Be innovators: Kenyan Universities Challenged By Mutwiri Mutuota NAIROBI, Kenya, September 30- Kenyan universities have been challenged to play their role as innovators of internet applications and content to spur the country’s economic growth through the rapidly expanding global ICT sector. This was the keynote message delivered by the eminent panel that addressed University Students during a Public Lecture at Nairobi’s Kenyatta International Conference Centre, organised by the Kenya’s Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Steering Committee. The eminent panellists were Vint Cerf, one of the co-founders of the Internet and vice-president of tech giant Google, Fernando Perini, the Senior Programme Officer at the IDRC, Jeff Bruegmann of American Communications AT&T and Bitange Ndemo, the Permanent Secretary in the Kenyan Ministry of Information and Communications. “The Internet is a highly distributed de-centralised communication system where everybody has an equal opportunity to use and the potential it holds for economic empowerment is enormous,” Cerf, who together with Bob Khan are acknowledged as the fathers of the internet said. “With advancements in cloud computing, mobile internet and shift in Internet Protocols giving rise to devices that can become part of the internet; it creates an interesting set of opportunities that can accommodate a new range of products and devices,” he added. Cerf underscored the importance of research and education as governments continue to lay the necessary infrastructure to support the new age of ICT that will see the Internet capacity increased in the near future. “Systems such as IPv6 and 03B networks are almost here with us and there is an available market for applications that is not confined to any market. I’m enthusiastic about the possibilities that exist to such young people as you.” The Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is the next edition that is designed to succeed the 32-bit predecessor, IPv4 and it will see the Internet operating by transferring data between hosts in small packets that are independently routed across networks. Similarly, the O3B system that will involve 12 satellites is aimed at making the internet accessible to the ‘Other 3 Billion’ people without broadband access to making the total number of net users reach 5 billion, half of the projected world population by 2015. In his remarks Bruegmann stressed mobility is the future for IT networks with 1 billion mobile users worldwide that constitutes half of the internet users. He added research into IT needs to be re-taught at the university level since existing journals had been overtaken by development, citing the Ushahidi Forum in Kenya as a model example. “There are many creative industries such as music, movies, publishing and gaming with cheap gadgets for consumer being made that create potential for new developments,” Bruegmann stated. “Transformation to new systems is not enough. There is need to understand new business models, what networks we want in future and the power and possibilities available in the community.” While stating the IGF as an example of how values in the global Internet are maintained with greater freedoms of expression, privacy and increased access of the web, Perin said there were key issues that the world needed to grasp as it makes transformations in technology. “We need to discuss the relationship between governance, the open science required, creative industries and cyber security,” he said. With 220,000 plus students in Kenyan universities believed to own smart phones, Ndemo expressed concern that the community was not leading the nation in coming up with inventions required to place their country on the economic ICT path. “It’s my hope that what you learn here will make you walk out and make money. We need to emulate the US university fraternity that has brought forth billion dollar IT inventions such as Google, Yahoo! And Facebook,” the American trained former IT lecturer challenged. He added: “This is the time for you since the moment you hit 26 and get married, it is said you can no longer invent anything. The government has done well in building broadband infrastructure and supported universities with up to 2GB bandwidth.” Ndemo further pressed them to establish You Tube channels for their lecturers to aid in the generation of local content as well as in monitoring the knowledge they are receiving from their tutors. “The Government has released so much of its data under the Open Government policy and what we need is someone to package this as an application that can compile it for release. This is an opportunity our universities can capitalise on to generate revenue.” ----------------------------KICTANet-------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you have the strength to survive, you have the power to succeed. Life is all about choices we make depending upon the situation we are in. Go forth and rule the World!