UbuntuNet-Connect 2013 | 14-15 November 2013 | Kigali, Rwanda

 

Theme: Transforming Education and Research

Conference

UbuntuNet-Connect is the Annual Conference of UbuntuNet Alliance that focuses on research and education networking activities in Africa. It is organized by UbuntuNet Alliance and hosted by member NRENs. The Conference brings together practitioners in the research and education networking community, researchers, policy makers, academicians, connectivity providers, and a pool of expertise from across Africa and beyond. In previous years, the conference has attracted sponsorship from leading commercial companies and service providers.

UbuntuNet-Connect 2013 will be held at Lemigo Hotel in Kigali, Rwanda on 14-15 November 2013 and will be precedeed by a series of other pre-conference events from 9-13 November 2013. The events will be hosted by Rwanda Education Network (RwEdNet), through the Ministry of Education.

Joint eI4Africa – CHAIN-REDS Workshop

The eI4Africa and CHAIN-REDS EU/FP7 projects will jointly organise a pre-conference workshop with the theme: ‘An Afican e-Infrastructure for Virtual Research Communities‘, on Wednesday on November 13, 2013.

Networking and Proceedings

The annual networking conference and pre-conference worshop provides opportunities for people with special interests to share their experiences, ideas and plans in the light of research and education networking and applications. Proceedings and report of previous conferences are available under ISSN 2223-7062.

PROGRAMME

Pre-conference Events

8-12 November

Pre-Conference Events

12-14 November 2013
Date Activity
9 – 13 November Train the Trainers Workshop (closed for pre-invited NREN Engineers) Overview, Agenda
Tuesday, 12 November
  1. eI4Africa Project Management Board Meeting – Morning (closed for project partners)
  2. CHAIN-REDS Project Management Board Meeting – Afternoon (closed for project partners)
  3. AfricaConnect Admin Meeting  – All day (closed for project partners)
  4. AfricaConnect Technical Meeting – All day (closed for project partners)
Wednesday, 13 November
  1. Joint eI4Africa / CHAIN-REDS Pre-Conference Workshop – All day (open to all, but registration required) An African e-infrastructure for Virtual Research Communities, Registration
  2. 31st UbuntuNet Alliance Board Meeting – Late afternoon (closed)
  3. e-I4Africa / CHAIN-REDS Meet and Greet Cocktail – Evening (open to all)
  4. Registration for UbuntuNet-Connect Conference opens at the cocktail

UbuntuNet-Connect 2013

14 – 15 November 2013
(open to all, but registration required)

Day 1: Thursday, 14 November 2013
07:30 – 08:30 Registration
08:30  – 10:00

Session 1: Opening Session

Chairperson: Prof Zimani Kadzamira, Founding Chair, UbuntuNet Alliance
Rapporteur: Bonny Khunga, ZAMREN
Time Activity    Presenter
08:30  – 08:35 Welcome remarks from the Ministry of Education on behalf of RwEdNet Dr Marie-Christine Gasingirwa
08:35 – 08:45 Presentation from the Diamond Sponsor XON David Naude and Dewalt Uys
08:45 – 08:55 Welcome remarks from CEO of the Alliance and recognition of delegations by country Dr Francis Tusubira
08:55  – 09:05 Welcome from the Chair of the UbuntuNet Alliance Prof John Ssebuwufu
09:05 – 09:20 European Commission for AfricaConnect TILLESSEN Achin, EU Delegation in Rwanda
09:20 – 09:25 Brief remarks  by Minister of Education and introduction of Guest of Honour
09:25 – 09:50 Keynote Address and Opening by the Guest of Honour TBC
09:50 – 10:30 Photo, Tour of Exhibitions and Health break 
10:30 – 12:30

Session 2: NREN Services

Chairperson: Ludmila Maguni, CEO MoRENet
Rapporteur: Dr Chipo Kanjo, MAREN
 10:30 – 10:55 Gleaning from Pro-Poor-ICT experiences to address challenges faced by Uganda’s nascent research and education network
(15+10 min)		 Isaac Kasana
CEO, RENU
10:55 – 11:20 ASREN regional perspective towards enhanced e-infrastructures for research and education  
(15 +10min)		 Salem Al-Agtash
11:20 – 11:45 Advantage of industry membership program for emerging NRENs
(15 +10min)		 Brian Savory
11:45 – 12:10 Distributed Computing Services on top of a Research and Education Network: GARR
(15+10 min)		 Federico Ruggieri
12:10 – 14:00 Lunch and Exhibition
14:00 – 15:30

Session 3: The NREN as an Organisation: Panel

Chairperson: Duncan Greaves, CEO TENET
Rapporteur: Prof Dibungi Kalenda, Eb@le
14:00 – 14:15 A strategy for Developing High-end ICT talent for Emerging African NRENs and the Higher Education Community 
(15 min)		 Meoli Kashorda
14:15 – 14:30 The NREN Business Model
(15 min)		 Robert Janz
14:30 – 14:45 Survival of National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) in a competitive market of Africa: A Case Study of the Zambia Research and Education Network (ZAMREN)
(15 min)		 Stein Mkandawire
14:45 – 15:00 Discussion
15:00 – 15:30  Health break and Exhibition
15:30 – 17:00 

