ADVERTORIALFFAACCUULLTTYY OOFF CCOOMMPPUUTTIINNGG AANNDD IINNFFOORRMMAATTIIOONN TTEECCHHNNOOLLOOGGYY

The New Vision, Thursday, December 04, 2008 I

MAKERERE UNIVERSITY

Africa and Uganda in particular has theopportunity to accelerate developmentusing ICT as an engine of economicgrowth. The area of ICT cuts across alldisciplines and therefore requires con-certed efforts from all its stakeholders.One strategic area is software develop-ment. Microsoft Inc., Google andYahoo for example are among the rich-est companies in the world and con-tribute a lot of taxes to governmentsaround the world. What is interesting isthat most of the world's successful com-panies like these trace their roots ateducation institutions.

Makerere University being a premierUniversity in Uganda and in the regionholds key to spur the software industryand lead to spin off companies thatcould accelerate economic growth. Thisis on the assumption that the other fac-tors like political stability are favorableto foreign direct investment and localinvestment. However, it must be notedthat as much as countries like Uganda

would like to attract foreign investors,no country in the world has ever devel-oped on the basis of foreign investorsalone; there is need for a strong localprivate sector. Makerere University willwork towards a stronger local privatesector industry focusing on softwaresolutions.

Makerere University Vice Chancellor,

Prof. Livingstone Luboobi

P.O. Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda. Phone: 0414 540 628, Fax: 0414 540 620 Email: info@cit.mak.ac.ug

2008! A Year of Seeing Our Dreams Come to Reality2008 is going to go down the history books of the Makerere University Faculty of Computing and IT as one of the most memorable years ever witnessed at the Faculty.A number of milestones have been achieved many more partners have joined the Faculty and yes the students and staff have continued to display amazing exploitsin their respective disciplines. Many have acknowledged our contribution to society and the general improvement to ICT landscape of Uganda. As the year 2008comes to an end we have the pleasure of presenting to you what has transpired at CIT as it is famously known. We hope that you will find our story exciting to enableyou join the many that are excited about CIT. You all know by now that we are the only place in Makerere University that is open 24/7/365 so at any time of the dayor night you will find life at CIT. For the first time in the History of Makerere University, the Police Officers and Officers and Men of the UPDF were invited to partakeof the resources at the University. They received two weeks hands on training in ICT Skills. This was our contribution to the community and it was exciting to see themcomplete the training. As expected they wanted more!! As 2008 comes to an end we are excited to share with you our humble achievements. We owe these achieve-ments to the Parents, Guardians, Development Partners, Alumni of CIT, Students of CIT, University Management, and the Makerere University Council for the tremen-dous support and guidance you have extended to CIT during the year 2008. We are certain that without each one you what we are to day would still be a dream!Wishing you a pleasant feastive season and prosperous 2009! We pledge our commitment to continuously improve as well as serve you much better.

MMeessssaaggee ffrroomm tthhee VViiccee--CChhaanncceelllloorr

"I want to thank MakerereUniversity for starting the ICT pro-grams; they are graduating morethan 1,000 people per year andhave recently constructed a centerthat accommodates 12,000 people"(Said during the UCC 10thAnniversary Celebration).

H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni

Great Partner we have! Our shin-ing Star of Africa, Hital Muraj

Area Academy Manager - EastAfrica, Cisco Networking

Academy Program

Congratulations on your continuedexcellent growth & transformation

of ICT Human Resource andInfrastructure! Our Support Shallalways be with you. (Said during

the CISCO Safari Event atMakerere University).

Dr. Ham-Mukasa Mulira

Minister of ICT

CIT has achieved quality outputs.CIT the Silicon Valley of Africa!

Jeroen Verheul

Netherlands Ambassador toUganda

This is a great opportunity to actu-alize many good ideas on harmo-nizing IT for growth and develop-

ment

John B. Male-Mukasa

Executive Director

Uganda Bureau of Statistics

Congratulations for all the goodachievements in the ICT Sector

Joeln Kaapanda

Minister of ICT, Namibia

Thanks for not ashaming the gov-ernment, the donors must be

impressed.

Hon Maurice Kagimu- Kiwanuka

Minister of State for EconomicMonitoring,

Office of the President

This is the Model we are lookingfor!

Nabila Naggayi Sempala

MP Kampala District

There is much work to be doneand the future is bright. Looking

forward………

Gail Hepworth, IBM New York

The difference of what there was 4years ago and what we see here

today is really incredible. The proj-ect delivered value for money. Onbehalf of the Dutch Tax payers in

Netherlands and on my ownbehalf, I am happy with what the

project has achieved

Harry Abels

Fellowships Officer

Royal Netherlands Embassy inUganda

I am highly impressed. Keep it up!

Dr. William Muhairwe, Member ofthe University Council

MD, NWSC

Very Impressive and big computerlabs that represent the true nature

of a great university such asMakerere University

Henri Kassen

Director of Communications

Ministry of ICT, Republic ofNamibia

We are impressed by what youhave shown us and do encourageyou to continue with your good

work

Hon. Chris Baryomunsi

Vice-Chairperson Social ServicesCommittee of Parliament

'Local research is important. Herewe are in Uganda talking about

ICT research. Because: Innovationis based on problem solving; Localproblems are not solved by people

sitting in a lab in Arizona orStockholm or Tokyo; and the glob-al educational community is inter-

twined and contributions comefrom everywhere.

