UNIVERSITY ROLES IN MEETING ASPIRATIONS FOR ICT & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PRESENTATION BY: PROF. OLIVE M. MUGENDA Ph.D VICE-CHANCELLOR KENYATTA UNIVERSITY 19-21st November,2006

MAIN TOPICS Characteristics of ICT ICT for Education- Applications of ICT ICT initiatives in Kenyatta University Main Challenges 2

1) Unique Characteristics of ICT ICT is pervasive and cross-cutting From personal use to business and Govt. Can be tailored to meet personal, local, diverse needs.  ICT creates networks Those connected benefit from the network The Network externalities increases as it grows 3

Characteristics cont’ ICT disseminates information and knowledge Separates content from its physical location Makes knowledge available to remote communities ICT allows for zero or declining marginal costs Replication of content is free Distribution of marginal cost is near zero ICT reduces transaction costs 4

Characteristics cont’ ICT enhances efficiency Has power to store, retrieve, sorts, filter and distribute information  Makes processes and transactions leaner and more effective ICT reduces the need for intermediaries Links consumers directly to producers Allows users to acquire products and services directly 5

Characteristics cont’ ICT is global Transcends cultural and linguistic barriers Allows local communities to be part of the global network Summary These characteristics suggest that ICT can be a powerful enabler of development 6

2) ICT for Education Applications of ICT Distance Education 7 Affordability and geography have been barriers to access ICT has enhanced the quality of distance education Six largest Distance Learning Universities are located in developing countries: Turkey, Indonesia, China, India, Thailand and Korea Distance Education facilitated by ICT has mainly been applied to tertiary education ICT has enabled cross-border education 7

ICT enhances North-South and South-South collaborations Applications cont’ Scientific Research Development of networks over the internet empowers indigenous research & development (R&D) in developing countries Existence of virtual research groups allows databases and information to be shared ICT enhances North-South and South-South collaborations 8

Technical and vocational training Applications cont’ Technical and vocational training ICT is being employed to train workers in many functional areas e.g Health care,IT services, teachers Education Administration Enhances day-to-day management of institutions Timetabling Student admission &Tracking Financial Management Medical services Procurement & store management Data distribution & management 9

3) ICT INITIATIVES IN KENYATTA UNIVERSITY Open Learning Before 2003 Kenyatta University offered residential programmes only In 2003 an Open Learning programme was launched Eight Regional Centres were established The Learning Management System (Blackboard) was procured to facilitate e-learning Open Learning Centres have access to internet Open learning programme has enhanced access to university education 10

ICT Initiatives cont’ Virtual Learning Kenyatta University is a member institution of the African Virtual University Programmes are offered collaboratively between Kenyatta University and other universities,e.g. Curtin University,Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Courses are delivered through chat rooms, email, bulletin boards, tele & video conferencing Kenyatta University’s AVU is well equipped: internet connected computer rooms, video and tele conferencing halls, VSAT etc 11

University Management ICT Initiatives cont’ University Management Kenyatta University recently recognized the need to make key administrative and management activities more efficient With financial support from Rockefeller Foundation,the following areas are being computerized: Student admission &Tracking Financial Management Medical services Data management Networking 12

University Strategic and Vision Plan ICT Initiatives cont’ Other initiatives University Strategic and Vision Plan Plan Targets a computerization programme that will support all the activities of the University University ICT policy ICT policy acts as framework for ICT initiative in the University Operates under the umbrella of national ICT policy 13

Bandwidth has been increased from 1mbps to 2mbps this year ICT Initiatives cont’ Increased Bandwidth For e-learning to be effectively used, there is need for increased bandwidth of internet access Bandwidth has been increased from 1mbps to 2mbps this year This has enhanced up loading of e-learning course materials and faster downloading 14

Increased number of computers ICT Initiatives cont’ Increased number of computers Kenyatta University currently has 1,787 computers The projection is to have over 2,772 by 2008 Laptops to be provided soon to members of senate to facilitate e-senate meetings ICT training for staff and students Training to target all students and teaching and non-teaching staff whose work require computers 15

Building a University internetwork ICT Initiatives cont’ Building a University internetwork Project for networking all the campuses developed Proposed network will create an intranet to enhance information sharing within and outside the University Project to reduce paper work and increase efficiency Security of ICT A unit to be established to deal with: Data security Data network security Software development & Systems administration 16

4) Challenges Limited Infrastructure Africa has only 2% of the global telephone network with over half of the lines in cities In Africa, telephone density is less than 2 lines per 1,000 inhabitants, compared with: 48 per 1,000 in Asia 280 per 1,000 in America 314 per 1,000 in Europe 520 per 1,000 in high-income countries 17

Low speed & frequent breakdowns of servers Challenges Cont’ Low speed & frequent breakdowns of servers Sometimes it takes too long to download a single big document Frequent internet interruptions Frequent power interruptions 18

Inadequate technical support Challenges Cont’ Inadequate ICT skills A percentage of teaching staff do not have adequate ICT skills for teaching and research Some staff unwilling to try out the technology Inadequate technical support Inadequate technical support in areas of installation, operation, and maintenance of technical equipment (including software), network administration, and network security. 19

ICTs require large capital investments Challenges Cont’ Prohibitive costs ICTs require large capital investments Universities in Africa generally have limited budgets This leads to high student and staff computer ratio Even where basic infrastructure has been provided by development partners, sustainability is still a problem 20

THANK YOU 21