IPID Activities On this page you find information about upcoming and past activities. IPID 4th Annual Conference 2009: Advance NoticeThe 2009 Annual Conference of the International Network for Postgraduate Students in the Area of ICT4D will be held at Royal Holloway, University of London on 11th and 12th September 2009, hosted by the ICT4D Collective and UNESCO Chair in ICT4D (http://www.ict4d.org.uk). Conference format In line with previous IPID events, the conference is intended to be informal. Its main purpose is twofold: A formal call for papers and themes will be issued in May 2009. More information about the Conference Research workshop at Örebro UniversityDear IPID members, We welcome you to a research workshop at Örebro University June 8-9, 2009! For those of you struggling with a research paper, a project proposal or a thesis… this is where you want to be! What we offer you is two days of support and discussions in a friendly and creative atmosphere. We will read, listen and discuss during the days and have fun (BBQ at Annika´s place!) in the evening.
Purpose:
Participation To register your interest in the workshop, please send an e-mail to Annika Andersson annika.andersson@oru.se by the latest May 1st. To permit feedback from the selected discussants we will also need your paper no later than May 15th. To maintain the intimacy and richness necessary for this type of event, the number of participants is limited to 15. First come, first served. There is no registration or attendance fee. There will be hand-outs offered free of charge and IPID will sponsor each participant with up to 1000 SEK for travels and accommodation. We will pay for the food.
Location
Schedule:
Tuesday:
Accommodations and travel
Suggested Accommodation:
Looking forward to your registration and to welcome you to Örebro! Blended technologies for developmentReport from the third seminar on “Blended technologies for development” On Tuesday March 24th 25 IPID members met in Kista for a seminar on Satellite Communication and its opportunities for developing countries. Olavi Trydhed shared his knowledge and expertise on the potentials for satellite communication within developing and under-developing regions. Topics of the day were: different types of satellite communication including discussions on their bandwidth cost and benefit analysis and comparative analysis with other contemporary technologies. Discussions also drew on the participants experiences from their own countries. After seven hours of vivid discussions and learning we all returned to our home universities feeling that we now know more about challenges and opportunities for satellite communication in developing countries. Blended technologies for developmentReport from the second seminar on “Blended technologies for development”
On Tuesday February 24th 23 IPID members met in Örebro for a seminar on Fibre Optics, Cables and Broadband opportunities for developing countries. Discussions drew on Björn´s experiences from Africa which were further enriched by all participants experiences. After three hours of vivid discussions and learning we continued the conversation over a long lunch. We were all very satisfied with the day and feel that we now know more about challenges and opportunities for building networks in developing countries. "Young" Researchers' Workshop at ICTD2009 Friday 17 April 2009Call for Papers and Participation in conjunction with the 3rd IEEE/ACM International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD2009) 17 - 19 April 2009, Doha, Qatar, http://www.ictd2009.org IPID (the International Network for Postgraduate Students in the area of ICT4D) together with GSHCID (Graduate Students in Human-Computer Interaction and Development) are organising a workshop for "young" researchers to be held on Friday 17 April 2009 8:30am - 5:00pm at Carnegie-Mellon's campus in Doha, Qatar. Focus: The focus will be on the process of ICT4D research giving the participants an opportunity to discuss and reflect on various aspects of such research. Program: The workshop aims to provide an informal forum where participants can share their research experiences, initial findings and ideas in a supportive peer-environment. The area of ICT4D includes a wide range of fields of studies. By attending the workshop participants can share and reflect on their research findings as well as on their own experiences in ICT4D research.
The morning session senior academic researcher's panel is now confirmed and includes: Professor Tim Unwin, UNESCO Chair in ICT4D, Royal Holloway, University of London, Dr. Michael Best, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Dr. Chris Coward, University of Washington. Format: Participants will be asked to read everyone's position papers in advance, to maximize face-time at the workshop. The morning session will include presentations of short papers of between 5-10 minutes followed by feedback from both the participants and invited senior academic researchers. The afternoon session of the workshop will revolve around small breakout group discussions, structured around themes to be decided with participants via email prior to the workshop, followed by a closing discussion among all attendees.Intended Audience: The workshop will be open to all "young" researchers in the area of ICTD/ICT4D. We use "young" broadly to reflect the vibrancy of ICTD as a new discipline, in which we strive to create an inclusive workshop atmosphere where all researchers whether they are students, recent Ph.D. graduates or even senior researchers with a track record in other fields who view themselves as "young-at-heart" researchers congregate to learn from one another about how to do research in the nascent field of ICTD. Space is limited and will be allocated on a first-come-first-serve basis. The morning session will be more generally across ICTD topics, the afternoon session will have a greater focus, though not restricted to HCI issues. Submissions: If you're interested in attending, submit a short position paper (no longer than 4 pages) describing your prior ICTD research experience and your views on the challenges of ICTD research, and mail it in PDF format to yrictd@gmail.com by March 1st for review.
