Technologies
(ICTs) in Africa, the rate of technical change is still
low compared to other regions of the world.
Africa is to a large extent a net importer and consumer
of ICT. Its contribution to global software
research is limited. Furthermore, the continent
has not really adapted the content of ICT to suit
its social and economic systems, with emphasis
on poverty reduction and economic growth.
Despite the potential development benefits from
software innovation, there is a shortage of capacity
in African higher education institutions. Instead of
being concentrated in individual institutions,
expertise in computer science, information systems
and related disciplines is scattered among
institutions with small pockets here and there, with
little or no collaboration among them. Through
alliance building and creative use of technology, it
is possible to create virtual concentrations of
experts who are engaged in computer science,
information systems as well as informatics.
Higher education institutions in Africa which
should be in the forefront of ensuring Africa’s participation
in the ICT revolution are severely
under-resourced in comparison to their counterparts
in the developed world. Furthermore, the
information technology infrastructure of African
higher education is poorly developed and
unevenly distributed. Despite these difficulties, a
number of higher education institutions in Africa
have made significant progress in building ICT
infrastructure, and developing computer science
and other ICT disciplines. One area with potential
for African higher education is the innovation in
the development, maintenance and support of
free and open source software.
An important area of investment for Africa is software
innovation. This is because:
- The cost of software projects are low in
comparison to other areas that have
requirements for expensive equipment;
- Software has the potential to have a high
development impact with relatively low cost;
- Free software and open source lowers the
barriers to entry and to innovation, and
promotes collaboration and optimal use of
resources; and
- The cross cutting nature of software and
potential relationship with other
development programmes.
Programme Objectives
This programme will aim at establishing a continental
research network on ICTs. It will bring
together leading universities and research centres
to design and implement projects that generate
software with African content.
Its specific goals will be to:
- Stimulate technical change and
innovation in ICTs;
- Build skills in local software research
and development; and
- Build knowledge of Open Source
Software and promote its application in
education, health and conduct of
science.
Indicative Project and Activities
The following project ideas will be further
developed and implemented. The institutional
mechanism for designing and implementing
the projects will be African Virtual Open
Initiatives and Resources (AVOIR) initiative that
currently comprises of software innovation
nodes in African universities in Kenya,
Mozambique, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania,
and Uganda with project leadership and management
based at the University of the Western
Cape.
Project 1: Harnessing and developing software
for e-learning
E-learning is the core of the current AVOIR initiative,
and it is based on research conducted at UWC during
the past 10 years, including the development
of a first-generation e-learning system. That system,
known as KEWL (Knowledge Environment for
Web-based Learning), has been used extensively in
international and national collaborative projects
and its features serve as the basis for the creation of
the next generation (KEWL.NextGen). Research
conducted on projects implemented using KEWL
has informed e-learning best-practices, in particular
best practices in relation to collaborative learning
in the African context. These best-practices and
the recommendations of many first-generation
users are informing the development of the next
generation system.
This proposed project will focus on:
- Developing new generations of
e-learning systems;
- Training in the use of new e-learning
systems; and
- Improving infrastructure for ICT
software research and development.
Project 2: Developing Capacity for e-health
Health issues present major challenges to the
African continent, especially with the advent of
the HIV/AIDS pandemic, as well as the numerous
environment-related diseases that are endemic
to tropical regions. Information and communications
technology has potential to be used in the
health sector in many ways. The AVOIR team has
also been working with the pharmacy department
of a local hospital in Cape Town to develop
software to facilitate the management of hospital
pharmacy practice. The primary focus of this
work, which is a small pilot project, has been on
the management of anti-retroviral (ARV) therapy.
The system will be used to dispense ARV drugs
and will later be expanded to a hospital administration
system.
This proposed project will:
- Promote the testing and application of
the e-health software;
- Design and provide training on
e-health; and
- Promote the diffusion of the e-health
software across the continent.
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