JSDF_SF_UgandaD6

I. Title

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF ICT FOR E-LEARNING, TELEMEDICNE, INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE PROMOTION AND ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION IN RURAL COMMUNITIES OF UGANDA

II. Goal

To establish (i) broadband Internet network (UgaNet) of universities, research centres and institutions of learning that will enhance interaction among these institutions and, at the same time, link them with their communities for enabling their life-long learning to increase their productivity for poverty eradication, and (ii) Local Community Development Networks (LCDNs) which is to link diverse rural communities for knowledge sharing through exchange of experiences.

III. Objectives

a. To promote the establishment of wireless or satellite broadband Internet linkages and networks for distance learning in small regional universities and rural communities so they can have access to information, data, and education facilities; and, at the same time, promote the establishment of Internet connection to schools, libraries, hospitals, and local governmental authorities -- see Figure 1 in ANNEX II.

b. To promote the use of information and communication technologies for economic development and wealth creation in the country by the participation of farming and pastoral communities for improving agricutural and animal husbandary practices and to engage them in knowledge and information sharing by harnessing the emerging broadband connectivity to enhance these activites as well as to improve welfare.

c. To promote the establishment of tele-immersion environment in the country, which emphasizes the critical elements of the peoplesí cultural heritages, history of the people as well as their daily experiences based on their indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) by linking them to centers of learning and promoting ICT to local language development and use in research, recording and retrieval.

d. To create the Global University System in Uganda (GUS/UGANDA) in order to establish technological alternatives to promote the above objectives as well as learning-ware, digital libraries, virtual laboratories and virtual universities with high-speed wireless and satellite technology, which is designed to deliver cost-effective transmission of voice, text, and video content anywhere in Africa and the world.

See more in ANNEX I.

See ìCreating Global University Systemî at;

http://www.friends-partners.org/GLOSAS/Global_University/Global University System/UNESCO_Chair_Book/Manuscripts/Part_II_Intercultur/Utsumi Creating GUS/Creating_GUS/GUS_web_upload/Creating GUS-D11-053003.htm

IV. Schema

1. UgaNet will interconnect small regional university campuses in Eastern, Northern and Western regions of Uganda as well as linking them to colleges and institutions and centres of higher education and research in these parts of Uganda via broadband microwave and/or satellite Internet. They are;

Buwalasi University College, Mbale,
Islamic University in Uganda, Mbale,
Busoga University, Iganga,
Kumi University, Kumi, Soroti,
Gulu University, Gulu,
Kabale University, Kabale,
Afrika Study Centre, Mbale
Centre for Strategic Studies, Wakiso
Others

2. Local Community Development Networks (LCDNs) will link diverse rural communities for knowledge sharing through exchange of experiences and the promotion of indigenous knowledge for development as well as connecting them to universities and colleges, selected secondary and elementary schools, libraries, hospitals, local government offices, NGOs, etc. by broadband wireless Internet.

See more in ANNEX II.

V. The JSDF/Seed Fund Phase Activities

Application is made for the Japanese Social Development Fund (JSDF)/Seed Fund (US$54,000) for the following activities:

Step 1: Fact-Finding and Assessment Trip by Dr. Utsumi.

To meet the Uganda supporters/promoters of the project and discuss with them the various elements of the programme involving e-learning and e-healthcare and how these can be linked together in the context of the GUS/UNESCO/UNITWIN Networking Chair Program;
To conduct preliminary field survey for deploying fixed spread spectrum broadband wireless Internet of UgaNet and the Local Community Development Network (LCDN), which will connect these Universities and Colleges with several secondary schools, hospitals and communities using the Community Project Assistant Fund (about US$80,000) of the Japanese government;
To find out current Internet capability for a demonstration during the mini-workshop, and examine the possibilities of extending e-learning and e-healthcare programs from the US and other countries to Uganda;
To plan the organization of the mini-workshop, etc.

Step 2: Mini-workshop (3 days) three months after Step 1 above

Together with Ugandan stakeholders and invited persons from different parts of the world, examine which of the e-learning and e-health experiences would be available through the currently available Internet capability for extending to Uganda;
To form a coalition of UgaNet and Local Community Development Networks (LCDNs) for connecting higher, secondary and elementary schools, hospitals, libraries and local non-profit organizations and governmental agencies;
To discuss the deployment of the linkages and set up the relevant structures such as a Project Committee, etc.;
To plan the subsequent large workshop, which will reflect and advise on the overall project and its mechanisms with assistance from the Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF), etc.

The deliverable of the above activities will be the full proposal for the JSDF, which will be prepared by the participatory discussions of a Project Committee, which will consist with the selected members of the UgaNet/LCDNs coalition and outside consultants, for maximum effectiveness and sustainability. The outside consultants are necessary because of high-tech nature of (a) the UgaNet/LCDNs and (b) e-learning and e-healthcare, both of which experiences are scarce in Uganda at the present. The well-developed JSDF grant proposal will be submitted within 12 months after this seed fund application is approved and granted.