Zul Javaid

CEO Warid Telecom Ltd

IN THEIR OWN WORDS - about Faculty of Computing and IT

The first ConsultativeWorkshop on ICT Trainingand Research Partnerships inUganda organized within theframework of the NPTProject 'Strengthening ICTTraining and ResearchCapacity in the Four PublicUniversities in Uganda' washeld on 18th December2007. The theme of theworkshop was 'StrengtheningPartnerships betweenUniversities, the Private andPublic sectors'.

A follow up workshop hasbeen organized to take placeon 5th December 2008 at Imperial RoyaleHotel, Kampala under the theme 'BuildingSynergies for an Outstanding ComputingGraduate'. The objectives of the workshopare: To demonstrate the capability of thepublic universities in fostering ICTDevelopment in Uganda; To identify the

missing gap in the computing training pro-grams; To interest the industry to avail theirICT challenges as potential projects forUniversity students; and To identify strate-gies that would enable the Universitiesimprove their visibility.

ATTENDANCE IS BY INVITATION.

2ND CONSULTATIVE WORKSHOP ON ICTTRAINING & RESEARCH PARTNERSHIPS

IN UGANDA

Introduction about CIT

Makerere University Faculty of Computing andInformation Technology (CIT) is the main comput-ing and ICT training, research and consultancycentre in the Region. The faculty has attained areputable status on the African continent with itsachievements attained because of its commitmentto delivering excellent services in the area of ICTeducation. With competent, qualified and motivat-ed staff the faculty is positioned as the fastest grow-ing computing faculty on the continent. The num-ber of students applying to join the Faculty, the sup-port from partners in the North and the growingnumber of collaborations with leading Universitiesand organizations in the world attest to this fact.

Our Value Statement: The Faculty ofComputing and Information Technology is aninnovative and industry-oriented Faculty, pursuingexcellence in teaching, learning, cutting edgevalue-added research and consultancy, communityoutreach, as well as providing a vibrant student life.

Our Vision Statement: To be a leader inComputing and ICT training, research and servicesinternationally.

Our Mission statement: To provide first classteaching, research and services in computing andICT responsive to national and international needs.

CIT has for academic departments, i.e. InformationTechnology, Information Systems, ComputerScience and Networks. All these departments haveprograms that range from Certificate level to PhDlevel.

Two new programs are scheduled to commence inAugust 2009; Bachelor of InformationSystems and BSc. Software Engineering.

CIT is also involved in a wide range of projects,partnerships and collaborations with the public andprivate sector (at both national and internationallevels). Such include: training and capacity build-ing, scientific research, community outreach, andpolicy advice on a wide range of computing andICT issues. As the country moves towards ICT-ledsocio-economic development, CIT is committed tocontributing to the realization of this approach todevelopment.

Research and Development

No country or company can grow without investingheavily in research. CIT is spearheading research inComputing and ICT field as it is advantaged byhigh graduate student population; hosts both anAnnual International Conference and anInternational Journal of Computing and ICTResearch.

Makerere University hosts an annual InternationalConference on Computing and ICT Research(ICCIR) (http://iccir.cit.ac.ug/srecc08/home/) in themonth of August. For 2008, the conference tookplace from 3rd - 5th August 2008, and broughttogether the world's most respected authorities inICT from countries like Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania,Rwanda, Ethiopia, Cameroon, South Africa,United Kingdom, Australia, The Netherlands,Belgium, Russia, Finland, Canada and USA. ThisConference provides an international forum forresearchers and practitioners to present and discussthe state-of-the-art research and practices in com-puting fields.

Unlike the previous years, this year a SatelliteWorkshop titled 'Innovative Mobile Technology &Services for Developing Countries' was organizedas a pre-ICCIR08 event.

Makerere University publishes a bi-annual journal'The International Journal of Computing and ICTResearch (IJCIR)'. ISSN: 1818-1139 (Print), ISSN:1996-1065 (Online) (ijcir@ijcir.org). Two issues arepublished per year in the months of June andDecember. This year, in addition to the two issuesa special issue was produced in October 2008 tocater for the best papers presented in the ICCIR'08

PhD holders at CIT work closely with the PhD andMasters students to form Research Groups.Operational research groups include: E-Learning,Networking, Mobile Computing andCommunication, Informatics and Visualization,Intelligent Systems and Pattern Recognition,Developing Language Technology for AfricanLanguages, ICT for Sustainable Development,Advanced Systems Modeling and Simulation andXML and Web Services

CIT provides a wide range of consultancy servicesthrough its consulting arm- ICT Consults Ltd(www.ict.co.ug). This cutting edge (multidiscipli-nary) research is fostering innovations/patents,which could foster private sector competitiveness inthe long run.

PROJECTS AND COLLABORATIONS

'Building a Sustainable ICT Training Capacity in

the Public Universities in Uganda' Comes to an end

The NUFFIC funded project 'Building aSustainable ICT Training Capacity in the PublicUniversities in Uganda' which was dabbed "NUFF-IC One" came to a close on 30th June 2008.NUFFIC One will be remembered in the corridorsof CIT and the other three public universities as thecatalyst that saw CIT and the otherDepartment/Institutes catapult to greater heights.

The lead institution in the South was MakerereUniversity Faculty of Computing and InformationTechnology (CIT) with partners; MbararaUniversity of Science and Technology (MUST),Gulu University (GU) and Kyambogo University(KYU). The lead institution in the North was theUniversity of Groningen (RUG) and the consortiumpartners in the project were Radboud UniversityNijmegen (RUN) and Hanze University ofProfessional Education (HHG).

