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...and we are getting more excited for each day that passes. We've been working hard with practical issues, sorting equipment and preparing the equipment for the first centre. The staff at the ICT department are well-informed of the project, and we share a common vision of providing as many people as possible with ICT access, and to make the project sustainable.
We have arrived with great timing, as the university has a pending project of establishing a fibre net connection, something that is very rare in Malawi. The vision for this connection is not only to upgrade the internet connectivity for members of staff, but also to provide free general internet access for all students, which would be quite a revolutionizing development.
In order to fit these visions, we are establishing two ICT centres at the campus. One will be for the Department of ICT, who are providing
The other centre will be for general access for those 2,000 students, many of which are not fortunate enough to have their own computer. It will mean that students who were not able to practically train their skills at basic computer training classes are now able to both train and utilize those skills for researching their studies, writing assignments etc.
In the longer run, and once the fibre network has arrived, we hope to see the university make use of the access points provided by FAIR to establish a wireless campus network for the whole university, making it possible for all students to enjoy a fast and stable internet connectivity.
Tonight, our second day of work has ended, and electricians have prepared the plugs and fuse sockets for the General Access centre for students of Mzuzu University.
This means that by tomorrow, we will have a meeting with all of the project team members, after which we will start the best part of practical work: Installing computers and seeing the final results.
You can never really prepare for a trip with FAIR :) This has once again been confirmed after an exhausting course with delayed deliveries from Danish suppliers, and impossible technical forecasts meaning that the last hard drives were only ready minutes before our departure to the airport. As was the last purchase of tools and power supplies. So we were literally running and possibly breaking a few traffic regulations to make it to the airport.
But all in all we managed to arrive... with suitcases full of information (actually with suitcases full of perhaps the biggest collection of information in human history).
This was our first update, and we look forward to bringing the next one after the first setup, pictures included!!
// Andreas & Benjamin