VI. Description of the JSDF Phase Activities

As soon as the JSDF is available, an international workshop will be held at the International Conference Centre, Kampala, Uganda to brainstorm on and to form a committee for the deployment of broadband Internet in Uganda and to set up relevant structures to strengthen existing ones and draw up the National Project Plan. We will outline the preparatory work to be carried out by the committee for about a half year after the workshop, and identify roles of the committee members. The plan will include specification of broadband Internet telecommunication configurations, their systems design, feasibility study, market survey and action plan of implementing the infrastructures, and production of cost estimates for dish antenna, transceivers and satellite segments, as well as designing of organizational structures for technical support and administration, etc.

This is to follow the model made by Uruguay people who have already received about US$750,000 from the Japan Special Fund of Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) for their preparatory work to subsequently receive financial support for the implementations of their broadband Internet among K-12 schools.

During this International Workshop, there will also be discussions on how to form joint programs and projects on the content development with the appropriate parties in the North America and Europe through the envisioned broadband Internet ñ see ANNEX VI.

The resultant comprehensive document will be used to seek the following funding opportunities from the Japanese government:

1. Community Project Assistance Fund (CPAF)

This fund (of about US$80,000 per one application) will be used to deploy the Local Community Development Network (LCDN) around the UgaNet affliated institutions, universities and colleges to connect them with their nearby secondary and elementary schools, hospitals, libraries, and local non-profit organizations and governmental agencies, with the use of fixed spread spectrum wireless broadband Internet.

2. Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF)

This fund will be used;

To deploy the LCDNs which are not covered by the CPAF mentioned above,
To deploy the UgaNet to connect its affiliated colleges and universities and other institutions of higher learning with the use of broadband digital microwave network,
To initiate global e-learning and e-healthcare to the Uganda sites,
To initiate joint content development, research and development, global forum for idea and information exchange with counterparts in Asia, America, Europe, and other parts of the world.

3. Non-cultural aid grant out of the ODA fund

This fund is not only for conducting the same as above which are not covered by the JSDF, but also to connect selected colleges and universities to the outside world with the use of broadband digital satellite,

The strategy here is to make broadband Internet available to many communities and the broadband trunk line connection among the local universities as soon as possible with the use of low cost wireless Internet units and microwave network. The broadband satellite Internet connection from selected universities to the outside world will be made later with the Japanese ODA fund. In a sense, this is a bottom-up approach since the process of getting the Japanese ODA fund takes a long time. This approach has been taken in other African countries.

See more ANNEX IV.

VII. Expected Project Results and Benefits

See ANNEX III.

VIII. Capabilities of Proponents

Principal Promoter and Coordinator

Zerubaberi M, Nyiira, Ph. D.

Co-Principal Promoter and Coordinator

Prof. Dani W. Nabudere

and

Takeshi Utsumi, Ph.D., P.E.

See ANNEX VII for resumes.

ANNEX I: Project Objectives

ANNEX II: General Scheme of Uganda Network of Universities (UgaNet) and Local Community Development Network (LCDN)

ANNEX III: Expected Project Results and Benefits

ANNEX IV: Financing UgaNet and LCDNs

ANNEX V: Synopsis of Principal Organizations

ANNEX VI: Joint Programs and Projects

ANNEX VII: Resumes

ANNEX VIII: Letter of Support and Commitment

ANNEX IX: Budget

ANNEX I

Project Objectives

In general, Informatics plays an important role in teaching and learning, and particularly, in the development of engineering and architectural courses. Nowadays, science and technology development is inconceivable without computer aid.

A true revolution in e-learning and telemedicine requires high-speed access to the World Wide Web and the flexibility to offer a variety of media. Developing countries need broadband Internet via international satellite and optical fiber cable.

The objective of increasing quality of audio / video delivery, high interactivity, and system throughput can be seen as a global objective of closing digital divide for improving e-learning and e-healthcare services.

By their nature, New Information and Communication Technologies (NITs) are ideally suite to the needs of distance education. The new ware of technical facilities renders it possible now, metaphorically speaking, to bring the lecture hall, the library and the laboratory combined, into the room of a student who possesses a relatively cheap personal computer (PC). We are witnessing a new kind of mobility in higher education, by means of which it is the university (and the whole range of its facilities) that goes to the student. In that manner, access to higher education studies is open to large categories of people, both within national boundaries and internationally. NITs become equally important for all universities and other higher university institutions to attach an objective they had recognized as their own a long time ago, namely the need to become true centers of life-long learning. It is now perfectly within their possibility to develop large-scale post-graduate programs, special training courses for the updating of knowledge, teacher-training skills to which larger number of people can have access. Moreover, adult-education programs stand now a new chance, thanks to the possibilities offered by the introduction of NITs. It is accordingly expected that the use of Informatics in distance education will occupy a major place in Education and Healthcare Systems.