The project's aim was to address Information andCommunication Technology (ICT) capacity build-ing in the Public Universities in Uganda, namelyMakerere University, Kyambogo University,Mbarara University of Science and Technology,and Gulu University. The target group was the staffand students in the above institutions and mid-career ICT professionals. The main activitiesrequired expertise from the Netherlands, for sup-port in Curriculum Development andImplementation, in development of researchcapacity and to advise in the establishment of aCentre of Excellence for ICT Training andResearch. 38 members of staff from the four uni-versities were trained and a few are still training inICT both at Master's and PhD level in theNetherlands (NL) and in Uganda (UG).

The maximum amount of the grant from Nufficwas 3,339,816 Euros. The Southern Institutionscontributed 660,184 Euros in form of financial andmaterial input such as payment of taxes e.g. ValueAdded Tax (VAT), complementary funding andequipment, physical infrastructure and humanresource. At the time of completion, the project wasworth 4,000,000 Euros. This project has had greatimpact in the areas of Curriculum Developmentand Implementation, human resource capacitydevelopment, research capacity development, ICTInfrastructure development, collaborations amongthe Public Universities, gender policy, ICT Policyand Master Plans, and the establishment of aCentre of Excellence for ICT Training and Researchat Makerere University, for the public Universities inUganda. He also noted that as a result of the proj-ect 'Building a Sustainable ICT Training Capacity inUganda', spin off projects have come up:

NPT Project on 'Strengthening ICT Training andResearch Capacity in the Four Public Universitiesin Uganda'

One of the recommendations made to Nuffic in theSeptember 2006 project mid-term review report forthe project was for Nuffic to find funds to extendthis project to build on the impressive achievement.It was also pointed out that there would be rela-tively little activity in the final year of the projectdue to its nature. It was thus deemed useful todefine a follow-up project in such a way that theprojects overlap. To this effect a proposal was writ-ten leading to Nuffic awarding the four PublicUniversities yet another NPT project on'Strengthening ICT Training and Research Capacityin the Four Public Universities in Uganda'. Theoverall objective of the Project is to strengthen theCapacity of Makerere University Faculty ofComputing and IT, the Institute of ComputerScience at Mbarara University of Science andTechnology, the Departments of Computer Scienceat Kyambogo and Gulu Universities to develop,implement and manage relevant educational andresearch programmes for poverty alleviation, ruraland economic development.

The lead institution in the South is MakerereUniversity Faculty of Computing and InformationTechnology with Mbarara University of Scienceand Technology, Gulu University and KyambogoUniversity as partners; and the lead institution inthe North is the University of Groningen withRadboud University Nijmegen (RUN) andEindhoven University of Technology (TUE) as theconsortium partners. The target group is Universitystaff and students in the above institutions and ICTPolicy makers.

The project will be implemented in a period of four(4) years and it commenced on 1st June 2007 witha maximum Nuffic grant of Euro 5,700,000. Thesouthern partners are to contribute to the project inform of financial and material inputs such as com-plementary funding and equipment, physical infra-structure and human resource. Thus it is expectedthat at completion, the project will be worth6,200,000 Euros.

NPT Project on 'Strengthening theInstitutional Capacity of Uganda's TechnicalColleges

After the start of the project 'Building ICT TrainingCapacity in Public Universities in Uganda', therewas a realisation of the need to strengthen institu-tional capacity in technical colleges in Uganda. Thisproject was subsequently awarded by Nuffic to fourtechnical colleges in Uganda namely: UgandaTechnical College (UTC) Bushenyi; UTC Elgon;UTC Kichwamba and UTC Lira. The Lead institu-tion in the North is Hanze University Groningen.Co-partners in the south are Makerere Universityand Kyambogo University. Its implementationstarted on 1st March 2006 and will end in 2009with Nuffic grant of Euro 1,999,990.

Connecting the EU & sub-Saharan Africa forICT Partnerships (EuroAfriCa-ICT) -

This is a European Commission sponsored projectthat started in January 2008. The project's mainobjective is to identity, promote and support strate-gic Science and Technology cooperation opportu-nities on ICT between European and Africanorganizations, and to support policy dialoguebetween Europe and Africa.

Makerere University is one of the partners of theEuro-AfriCa ICT Consortium. The other membersof the consortium include; Orionis, a Division ofSigma Consultants (France), The Meraka Instituteof CSIR (South Africa), The Panos Institute WestAfrica, PIWA (Senegal), The Academy of Sciencesfor the Developing World, TWAS (Italy), The AfricaUnit of The Association of CommonwealthUniversities, ACU (UK), Makerere University(Uganda), The Kigali Institute of Science &Technology (Rwanda), The Caribbean Academy ofSciences (Jamaica), and The Agence Universitairede la Francophonie (Belgium). [More details are onwww.euroafrica-ict.org]

In the month of October 2008 Makerere Universityhosted the awareness workshop for the region.Over 90 delegates participated in the 10thEuroAfriCa-ICT FP7 Awareness Workshop thatwas held at Protea hotel in Kampala, Uganda on20 & 21 October 2008. The aim of this workshopwas to create awareness on opportunities offeredby the European Commission's SeventhFramework Programme for research and techno-logical development (FP7) targeting organizationsor projects in sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbeanand Europe.