Important Dates:
Cost: Workshop attendance is free for ICTD2009 conference attendees. Attendee Sponsorships: There are very limited sponsorships and waivers for workshop participants. If you need these, you have to apply directly through the website at: http://www.ictd2009.org/scholarships.html (the deadline is Feb 25). Organisers: IPID has 320 members representing 224 universities in 77 countries and is sponsored by SPIDER, the Swedish Program for Information and Communication Technology in Developing Regions. Behind the program stands Sida, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and KTH, the Royal Institute of Technology. For further information about IPID: http://www.humanit.org/PID/ For further information about SPIDER: http://www.spidercenter.org/ GSHCID was formed by participants at the HCID workshop at CHI '08. It is a virtual group, with biweekly discussions held via teleconference, with participants from North America, Africa and Asia. In each meeting, one person leads the discussion, covering either their work-in-progress research, or presenting research papers or thoughts on issues in ICTD/HCID. Recently, the group has begun inviting ICTD experts to present and discuss their work with the group. To join GSHCID, email gshci4d@googlegroups.com Contact / Organizing chairs
Morning Session (IPID):
Afternoon Session (GSHCID): Blended technologies for developmentReport from the first one-day course on “Blended technologies for development” On Monday January 26th we were 23 IPID members that visited Ericsson in Stockholm for a full day education on Mobile technologies for development. Ericsson started the day by sharing their view on what is happening in the field of M4D. They told us about their work with the Millennium villages and their project “Communication for All”. Recent trends and applications were discussed as well as the challenges and opportunities they see for the uptake of mobile phones. The major challenges they perceive are: infrastructure, affordable services, regulation and taxation. Solutions suggested mainly concerned the lowering of energy consumption – solar and wind power have produced some astonishingly good results. Furthermore, many personal stories of people in developing countries were presented to show how the use of mobile phones has managed to increase both their quality of life and income. The most popular themes for the day were, however, the practical, hands-on demonstrations that we were given. The first demonstration took us on a historic journey from the very first telephones to the first “mobile” phone (not so mobile actually) up until today. The second demonstration was in Ericsson´s Site City where we were physically introduced to different solutions for base-stations, antennas and power supplies. The Site City enabled us to see these solutions in a real life setting, which highly deepened our understanding. After this we were demonstrated the future trends within mobile technology including a miniature beamer that projected what you had in the phone extremely well. After a long, informative and entertaining day we were all very satisfied with what we had learned. M4D 2008 - 1st International Conference on "M4D" – “Mobile Communication Technology for Development”The 1st International Conference on "M4D" was held at Centre for HumanIT, Karlstad University, Karlstad, Sweden, 11-12 December, 2008! New developments in mobile communication technologies have generated a number of possibilities for economic and social development in low-income countries. M4D 2008 focused specifically on mobile technologies within the broader field of study that has now become known as ICT4D ("ICT for Development"). We strived to have an event where all types of actors were included. There was a research stream with a traditional conference design and a practitioner’s stream where industry, NGOs, and public bodies disseminated their knowledge. M4D 2008 received 134 registrations representing 32 different nationalities. The research keynote was held by Richard Heeks, Univ. Manchester, UK and the industry keynote was held by Chloe Chick, GSMA Development Fund, GSM Association. More information and the final program is available at http://m4d.humanit.org Graduate course in development theories September 2008“Development, Globalisation and ICT: Defining the ’D’ in ICT4D” IPID and Karlstad University invited IPID members to a graduate course in development theories. The course was offered due to several requests from IPID members about an introduction in development theories and a wish to define ‘D’ in ICT4D. Course description: Others:
After the first set of seminars the students will write a paper on her/his research on ICT4D in relation to ‘development’, based on the course literature. This paper will serve as part of the examination. The participants will return to Karlstad in January 2009. During this second set of seminars the papers will be discussed and peer reviewed. The students will be divided into 3 groups with each lecturer as their supervisor. Each student present and discuss their paper for 30 minutes. The examination seminar is finalised with a discussion of 60 minutes. Lecturers: Links to photos from the seminars The Joensuu ICT4D Symposium 2008The 3rd Annual International Postgraduate Symposium was held in Finland at University of Joensuu, 7-9 of September 2008. The first ICT4D PG symposium was at Royal Holloway, University of London in 2006 and the second at Karlstad University Sweden with IPID-network (2007). The third symposium was organized in Finland at the University of Joensuu with IPID-network September 7-9, 2008 at the Mekrijärvi Research Station close to the Russian border. The symposium, especially, supports Master-level and PhD students, and each presenter get individual feedback on their presentations. The symposium was supported by Finnish Universities' Partnership for International Development network (UniPID). Around 60 persons from over 20 countries participated in the Symposium. Keynote speakers were Prof. Tim Unwin, UNESCO Chair in ICT4D, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK and Prof. Seugnet Blignaut; North West University, South Africa
