iMENTORS goes live!

Mapping ICT accross Sub-Saharan Africa

Brussels, 18/07/2013– iMENTORS goes live and is one step closer to becoming the most comprehensive crowdsourcing map on ICT infrastructures in Sub-Saharan Africa! Users are now able to register and create their profile on the platform and start sharing their knowledge and data directly on the map.

Co-funded by the European Commission’s DG CONNECT under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), iMENTORS www.imentors.eu is designed to enhance the coherence and effectiveness of international actors involved in e- infrastructures development projects and initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa. iMENTORS launched in April 2012 by Stockholm University and Gov2u is a web-based platform serving as a knowledge repository for sharing and aggregating data on e-infrastructure projects throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

e-Infrastructures– electronic research infrastructures – are collections of ICT based resources and services used by the worldwide research and education community to conduct collaborative projects and generate, exchange and preserve knowledge.

iMENTORS strengthens the development of European policy in developing research infrastructures by providing donors and policy makers with a comprehensive tool to test hypotheses and understand trends in the field of e-infrastructures development assistance across Sub-Saharan African countries. It increases the value of data by providing more descriptive information about international e-infrastructure development and strengthens efforts to improve donors and recipients strategic planning and coordination. 

By identifying and mapping the majority of e-infrastructure projects in Sub-Saharan Africa, the project provides valuable knowledge of what is currently on the ground which in itself represents the first step to more informed future choices and decision making on e- infrastructures deployment. Additionally, the software tool deployed assists policy-makers and donor agencies in utilizing the information more effectively, by filtering and associating it with other variables to identify on trends in aid flows, areas of interests, allowing them to make more informed decisions. 

The platform also pushes for stronger cooperation between the different e-infrastructures stakeholder groups, hence providing decisive support in their efforts to develop globally connected and interoperable e-infrastructures. 

The dissemination activities that are planned in this project have raised the visibility of the e-infrastructures activity in Sub-Saharan African Region towards wider audiences, especially among the research communities from EU countries and international development aid agencies. By engaging key e-infrastructures stakeholders at the recipient country level, the project triggers debates on the relative effectiveness of donors and create the impetus to move to more effective coordination mechanisms.

For more information visit: www.iMENTORS.eu

Mapping ICT accross Sub-Saharan Africa: iMentors

What level of connectivity, types of networks, data infrastructures, e-tools, and projects etc.are currently available for researchers  in Sub-Saharan Africa?  One European FP-7 funded project is starting to map this knowledge in a virtual observatory. 

The idea behind the i-Mentors project was first conceived by the Department of Computer and Systems Sciences at Stockholm University and Gov2u.  Although Sub-Saharan Africa has witnessed dramatic growth in Information Communications Technology (ICT) access since the mid-1990s, there are still gaps in the knowledge around the status and findings from past and ongoing e-infrastructure projects. iMentors now plans to map the entire e-infrastructure landscape accross Sub-Saharan Africa recording key developments over the past five years. Their goal is to provide valuable insights to policy makers, international investors, educators and researchers. Any gaps and/or progress will be recorded and collated in order to enhance ICT initiatives in the region.

Our project, e-ScienceTalk, is delighted to have just signed an Memorandum of Understanding with iMentors. We are hoping to help increase the visibility of the project's findings and success stories. Check out their Facebook page here and Twitter stream (@i-mentors). 

The project's first step is to gather valuable stakeholder feedback to define the most appropriate criteria in evaluating e-infrastructure projects. So please do help them by filling in their survey (http://bit.ly/YF5GBV).

 

You're never alone when you're a clone

The EGI Technical Forum has gotten under way today here in Lyon, and this is the first of a few posts which I'll be giving. I was asked to provide a different perspective than what could usually be expected, one from an "African" point of view. Indeed, this TF has a large (compared to previous EGEE/EGI meetings) African participation, thanks to the EUMedGrid User Forum, which is co-located, but the continent is still extremely under-represented in these spheres. My work over the last couple of years has been to a large extent trying to change this, focussing of course on my own country, where i coordinate the national grid, but including as well the 20-odd institutes working on the HP-funded, UNESCO run "Brain Gain Initiative". 

But first let me explain the meaning behind the title of this post. I'm attending the meeting with a few hats (as I'm sure most of my colleagues are) : 

1. Coordinator of SAGrid, to sign the MoU for resource infrastructure providers between South Africa and EGI.eu
2. member of the CHAIN project, representing the Sub-Saharan region (we have a closed project meeting on Tuesday)
3. Coordinator of SAGrid, presenting to the CHAIN workshop (overview of SA scientific applications)
4. finally, I'll be at the EUMed User Forum, presenting some of the work we've done in the human language research domain. 

ouch.

So, I really feel like there's not enough time and not enough "Bruce" to go around. As an aside, this is a strategic issue which is being resolved in South Africa, via the CHAIN project, to develop a sustainable support and development strategy, by specifying more concrete and refined roles, and resources assigned to the people involved in the project. During this time, when the final touches are being put into place for AfricaROC, we have a lot of work to do to keep up with developments in Europe, and make sure that our work in Africa is coherent with the rest of the world. 

I'm very proud to be able to represent my country in this meeting and look forward to meeting old colleagues and new. What is more, I'm extremely excited about the enthusiastic researchers in Africa who are wanting to jump on the grid. We're working hard to remove barriers to entry, and ensure that they have access to the biggest and best infrastructure possible.