Open Mobile Electronic Vaccine Trials(OMEVAC)

This is an interdisciplinary action research projectthat combines health and information technologyexpertise with field studies in Africa. The primaryproject objective is to develop OMEVAC, a com-plete, secure, mobile and electronic system for datacollection and management in vaccine trials; fromsource to publication and using while complyingwith international standards and requirements. Itwill be field-tested in Africa in ongoing trials and beavailable at no cost including all developed sourcecodes and documents. The partners of this applica-tion have already developed several different sys-tems including the EpiHandy, a generic electronicopen source and free mobile data collection andmanagement system, that is being used for regularstudies in low income countries.

The consortium consists of Norwegian and inter-national organizations, universities, software andhardware development groups and includesTDR/WHO, HandheldsForHealth.org (Linux com-pany in Bangalore India), Makerere University,Uganda, INDEPTH Network / Malaria Clinical TrialAlliance, NSD (Norwegian Social Science DataServices), Promise Consortium and 2 faculties atthe University of Bergen (Centre for InternationalHealth and InfoMedia) - Lead Institution. For moreinformation visit: http://tinyurl.com/243ofl orhttp://www.cit.ac.ug/disd/projects.htm

AVOIR KEWL.NextGen E-Learning Projectfor African Universities

CIT received equipment worth approximately$1.5M. This was funded by USAID & SUNSystems. The project is a collaboration with sever-al African Universities and the University of theWestern Cape (UWC) in South Africa as the driv-ing force behind the "African Virtual OpenInitiatives and Resources" (AVOIR) network.Equipment received include: seven seas technolo-gies, 3 Sun Fire X 4200 servers, 4 Sun Fire x 2200servers, a sun storage, a Sun Ultra 20, a Sun stor-age tape auto loader 24 slots, 20 Sun Ray ThinClents, 21 LCD Monitors and a Sun Radc 1000-38.

Pan-African E-Network Tele-EducationProject Kicks-off

Finally it is now REAL!!! What we have been shar-ing with you is now real and is on the ground. Thesetting up of the Regional Center and LearningCenter has been completed and we are now readyto get the equipment return benefits to theUgandan and regional communities.

Under the Regional Leading University for the Pan-African E-network Project, Makerere University wasselected by the African Union to be the ICT Centreof excellence for Eastern Africa region and is man-dated to oversee ICT African Union Initiatives in 13countries on Tele-Education project. Makerere isalso the HUB among the 5 lead Universities inAfrica on the same project. Overall the project isworth 200 million dollars funded by the IndianGovernment. under this project MakerereUniversity has received equipment worth 20MillionDollars.

New Wave Technologies, Amtullah GlobeTrotter Ltd, and CIT Scoop MillenniumScience Initiative Grant

The grant winning proposal titled "AutomatedCargo Route and Vehicle Management; Investmentin Computer Based Management for ImprovedProductivity and Profitability' was submitted underthe Application for Technology Platform Mode 1funding under the Uganda Millennium ScienceInitiative Component 1: Window C. The project isworth approximately US$ 56, 190. At the end ofthis project an application/software will be devel-oped to facilitate the tracking and management ofcargo vehicle that are involved in long route cargohandling.

National Software Incubation Centre chang-ing the software landscape in Uganda

Being the first of its kind in Uganda and the regionthe National Software Incubation Center whichwas established with support from RockefellerFoundation is definitely changing the software

The New Vision, Thursday, December 04, 2008II

2008! A Year of Seeing Our Dreams Come to Reality

MAKERERE UNIVERSITYADVERTORIALFFAACCUULLTTYY OOFF CCOOMMPPUUTTIINNGG AANNDD IINNFFOORRMMAATTIIOONN TTEECCHHNNOOLLOOGGYY

development landscape in Uganda. 100 fresh grad-uates are undertaking 6 Months training in softwaredevelopment, and dealing with real life challengesfrom the private sector. In groups of 4, a total of 25projects have been developed and are now in thecompletion stage. The students have been exposedto an array of courses which has made them betterdevelopers. It is envisaged that once they havecompleted their training these students will be pro-ficient in software development. This is a greatachievement for Uganda because we can now con-fidently develop our own applications and becomethe development hub of the region. Uganda has anopportunity to become the silicon valley of theregion.

Mozilla Firefox Browser Translated into'Luganda'

Over 300 students gathered at CIT on 7 - 8 August2008 to translate the Mozilla Firefox browser intoLuganda language. The event, code named "trans-late@thon at makerere" was implemented byMakerere University Faculty of Computing and IT(CIT) in collaboration with Rhodes University,South Africa. The 2-day long translation marathonaimed at translating Firefox Mozilla, an internetbrowser into luganda language so that it can beused luganda speakers and readers.

The translation of the browser makes the usage,accessibility and uptake of the internet a much eas-ier task. Initially 200 students were expected but theorganizers awestruck by the tremendous turn-up ofover 300 students. Student volunteers came fromCIT and the Faculty of Arts, Institute of LanguagesMakerere University.