Program and presentations 'Academia meets Practice'IPID is launching a new seminar theme ‘Academia meets Practice’.The seminars on the theme ‘Academia meets Practice’ will make it possible for postgraduates to meet, to listen to and to discuss ICT4D with practitioners who have wide experience from the ‘real’ world. By attending the seminars postgraduates can improve their understanding of current practical issues in the ICT4D area. IPID will invite practitioners both from the government sector as well as from private companies. The seminars are open to all IPID members. The language of the seminars is English. The seminars have four main aims: Satellite Communication Course 27 May 2008IPID arranged a one-day Satellite Communication Course on the 27th of May 2008. The course included presentations about satellite technology as well as a study visit to the Earth Station facility, Stockholm Teleport, Farsta. Below follows a report written by one of the participants Alamdar Ali Khan. “IPID, in collaboration with SPIDER (The Swedish Program for ICT in Developing Regions) arranged one day course at Morgana Hotell & Konferens Farsta, Stockholm. The postgraduate students from different universities of Sweden met practitioners from different satellite communication areas and discussed the potentials and possibilities of satellite communication within the developing and under-developing regions. The course started an introductory presentation of Gudrun Wicander. The key speaker Mr. Olavi, with experience from Telia and Swedish Teleport, thrown light of the potential of satellite communication. Mr. Olavi presented the different types of satellite communication, their bandwidth, satellite footprint, their cost and benefit analysis, comparative analysis with other contemporary technologies. The key speaker also indicated the specific areas and purposes where satellite communication could be beneficial. He said that with the introduction of new satellite technologies the cost of satellite communication has been tremendously decreased. After the presentation and lecture by Mr. Olavi Trydhed and Gudrun Wicander the group of students, teachers, and practitioners went to Earth station, Swedish Teleport in Stockholm. At the Swedish Teleport students were introduced to different working processes, that how Teleport is being used for commercial and business purposes. They saw how commercial TV channels are being operated and how they are getting airtime from the Teleport. The Swedish Teleport covering a lot of TV channels from Europe. At the end of course certificates were distributed among the participants." (Reported by Alamdar Ali Khan) Links to photos from the meeting UNESCO Paris 24-25 April 2008IPID The International Network for Post Graduate Students in the Area of ICT4D and its program ’Academia meets Practice’ arranged a study visit to UNESCO headquarters in Paris the 23-24th April 2008. Gudrun Wicander (IPID Coordinator) organized the event together with Tim Unwin (UNESCO Chair in ICT4D) with the financial support of SPIDER. The aim of this event was to allow IPID members to explore the contributions of UNESCO’S Information Society Division to ICT4D research. UNESCO Program 24-25 April 2008 UNESCO presentations:
Link to photos from the meeting
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eLearning workshop in Örebro, Sweden 2007
Several IPID members took part in the SPIDER workshop on eLearning for developing countries. The workshop was held 13-14 June at Örebro University, Sweden. There was a wide range of participants; national as well as international with experience from e-learning. The purpose of the workshop was to discuss how eLearning could be made possible where it is most needed. The Örebro workshop served as a continuation of the eLearning Africa conference in Nairobi, May 2007, with the aim of planting the best seeds from eLearning Africa and making them grow to future realistic projects in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The workshop started by analysing needs and resources in Sub-Saharan Africa today (based on discussions at the eLearning Africa conference) followed by discussions on the challenges, barriers and best practices experienced by people from the field and research. The workshop had three tracks, on technology, pedagogy and content respectively, and by the end of the workshop the three tracks were combined with the aim of delivering a framework for future doable projects. The Örebro Workshop attempted to outline a set of criteria and courses of action on eLearning, suitable for the needs of learners and educators in Africa.
IPID Workshop
On the 14th of March 2007 an IPID workshop took place at the IT University in Kista, Stockholm, Sweden. The workshop was organised by Karlstad and Örebro University in cooperation with SPIDER. The event hosted presentations from SPIDER on its activities and projects as well as participating researchers on their ongoing researchs and research plans.
You will find a report from the workshop together with the PowerPoint
presentations here: Report and presentations
ICT4C Collective Postgraduate Symposium
Several PID-members participated in a symposium held at the Royal Holloway, University of London, during 14th - 15th September 2006. The symposium was organised by the ICT4D Collective, led by Professor Tim Unwin, and it was the first annual symposium for postgraduate students in ICT4D. The symposium provided a supportive environment for research dialogues among the 35 postgraduate students from13 countries affiliated to 20 different institutions. The symposium included presentations, themed networking, career discussion, and several social activities among which the BBQ hosted by Prof. and Mrs. Unwin was the most outstanding.
To take part of the presentations see:
http://www.gg.rhul.ac.uk/ict4d/sympapers.html.
IPID Workshop
The first IPID workshop took place at Forum, IT University in Kista on the 8th of May 2006 between 13.00-16.00. The workshop was held in conjunction with The Stockholm Challenge Event May 8-10, 2006.