On the other hands, for many years, UNESCO, IFIP, IEEE, GUS and other international organizations have understood the importance of computing applications in Education and Healthcare Systems.

Many international conferences dedicated to study and analyze the main problems in developing countries have recognized the following as the essential difficulties in computing education field:

(a) Lack of qualified teachers and professors;

(b) Limited material and financial resources;

(d) Lack of qualified personnel and resources for computer and peripheral equipment.

Considering the constraints mentioned above, we propose the following as the main objectives of the present project:

a. To promote the development of communities (universities, elementary and secondary schools, hospitals and others) with the use of high-speed wireless Internet connections for e-learning and e-healthcare associated with content development ñ see Figure 1 in ANNEX II.

b. To create the Global University System / Uganda (GUS/Uganda) in order to establish technological alternatives to promote access and use of the available technology for e-learning in educational and e-healthcare in medical fields with the Official Development Assistant (ODA) fund of the Japanese government ñ see ANNEX IV.

ANNEX III

Expected Project Results and Benefits

I. Social Benefits

It is expected that broadband wireless and satellite Internet, available to universities, elementary, primary and secondary schools and hospitals, will promote the interaction among young people from different areas of Uganda with young people from the rest of the world.

As the infrastructure becomes a reality, there will be a need for the development of content (e-learning on environmental education, rational techniques and methods for implementation of suitable agricultural farm land practices and e-healthcare, etc.) and of new uses of the technology (Internet telephony, distance medical diagnose, access to information, etc.).

In this process, the rural communities in the various regions of Uganda will come closer empowered to utilise their resources for their own transformation as well as becoming more aware of their connection to other communities in Uganda and globally. This is a project capable of replication throughout Uganda and other parts of Africa, which are closely related to the problems of development which Uganda faces. The replication and expansion will happen through strong partnership with other institutions in the country and the East African Community at large. The consortium (UgaNet and LCDN) will play a major role in this initiative because they are located in a country which is rapidly taking up ICT in its national plans from which the neighbouring countries can emulate.

So, this project of deploying UgaNet and LCDNs is a community development approach, firstly connecting non-profit organizations (elementary, secondary and higher education institutions, libraries, hospitals, local governmental agencies, and non-profit organizations, etc.) and secondly with profit-making organizations to have global E-Rate, thus all applicable groups are inclusive. The more participants can share the cost of expensive digital satellite trunk line better. The use of broadband wireless Internet for the LCDN will make their participation easy so that the so-called "last-mile" problem to reach individual end-users can more effectively be solved.

II. Technical and Economic Benefits

The main focus of the proposed broadband Internet (see Figure 1) is either or both of satellite and terrestrial (microwave and/or spread-spectrum) wireless approach in viewpoints of the regionís geographical constraints and their cost effectiveness. At the main campuses of the affiliated universities, the spread-spectrum with 802.11b protocol will be the most cost-effective option for their local area networking. The community development network in the cities of the affiliated colleges and universities will also be connected with this technology. Students of the universities and all schools in the cities will then be able to access Internet at high speed wherever they are within the coverage of its antenna. This is to provide e-learners with self-pacing, interactive, and customized courses that are perfect fit to learner motivation and target language environment.

The community development approach of this project will include all interested parties in the cities of the affiliated colleges and universities. This will not only contribute to the problem of digital literacy among poor, but also create new job opportunities to the graduates of the universities, and even E-Rate with the involvement of profit-oriented organizations in the later stage.

III. Cost Effectiveness of Wireless Broadband Internet

The cost effectiveness of this project of deploying community development networks are;

The proposed activities provide the most cost effective method to promote the use of advanced broadband Internet for the benefit of societies in remote/rural areas of Uganda and later the whole of Uganda
The wireless Internet requires (i) less regulations, (ii) less initial investment, and (iii) less operating costs. (After initial investment in tranceivers and antennas, expensive recurring monthly cost for leasing broadband Internet does not need to be paid.)
E-learning and e-healthcare can thus provide (a) more flexibility, (b) more enhanced content and (c) more accessibility.

IV. Expected Utilization of Broadband Internet

Anticipated activities with the use of Local Community Development Network are:

(i). Use of broadband Internet connection:

Teleconferences, based on text
Videoconferences
Web-based instructions
Local experts assistance to medium size enterprises
Multimedia web-based educational course development
Scientific knowledge exchange

(ii). Two-way interactive use in e-healthcare, environmental education and training:

Access to environmental databases and monitoring information
Access to medical data bases
Medical training
Remote diagnostics
Emergency support, like in floods and fire situations