To download and install Mozilla Firefox - Lugandavisit: http://cit.ac.ug/cit/news_detail.php?item=48

CIT Wins 2008 HP Technology for TeachingHigher Education Grant Initiative - Award

Out of 36 Universities from Europe, Middle Eastand Africa that were competing, 15 were awardedand 3 of them are from Africa. Winning a grantfrom HP through a proposal titled "Using State-of-the-art Wireless and Mobile Technologies to DeliverMobile Computing Courses" endorses our effort toestablish a regional center of excellence in MobileComputing and Software Development in theDepartment of Networks at CIT, said Dr. Idris A.Rai. Dr. Rai who developed the proposal, the toolsshall help lecturers to develop and implement inno-vative teaching techniques and cater for laboratoryequipments to facilitate hands-on coursework forstudents in Mobile and Wireless networkingCourse.

CIT Researchers Scoop Google ResearchGrant

Google has awarded a research grant to CITresearchers Dr. Fisseha Mekuria & Dr. Idris Rai, forthe educational & research program they are devel-oping in "Mobile Computing, Networking andApplication software development." At CIT, thisproject particularly seeks to address the lack ofmobile web content, mobile web services develop-ers and mobile application programmers whichcould tailor relevant mobile services into local con-text and community culture.

ICT in Education Projects

The Faculty is currently involved in a number ofprojects that are promoting ICT in Education.Through the outreach programmes that the facultyis currently running, expertise is being provided toschools and other learning institutions to enablethem integrate ICT in the subject matter delivered.CIT recently embarked on championing the use ofsmart technologies, that enable a smart classroomand a number of secondary schools have acquiredthese smart boards which enable full interactionduring the learning process.

Creating Digital Content for SecondarySchools - This project is enabling the develop-ment of high quality digital content for secondaryeducation in Uganda. This content is designed foruse in an ongoing project Hall-in-the-Wall projectfunded by Common Wealth Connect. There isalready digital content developed from India andbeing piloted in the Ugandan setting. This form ofcontent is being redeveloped specifically to suit theAfrican setting given the existing environmentalfactors. The content will then be rolled out in theHall-in-the-Wall centres for free learning. In its ini-tial stages, the project focuses on specific areas ofstudy in order to reduce the broader scope of sub-jects currently undertaken in Uganda. We believethat developing content for science based subjectscontributes to the current outcry for improvementin science. There is a tremendous urge for studentsto take up science based subjects by the govern-

ment in order to increase on the future self sustain-ability.

Low-class Communities Income-generatinge-business: Outreach Action-driven e-business forRural and Art-craft Women Communities - Themain objective of this project is to harness ICT as adriver of socio-economic development within low-income communities in Uganda by collaborativelyhelping to increase the income generation of par-ticipating groups of women selling African artifactsand cultural goods around Kampala and organizedin cooperative or small or medium enterprises(SMEs), by use of appropriate web technologies.Furthermore, the project allows rural communitiesto have access to cash money from any mobiletelecommunication end-point service providers(TESP) in their immediate reach through the use ofmobile airtime voucher-transfer system from theirrelatives living in the intensive economic activityareas like Kampala.

Cisco Systems has provided training to CIT staffempowering them to undertake training on behalfof Cisco Academy in the region. As a regionalacademy, we are mandated to ensure that theCisco programmes in the region are run accordingto the requirements. Cisco Systems has also pro-vided Cisco Lab equipment including CCNA labbundle, CCNP lab bundle, WLAN bundle Kits(Wireless Access Points, Bridges and their acces-sories) to support Laboratory Practicals at theacademy. CIT received a Video Camera and itsaccessories to be able to capture and share its suc-cess stories and best practices with the rest of theglobal Networking academy community in Europe,Middle- East and Africa.

Microsoft is providing computing facilities for theMicrosoft Academy. These facilities provide spe-cialized training to students in Microsoft packages.Because of the competence of our students,Microsoft has invited our students to participate inthe Imagine Challenge Cup that is competed for bystudents all over the world.

IBM has provided unique opportunities for bothstaff and students in the recent past. The faculty hasparticipated in the IBM Deep Dive Drive whichbrought together ICT academic fraternity in Africato discuss possibilities of an ICT-led transformationin Africa. Out of these meetings, it was noted thatthere was need to mentor ICT graduates in prepa-ration for the Industry. As a result, IBM has puttogether a program called Makocha minds. CIT is apartner on this programme. Students are connect-ed to some of the top brains at IBM to be theirmentors.

Google Inc. has identified CIT as a partner in itsprogrammes for Africa mainly in rolling out Googleapplications. In October 2007, Google organized aworkshop for staff and students interested in partic-ipating in Google maps project. On March 2008,CIT hosted a team of experts from Google to offi-cially launch the East Africa Google GadgetCompetition. The challenge Cup is intended toshowcase the students' capabilities and skills.

REACHING OUT TO THE COMMUNITY

200 Police Officers Join the CIT Alumnifamily

On August 6, 2008, CIT graduated 200 UgandaPolice Officers after successfully completing two

week training in Office Computer Applications. Thetraining took place from July 21 to August 1, 2008at CIT.

'Training and capacity building is the best way topromote efficiency and accountability of the policeForce. Besides, Police protects life and people'sproperty which in the end encourages people todevelop', Julius Sharita, Assistant General of Policemade the statement while addressing the policegraduates.

120 Officers and Men of the UPDFCommissioned as ICT Literate

In a bid to contribute towards the professionaliza-tion of the Army CIT trained 120 officers and menof the UPDF. ICT skills were imparted to the officersand men over a period of two weeks. The trainingtook place from September 15 to 26, 2008.Training of the UPDF officers and men is in linewith the Faculty Mandate to reach out to the com-munity. CIT is targeting communities that have lim-ited access to ICT training and in so doing isenabling a number of Ugandans to access and atthe same time use the technologies. We are com-mitted to reaching out to many more communitiesthat are in need of this training but lack the facilitiesto offer such training.

