Tweet
German-supported computer centre opens in Kandahar
Michael Gardner04 April 2014 Issue No:314
The latest of Afghanistan's five planned national research centres has been opened at Kandahar University. The centres are being set up by the German Academic Exchange Service, or DAAD, in cooperation with the Technical University of Berlin.
The computer centres are the cornerstones of a nationwide academic IT network. Funding has been provided by the German foreign office.
Berlin Technical University's Centre for International and Intercultural Communication had already started supporting Afghanistan in 2002, in the development of academic structures in the IT sector at a time when computers were still a novelty in the country.
"We have since trained more than 4,500 university staff in IT basics and established nine facilities for computer science," said Nazir Peroz, who heads the Afghanistan project in Berlin.
Now there are computer centres in the country's capital Kabul, Herat in the west, Jalalabad in the east, Balkh near Mazir-i-Sharif in the north, and Kandahar in the south.
The centres perform network and training services that are supported by annual IT conferences on various topics.
Computer science popular
Training in computer science is highly popular in Afghanistan, and a degree in the subject holds considerable prestige.
Women have been involved in IT development right from the onset of the German activities and are strongly represented both as students and teachers.
"The future of Afghanistan, in which women play a crucial role, is in education," said DAAD president Margret Wintermantel.
"It is important to strengthen higher education and research in the country. This is the only way to ensure that more skilled labour is trained, which Afghanistan urgently needs for its further development."
Afghanistan's student population is growing steadily. This year there were 260,000 applications for places in higher education. However, only a small number of students have access to the internet, usually via a smartphone or a mobile telephone modem.
Applications for study places are transmitted by mail. In addition to the universities, both the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education take part in the process.
Nazir Peroz has been involved in efforts to modernise the application procedure since 2005, and at Berlin Technical University he developed an online platform for this purpose.
However, he said both awareness of the need for changes to the system and infrastructure aspects such as reliable electricity supply and access to the internet continue to represent considerable obstacles.
* Michael Gardner Email: michael.gardner@uw-news.com
Michael Gardner04 April 2014 Issue No:314
The latest of Afghanistan's five planned national research centres has been opened at Kandahar University. The centres are being set up by the German Academic Exchange Service, or DAAD, in cooperation with the Technical University of Berlin.
The computer centres are the cornerstones of a nationwide academic IT network. Funding has been provided by the German foreign office.
Berlin Technical University's Centre for International and Intercultural Communication had already started supporting Afghanistan in 2002, in the development of academic structures in the IT sector at a time when computers were still a novelty in the country.
"We have since trained more than 4,500 university staff in IT basics and established nine facilities for computer science," said Nazir Peroz, who heads the Afghanistan project in Berlin.
Now there are computer centres in the country's capital Kabul, Herat in the west, Jalalabad in the east, Balkh near Mazir-i-Sharif in the north, and Kandahar in the south.
The centres perform network and training services that are supported by annual IT conferences on various topics.
Computer science popular
Training in computer science is highly popular in Afghanistan, and a degree in the subject holds considerable prestige.
Women have been involved in IT development right from the onset of the German activities and are strongly represented both as students and teachers.
"The future of Afghanistan, in which women play a crucial role, is in education," said DAAD president Margret Wintermantel.
"It is important to strengthen higher education and research in the country. This is the only way to ensure that more skilled labour is trained, which Afghanistan urgently needs for its further development."
Afghanistan's student population is growing steadily. This year there were 260,000 applications for places in higher education. However, only a small number of students have access to the internet, usually via a smartphone or a mobile telephone modem.
Applications for study places are transmitted by mail. In addition to the universities, both the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education take part in the process.
Nazir Peroz has been involved in efforts to modernise the application procedure since 2005, and at Berlin Technical University he developed an online platform for this purpose.
However, he said both awareness of the need for changes to the system and infrastructure aspects such as reliable electricity supply and access to the internet continue to represent considerable obstacles.
* Michael Gardner Email: michael.gardner@uw-news.com
Comment