Session 4: AfricaConnect

Chairperson: Dr Iman Maaly, CEO SudREN
Rapporteur: Isaac Kasana, RENU
15:30 – 15:55 Africa-Connect, the reality – milestones and progress
(15+10)		 Cathrin Stover
15:55 – 16:20 UbuntuNet after AfricaConnect – Looking ahead
(15+10 min)		 Tusu
16:20 – 16:45 Possible Scenarios for AfricaConnect2
(15+10 min)		 Lishan Adam
16:45 – 17:00 Summing Up Duncan Martin
18:00 – 20:00 Networking Cocktail hosted by Rwanda Ministry of Education
5 min presentation from NSRC, (Gold Sponsor)

 Day 2: Friday 15th November 2013
Time Activity Presenter
08:00 – 10:05

Parallel Session 5a: eInfrastructure Applications

Chairperson: Prof Etienne Ntagwirumugara, CEO RwEdNet
Rapporteur: Dr Amos Nungu, TERNET
08:00 – 08:25 Promoting e-Infrastructures for VRCs in Africa: the eI4Africa Project
(15+10 min)		 Giuseppe la Rocca
08:25 – 08:50 HyVic and UbuntuNet Networks Partnership to Build Resilience to Climate Change in Eastern Africa
(15+10 min)		 Fred Semazzi
08:50 – 09:15 On the development of climate data visualization tool for interpretation of empirical results from climate model: Does it add value to different stakeholders?
(15+10 min)		 Neema Sumari
09:15 – 09:40 South Africa’s Federated Identity Management Initiative
(15+10 min)		 Siju Mammen
09:40 – 10:05 The CHAIN-REDS Semantic Search Engine
(15+10 min)		 Rafael Mayo Garcia
10:05 – 10:30 Health break and Exhibition
08:00 – 10:05

Parallel Session 5b: e-applications : e-learning, e-content (1)

Chairperson: Wilfred Kuria, CEO Xnet
Rapporteur: Ludmila Maguni, MoRENet
08:00 – 08:25 Open access attitudes and uptake among health sciences faculty and roles of information professionals
(15+10 min)		 Edda Lwoga
08:25 – 08:50 Use of Electronic Medical Records System to Enforce Adherence to Maternal and Infant Health Treatment Protocol in Malawi. A Pilot  Case Study at Bwaila Maternity Hospital
(15+10 min)		 Oliver Gadabu
08:50 – 09:15 Piloting White Spaces for DSpaces in Malawi
(15+10 min)		 Chomora Mikeka
09:15 – 09:40 E-infrastructure acceptance in e-health, e-learning and e-agriculture in Zimbabwe: The quest for the user acceptance
(15+10 min)		 Chrispen Chiome
09:40 – 10:05 A software-based solution for distributing and displaying UHD video content over networks applied to telemedicine and culture
(15+10 min)		 Leandro Ciuffo
10:05 – 10:30
 Health break and Exhibition   
 10:30 – 12:10

Session 6a: NREN Infrastructure and Security

Chairperson: Prof Meoli Kashorda, CEO KENET
Rapporteur: Omo Oaiya, WACREN
10:30 – 10:55 Use of subfluvial optical cable in a region without land-based infrastructure – a Brazilian project to deploy optical cable in Amazonia 
(15+10 min)		 Eduardo Grizendi
10:55 – 11:20 Security: a necessary piece of the collaboration puzzle
(15+10 min)		 Alex Kisakye
11:20 – 11:45 NREN Network Security: A case study of Uganda Christian University ICT Infrastructure
(15+10 min)		 Perez Matsiko
11:45 – 12:10 A Software-Based Controller for Efficient Wireless Networks
(15+10 min)		 Rafael Valle
 10:30 – 12:10

Session 6b: e-Applications: e-Learning, e-Content (Cont’d)

Chairperson: Dr Pascal Hoba, Director of Knowledge Managment, Information Communication, AAU
Rapporteur: Dr Chrispen Chiome
10:30 – 10:55 Mobile Applications to Enhance Versatility Mobile Learning
(15+10 min)		 Jimmy Macharia
10:55 – 11:20 The best practices e-learning inside University of Rwanda (UR)
(15+10 min)		 Etiénne Ntagwirumugara
11:20 – 11:45 Multiple conference interoperability technologies
(15+10 min)		 André Marins
11:45 – 12:10 Content Alert system using Short Message Service (SMS) A testimony of two collaborative projects in Africa and Asia 
(15+10 min)		 John Paul K Anbu
12:10  Close of Conference
12:10 – 13:30 Lunch and departure