1000 Staff for ICT Skills Training

Charity begins at home goes the old adage. It is inregard that CIT is committing to train 1000 stafffrom Makerere University. So far more than 300members of staff have been trained in basic ICTSkills between the month of October to November2008. This is in line with the desire to strengthenICT educational programmes at MakerereUniversity as well as strengthen ICT Skills of its aca-demic staff.

MTN Kampala Marathon, 2008

For the first time, CIT is providing support to theMTN Kampala International Marathon with specif-ic regard to ICT Support. The Faculty has for thelast two years participated in this event whose mainobjective is to raise funds for the 'Red Cross MamaBag Appeal' for people living in IDP camps inNorthern Uganda. CIT is actively involved in com-munity outreach and this event provides the facul-ty an opportunity to reach to the people inNorthern Uganda.

CIT STUDENTS EXCEL

CIT Tops Microsoft Regional Imagine Cup2008 Competition

13 students from Makerere University Faculty ofComputing and IT (CIT) participated in theMicrosoft Regional Imagine Cup 2008 Competitionheld at the Hilton Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya. TheCompetition was held on June 5, 2008 and attract-ed 26 projects from nine Universities from Uganda,Kenya and Tanzania.

Makerere University Faculty of Computing & ITpresented 4 projects. Two out of three winningprojects were from CIT including the overall win-ner. Below are the results:

The Native Green Project - Sensitization of thePublic About Environmental Protection - was theover all Winner from Makerere University

Faculty of Computing & IT. The winners were givena Return Ticket & accommodation for two mem-bers of the group to compete at the Microsoft WorldImagine Cup competition in Paris France - July 01,2008

The Land Use and Carbon Emission RegulationSystem Project was the 2nd Runner-up fromMakerere University Faculty of Computing & IT.The Winners were given Smart phones to each ofthe 4 team members

CIT Tops IEEE Students Exhibition for 2ndYear Running

Makerere University Faculty of Computing & ITstudents emerged winners in the 10th IEEE stu-dents Exhibition 'ICT and Mobile ApplicationsCategory'. The event took place betweenSeptember 11-12, 2008 in Nairobi and attracteduniversities from Canada, Sudan, Uganda andKenya.

The faculty had 15 exhibited projects by studentsout of which two of the top three won the first andthird positions respectively. The projects thatemerged winners are: A virtual Interactive CampusMap of Makerere University [i-locator]- winner; andOnline University Application system- third.

The Faculty takes pride that its students can com-pete and emerge victors. This is an indication thatCIT can measure up to the challenges. This alsogoes a long way in demonstrating the standards ofMakerere University. Makerere University was theonly participating university that was representedby the Faculty of Computing and IT.

CIT Students Benefit from Microsoft StudentPartner

Ten students from CIT were signed up for aMicrosoft Student Partner (MSP) to help other stu-dents get access to new technologies and be cur-rent with the industry which they will join in a fewyears. An MSP is a university or college studentinterested in a technology career and is willing tohelp others learn about Microsoft technology. TheMicrosoft Student Partner Program is a worldwideinitiative to sponsor students who are interested intechnology. The program mainly focuses onimproving students skills for employability, foster-ing a strong student-to-student network andimproved information flow between Microsoft andstudent communities. The members of the commu-nity are called Microsoft Student Partners (MSP).This student could be an undergraduate or post-graduate student, usually from computer science,engineering, information technology, who has apassion for technology and who actively, partici-pates in sharing knowledge among the academiccommunity.

Makerere Students Participant inEstablishing Rural Village-Based FoodProcessing Units

On 20 November 2008, a certificate awarding cer-emony was held at CIT to recognize the hard workof students from CIT and FST in establishing ruralvillage-based food processing units. This pilot proj-ect was launched in Save the Children in Uganda'sworking area of Nakasongola, Uganda in an inno-vative partnership which included JOBSInternational, Save the Children in Uganda, andMakerere University's Faculty of Computing andInformation Technology and Department of FoodScience and Technology. "It was the hard work ofthe students that made this project a success, and[they] really impressed me. I have never had thepleasure to work with students as proactive andhard working as this group" said Scott Merrill theJOBS International Team Leader at the ceremony.

Three of Save the Children's groups in

The New Vision, Thursday, December 04, 2008 III

2008! A Year of Seeing Our Dreams Come to Reality

MAKERERE UNIVERSITYADVERTORIALFFAACCUULLTTYY OOFF CCOOMMPPUUTTIINNGG AANNDD IINNFFOORRMMAATTIIOONN TTEECCHHNNOOLLOOGGYY

Prof. V. Baryamureeba - the Dean

The New Vision, Thursday, December 04, 2008IV

2008! A Year of Seeing Our Dreams Come to Reality

MAKERERE UNIVERSITYNakasongola were chosen to participate in the pilotproject, and three multidisciplinary groups of stu-dent 'advisors' were formed to provide technicalassistance to these groups. The students workedclosely with the groups to identify products basedheavily on locally available raw materials wereidentified which could be easily produced at the vil-lage level using appropriate technologies. Theseproducts include peanut butter from locally pro-duced groundnuts and sesame, cassava-flourbased cookies, and sorghum based power bars.

