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Meoli Kashorda, Ph.D., MIEEE,
MIET
Professor, Faculty of Information
Technology
Strathmore University
Emerging trends in ICT education Meoli Kashorda

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Terminology
 IT or ICT? Used interchangeably
What is driving demand for ICT education in
Kenya
 ICT industry performance?
 Knowledge economy?
 ICT for Development (ICT4D)?
Analyzing ICT education trends using a layered approach
Some professional accreditation issues
Emerging trends in ICT education Meoli Kashorda

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What are Information
Technologies?
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Big IT vs. Small it terms
 Big IT accepted by accreditation boards, IT professional associations, and academic community
Big IT – An Umbrella term
 Computer science, information systems, computer engineering and software engineering, and electronic engineering
(including telecommunications)
Small it – Emerging IT degree programs
 No global accreditation standards yet!
Emerging trends in ICT education Meoli Kashorda

Degree
Computer science
Public
Yes (all)
Computer eng.
Yes (Moi, KU,
JKUAT)
Electronic eng.
Yes (UoN,
JKUAT, Moi)
Information systems
No
Software eng.
Yes
Computer
Technology / IT
Yes (KU,
JKUAT)
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Private
Yes (ANU, DU,
Kiriri)
No
Yes (Daystar)
Yes (USIU, SU,
DU)
No
No
Emerging trends in ICT education
Small or Big
Big IT
Big IT
Big IT
Big IT
Big IT
Small it
Meoli Kashorda

 Both IT workforce and IT professionals required
 IT workforce
 Universities in Kenya now offer general IT courses
 IT professionals
 Developed in specialized IT degree programs (IT, EE, CS, IS)
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What is driving demand for ICT professional education in
Kenya?
 Demand by the students?
 Career Perceptions, Peer pressure, IT is
“cool” or real market data?
 Demand by local ICT industry?
 Growth of telecoms sector, Local IT systems, Global demand for ICT graduates?
 How are universities responding?
 Using market analysis data? Regional or
Global demands? Students perceptions?
Emerging trends in ICT education Meoli Kashorda

Convergence of telecommunications & computing
 Convergence of applications and services
 Networked applications everywhere
 Convergence of industries
 Telecommunications, broadcasting, and computing industries
 Convergence of regulation
 See proposed Kenya ICT bill
 Convergence of degree programs or greater specialization?
Emerging trends in ICT education Meoli Kashorda 7

Source: World Bank Institute
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What advice for students?
 Bias of faculty? newspaper ads? Quality of programs? JAB
What advice to universities?
 No market analysis data, no explicit ICT education policy
 What degree programs?
What advice to government and industry?
 What is our ICT capacity? What should it be?
Emerging trends in ICT education Meoli Kashorda

Networked Applications
E-mail, fax, telephony, videoconferencing, TV..
E-games, Web browsing, Web casting..
Interactive education, interactive TV, Image server ..
Interoperability (Middleware)
Name servers, security, Privacy, Directories …
Intelligent agents, distributed processing environments …
Internetworking – Internet Layer 3 & 4
TCP/UDP end-to-end transport, IP/RSVP flows
Operating systems
Digital pipes and hardware (Internet Layer 1 & 2)
Telecom services: POTS, ISDN, ATM, Wireless …
TV services: CATV, DSB, VOD, Data pipes (LANS, Leased lines, Modems)
Network and computing hardware
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Layers 1 & 2 of the OSI or Internet Layered models
 Supports classical telecommunication services
(POTS, ISDN, Mobile, ADSL and associated data pipes) + computing hardware
Electronic / computer engineering programs cover Interconnection layer knowledge elements
Very specialized labs and faculty required
 High demand because of infrastructure expansion in Kenya
 Industry-university partnerships and linkages essential
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Internet technology will dominate all internetworking at this layer
 Teaching the TCP/IP protocol suite does not need advanced equipment
Network management and new protocols for voice and video services (VoD and VoIP)
Computer science, computer engineering, and electronic engineering, IT/IS degree programs necessary
 Is Cisco certification necessary?
 Are our University qualifications credible?
Emerging trends in ICT education Meoli Kashorda 13

 Interoperability will continue to be very important for different applications
 Network Security issues
 Distributed processing environment (grid computing)
 Knowledge acquired in computer science, software engineering and some IT/IS degree programs.
 Advanced programming techniques and environments required.
Emerging trends in ICT education Meoli Kashorda 14

 Applications layer represents the greatest opportunity for Kenya!
 Which graduates will create the applications for developing countries?
 Computer science, Information systems, IT, and software engineering, and electronic engineering graduates?
 Are our institutions ready?
Emerging trends in ICT education Meoli Kashorda 15

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Innovations in mobile applications in high demand in Africa
 Pre-paid service an African innovation
 Emerging SMS applications
Mobile Internet applications
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Mobile e-commerce and e-learning applications
Applications in tourism and agriculture?
High level of software development proficiency required
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Certification of software developers and software houses!
Incubate software development companies
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What are additional IT graduate exit requirements?
 Communication skills – oral and written
 This is a challenge globally
 Basic business and management skills
 Economics, accounting and finance
 Business organizations and planning
 Team building and Ethical practices
 Project design, implementation, and management skills
 Based on current needs – mobile computing, networking, new software environments, CAD.
Emerging trends in ICT education Meoli Kashorda 17

 Do we have world-class specialized ICT labs?
 Do we have world class ICT faculty
 Anecdotal data suggests there is a severe shortage of doctoral-level ICT faculty
 Are our campuses fully networked?
 What about low Internet speeds?
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Global Internet essential for degree and life-long learning
 Expect increased use of asynchronous learning networks and e-learning platforms
Increased use of CAD and simulation environments
 Increased use of Virtual labs (see See the MIT iLabs project)
More IT students will focus on the upper layers
 More jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities
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 Limited active IT faculty pool in Kenya
 Lack of sufficient number of PhDs in IT in Kenya
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IT faculty are “portable” and are in “high demand” globally
 High cost of building and maintaining specialized IT labs to support IT programs
 Universities in the US are investing millions of dollars in laboratory facilities!!
 Adopt the Indian Centers of Excellence Model?
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Networked Readiness Index
2004 and 2005 Ranks
2004 (out of
102 countries)
2005 (out of
115 countries)
USA Kenya South
Africa
4 75 37
1 91 34
Mauritius
47
45
But quality of ICT graduates must be similar
For competitiveness!
Source: World Economic Forum ICT Reports
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 It is an information systems enabled campus
 High degree of e-readiness for developing
IT workforce and professionals
 Information systems = Information
Technology + People + Processes
 Networked Applications for teaching, learning and educational administration
 World-class learning environment low NRI notwithstanding!
Emerging trends in ICT education Meoli Kashorda 22

Quality and professional accreditation of ICT degrees
 International IT educational standards
 Professional bodies accredit IT departments
(e.g., IEEE, IEE, ACM)
• Not aware of any EE & CS programs in Kenya with international accreditation
 Professional accreditation necessary for global IT quality assurance
 CHE provides institutional accreditation for private universities only
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Opportunities for ICT graduates in Kenya and Africa!
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Kenyan and African customized applications do not yet exist?
 E-government applications need to be customized for Kenya and other countries
 Customized applications in agriculture, tourism and education will be in high demand
Development environments will be setup in the government and in the private sector
 Demand for IT professionals with application development skills will increase
Local/Global ICT jobs for the well prepared!
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