IT for Developing
Regions
Draft August 25, 2003
Week 1: Introduction
– August 27
- Objectives
for the course.
- Economic
and social conditions in developing countries – range between and within
developing countries.
- What
is it like to live on $1-2/day?
- Different
definitions of “development”:
- Discussion
of Millennium Development Goals
Week 2: The role
of ICT in development – September 3
- Previous
instances of developing and introducing new technologies (e.g. Green
Revolution)
- Why
the growing interest in ICT for development?
- Current
state of the debate. How important
is IT?
Week 3: ICT for
development – current activities – September 10
- An
overview of “ICT for development” activities by different actors:
-
Int’l organizations (G-8, UN, World Bank)
-
Companies (e.g. HP)
-
NGOs and social enterprises (e.g. GrameenBank)
-
National governments
- National
frameworks for “e-readiness” being adopted by developing countries to
accelerate the adoption of ICT:
-
Infrastructure
-
Development of workforce with ICT-specific skills
-
Legal, regulatory and policy environment
-
Role of private sector
-
Applications
- Is it
possible to “serve the poor profitably”?
(Prahalad). Possible
business models – shared access, micro-franchise, etc.
Week 4: Trends in information and communications
technologies – September 17
Overview of price and performance in ICT “building blocks.”
- Semiconductors
(memory and logic)
- Storage
- System-on-chip
- Wired
and wireless networks (satellite, cellular, 802.11, 802.16)
- Displays
Possible unique requirements for developing country users:
- Low-cost
- Low-power
- Intermittent
connectivity
- User
interfaces for populations with multiple languages and low levels of
literacy
- Shared
access as a possibly dominant use mode
- Limited
skilled workforce for maintenance
Week 5: Economic benefits of ICT – September 24
- Income
generation
- Job
creation (e.g. outsourcing)
- Better
functioning of markets, lowered costs of domestic and international
economic transactions
- Economy-wide
increases in productivity
- E-commerce
- Benefits
for the poor?
Week 6: E-health,
e-learning – October 1
- Public
health applications
- Health
information
- Tele-health
Week 7: E-government,
E-democracy – October 8
- Can
government work better and cost less?
- Reducing
corruption and increasing transparency
- Use
of ICT by civil society
- Government
efforts in censorship and surveillance
Week 8: Energy
and environment – October 15
Week 9: Technology-specific
issues – networking/infrastructure – October 22
- Alternative
network architectures
- Co-design
of infrastructure and device – advantages for cost and functionality
- Intermittent
connectivity
- Use
of 802.11 in developing world – leapfrog opportunities?
Week 10: Technology-specific
issues – devices – October 29
- Current
approaches such as Simputer
- System-on-chip
- Novel,
low-cost, low-power devices – how low can we go?
- Novel,
low-cost displays
Week 11: Technology-specific
issues – user interfaces – November 5
- Support
for multiple languages
- Speech
as interface
- Support
for users with low-levels of literacy
- User
interaction with sensor networks
Week 12: Cross-cutting
issues – November 12
- Intellectual
property
- Privacy
- Role
of open source in developing countries
- Developing
countries as producers as opposed to merely consumers of innovation
Week 13: Beyond
ICT – other tech needs for developing countries – November 19
- Water
purification
- Affordable
energy
- Low-cost
diagnosis of infectious diseases
- Cook
stoves
Week 14-15: Student
presentations – November 26/December 3