CIT students provided assisted in marketing theproducts, and are in the process of building a web-site to share their experiences and the lessons theyhave learned. Based on their experiences, the CITstudents also developed a software package toassist farmers in identifying the most economicallyviable crops to plant in their fields.

3RD CIT OPEN DAY - 2008

Makerere University Faculty of Computing & ITheld its 3rd Annual Open Day on 8th and 9thAugust 2008 under the theme 'Sharing toEmpower'. This year's open day run over a periodof two days as a response to the feedback receivedfrom previous open days. The event was sponsoredby CIT and Century Bottling Company-Coca-Cola.

Unlike previous years, career guidance sessionswere organized to provide information to prospec-tive students. CIT Students exhibited 30 most inno-vative projects selected from the final year projectspresented for examination. Projects selected had astrong relevancy to the needs of the business com-munity, training institutions, health institutions andthe general public. A number of projects were iden-tified by the business community with the view ofdeveloping them to full commercialization.Participants also took a guided tour of the facultypremises including the new 15,000sq CIT complex-Africa's largest Computing facility.

REAPING FROM WHAT WE SOWED

On September 15, 2008 at 13.30hrs (14.30Ugandan Time), John Ngubiri successfully defend-ed his PhD Thesis titled 'Techniques andEvaluation of Processor Co-allocation in Multi-clus-ter Systems'.This took place in the 'Aula', RadboudUniversity, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. JohnNgubiri is a member of staff in the Department ofComputer Science Makerere University. For moreinformation about John Ngubiri visit: http://ugan-da.cs.ru.nl/johnngubiri.php

On October 23, 2008, Mrs. Agnes RwashanaSsemwanga successfully defended her PhD Thesistitled 'An Application of System DynamicsModeling to Immunization Policy Analysis', atMakerere University Faculty of Computing andInformation Technology, Kampala, Uganda.

Ms. Josephine Nabukenya an Assistant Lecturer inthe Department of Information Systems has com-pleted her PhD training at Radboud UniversityNijmegen, The Netherlands and will defend herthesis latest February 2009.

CIT to Graduate 1079 Students in January2009

CIT has successfully submitted a total of 1079 forJanuary 2009 graduation distributed as follows:786 for Bachelor of Information Technology; 209-Bachelor of Science in Computer Science; 32-Diploma in Computer Science and IT and 50 ongraduate programmes including 1 PhD. From thecurrent and previous statistics, the number offemale graduands has increased steadily and theyequally compete in performance.

STATE OF THE ART BUILDING WITHSTATE OF THE ART FACILITIES

New 'State of the Art' Building - In February 2006,exactly one year after transition from Institute to afaculty, the Faculty of Computing and IT embarkedon the construction of 12,000 square metres 'Stateof the Art' complex as extension of the currentbuilding. This is to cater for the growing demandfor ICT training in the region. The building is thelargest computing and ICT training and researchcentre in the whole of Africa.

The first of its kind that has been constructed at aUniversity Campus from 100% internally generat-ed resources is an achievement for MakerereUniversity and the Government of Uganda.Thumbs up to the Parents, Guardians, Sponsors,The Government of Uganda and DevelopmentPartners.

State of the Art Computing Facilities

With the new state of the art building it goes with-out saying that there ought to be state of the art

facilities. True to this CIT has lived to the expecta-tions and put in place state of the art facilities thatyou will find no where else in this region. With closeto 3,000 computers spread through the differentcomputer labs that exist at CIT. Besides the ordi-nary computer labs CIT has set up specialized labsto match with the state of the Art Faculty in the 21stCentury. Below is the table showing the specializedlabs equipment that has been set up;

A. MULTI-MEDIA LAB

1 2 Flatbed Scanners

2 2 Colour LaserJet printers

3 2 Digital Cameras

4 2 Video Camcorders

5 CD/DVD Duplicator & Printer

6 Multi-media workstation

7 2 Apple laptops

8 Adobe Software [Adobe Creative Suite 3(Adobe Indesign CS3)]

9 PowerPoint projector

10 7 Professional desktop microphones & head-phones (Sony MDR-NC60)

11 Audio Amplifier (Yamaha P7000S Stereoamplifier)

12 Pair hi-fi loudspeakers EV-Sx300E & Tripodstand

13 2 Shure wireless microphones (with handheldtransmitter & Diversity receiver)

14 Mixer

15 2 20" wide screen multi-format professionalLCD (video) monitor

16 5 Mac computers with 17" screens and sound-cards

17 1 Mac computer with 21" screen

B. GIS LAB

1 4 Professional workstations

2 2 multifunctional plotters

3 6 GPS receivers

4 1 digitising table

5 ArcGIS server enterprise software

6 Arc Info software

7 ArcCOGO, ArcNETWORK Concurrent soft-ware

8 ArcPad for Mobile Mapping

9 Remote Sensing software ENVI (single user)

C. E-LEARNING LAB

1 3 Sun fire X4200 servers

2 4 Sun fire X2200 servers

3 1 Sun StorEdge ™ storage

4 1 Sun ultra 20 M2 workstation

5 1 Sun storage tape auto loader 24 slots

6 20 Sun Ray thin clients

7 21 LCD monitor

8 1 sun Rack 1000-38

D. NETWORKS & SYSTEMS LAB

1 21 HP Compaq notebook/tablet PCs withMicrosoft ® Vista

2 21 HP Ultra-slim expansion base with DVDdrive

3 21 HP USB optical travel mice

4 1 HP executive carrying case

5 3 HP iPAQs

6 1 HP design jet printer

7 1 HP design jet printer stand

8 1 HP Pro-Curve wireless access router

9 1 HP Pro-Curve switch 408

10 1 digital projector

11 1 mobile net education centre

E. MOBILE COMPUTING LAB

1 20 Nokia (N95) mobile phones

F. Software Incubation Lab

1 120 Computers

G. Pan African Labs

1 2 VSAT Antennae

2 Multimedia studio equipment

3 Post production Equipment

H. Computer Engineering Lab

1 Logic Analyser

2 Digital Storage Oscilloscope

3 Arbitrary Waveform Generator

4 Digital Multimeter

5 Frequency Counter

6 16 channels logic Signal input

7 DMM

8 Signal Generator

9 Spectrum Analyser

10 Bit Error rate Testers

11 Network Analyzers

12 Analog and Digital Trainer

13 Fiber Optic Training System

14 Personal Computer Training System

15 Computer Workstations

16 Transistor Tester

17 Lab Kits

18 C.A.D.E.T Master Lab Boards

19 MPLAB IDE software

20 EAGLE schematic capture and PCB layoutsoftware

AWARDS

Presidential Science Award

Prof. Venansius Baryamureeba was 2nd runner-upfor the Presidential Science Award in the Science &Technology Education Excellence Award category.This was in recognition of his innovative approachto Institutional and Human Capacity Developmentin Computer Science. This took place at the 2008Presidential Science Awards Ceremony organizedby the Uganda National Council for Science andTechnology (UNCST) on Friday, September 19,2008.

Diploma of Participation

The Federation of African University Sport, theNational University Sports Federation of Ugandaand the organizing committee presented a Diplomaof participation to Makerere University received a'Diploma of Participation in the 5th All AfricaGames. This took place from July 6 to 16, 2008 inKampala, Uganda.

International Quality Crown Award

Makerere University Faculty of Computing and IThas been selected to receive the 'InternationalQuality Crown Awrad (IQC) in the DiamondCategory in recognition for quality and accom-plishments. The award will be presented in Londonon November 24, 2008 to the Faculty representa-tive at the International Quality CrownConvention.

10th Platinum Technology Award & The"TQCS" Accreditation Seal Program

ICT Consults Ltd was been selected to receive 10thPlatinum Technology Award for Quality and bestTrade Name. This is in recognition of firms from allover the world, which have distinguished them-selves in the filed of quality, technology and excel-lence. The Quality Summit took place in Rome,Italy at Hotel Crowne Plaza-Rome, from 6 - 8 July2008. The award is from Association Otherways

Management Consulting, Paris-France

Prof. Baryamureeba Invited to Become ITGOVSHonorary Member

Professor Venansius Baryamureeba, Dean,Makerere University Faculty of Computing & IT hasbeen nominated 'Honorary Member of theInternational Association of IT GovernanceStandards (ITGOVS)'.

CIT SCOOPS THE REGIONAL ACADEMYEXCELLENCE AWARD 2008

Regional Academy Excellence Award East Africa,2008 in recognition of High student enrolment;excellent support to local academies; focus on stu-dent impact initiatives; high female enrolment; andexpanded academy curriculum.

ICT Human Resource Capacity Development

Bona Basome - Through its initiative CIT startedthe mid-night 'Bona Basome' classes the first of itskind in Africa. The midnight programme has givenan opportunity to the low-income earners to accesslow cost but high quality education. More than2,000 persons have acquired ICT skills that wouldhave been hither to a dream. This has also led tooptimal utilization of resources in this faculty and atthe same time provided a flexible education systemand 24-hour access to the University facilities.

CIT has received awards in the past:

Makerere University Faculty of Computing and IThas enjoyed several prestigious accolades from theInternational community. The awards below coverthe period 2006 to-date

� Ms. Florence Tushabe a lecturer received TheBest Student Paper Award at the InternationalConference on Signal Processing and ImagingEngineering 2007.

� Prof. V. Baryamureeba was honored by IBM in2007. IBM made a gift in honor of him to theUnited Nations (UN) Foundation in support of'Nothing but Nets', a grassroots campaign tosave lives by preventing malaria.

� Prof. V. Baryamureeba received the 'Top ICTEducator/ Academic' Award in Africa for 2007.This event was organized in South Africa. TheAfrican ICT Achievers Programme has built astrong foundation of recognition and reward forthose ICT individuals and organizations thathave made a difference to the ICT industry inAfrica.

� CIT Cisco Academy received best RegionalAcademy of the year 2007 award. Among thecriteria considered in the selection process forthe Award were outstanding performance, high-est growth and enrollment plus outstanding stu-dent support initiatives.

� CIT also received the International QualityCrown Award 2007 in recognition of its commit-ment to Quality, leadership, Technology andInnovation.

� CIT Cisco Networking Academy received theRegional Academy Excellence Award, Nairobi2007 in recognition of its consistent mainte-nance of high student enrolment, consistent highpercentage of female students (more than 30%),high number of CCNA graduates (over 2,700),expanded Academy Program Curriculum andExcellent Communication.

ADVERTORIALFFAACCUULLTTYY OOFF CCOOMMPPUUTTIINNGG AANNDD IINNFFOORRMMAATTIIOONN TTEECCHHNNOOLLOOGGYY