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A short report on the Advanced Training on the Use of Wireless for Campus Networking ICTP 6 June - 1 July 2005
General
That training was organized as a follow-up of the School · School on Radio Based Computer Networking held at ICTP earlier (7 Feb. - 3 Mar. 2005). The report on the school can be found at www://wireless.ictp.it. The School, directed by Sandro M. Radicella [1] and Ryszard Struzak1, gathered ........ participants from ........... countries, including ........ invited instructors/ experts, who kindly agreed to share their experience. The remaining participants, young scientists, engineers, and university professors/ lecturers were selected from candidates from Africa.
Topics
The training focused on specific projects under way or planned for implementation in the near future. The goal of these activities was to offer an opportunity to clarify specific project-related issues with fellow colleagues and invited experts. Each project was presented and discussed in details, identifying critical elements requiring clarification or correction.
Then, the participants were working individually and collectively on project improvements, taking into account all the comments and critics expressed. The individual projects are not discussed in this short report, since an executive summary of each project is displayed at www.//.....................
Activities
To satisfy best the needs of the participants and to use the training time in a cost-effective way, the activities started with identifying the most essential issues – 'challenges' requiring clarification, discussion, or acquiring extra knowledge. The list of these 'challenges' was reviewed and up-dated every few days by all the participants and instructors. If required, the activities included also lectures and practical exercises in the laboratory and in the field on specific topics identified by the participants. Such a dynamic approach, introduced here for the first time, was supported by the participants with enthusiasm. Another innovation was using a 'wiki' - a that allowed the participants to add and edit the content on the web. The wiki page created at this occasion is available at www:// .............................
Concluding remarks
One of major benefits of the ICTP training activities is to facilitate the growth of indigenous educational and research capabilities in developing countries. The participants have joined the ‘virtual community’ of over 1500 individuals that participated in schools on radio held in the ICTP during the previous eight years. That community has accelerated significantly the dissemination of wireless know-how around the world, narrowing the ‘digital gap’.
The participants were requested to produce a more detailed report on these activities. Their report is available at www://................., and their individual comments at www://............ Their general opinion was that these training activities were very informative and useful. Especially the practical part, often disregarded at similar gatherings held elsewhere, was highly appreciated. All the didactic material used has been made available under the Creative Commons license. Further details, including the participation list, can be found at www://........................
Acknowledgment
Contibutions of the following persons to June 2005 advanced training activities is gratefully acknowledged (in alphabetic order): Marco Zennaro, Carlo Fonda, (Ms.) Mabilo Koutou (secretary), Sebastian, Tomas, Giovanni Repici, Chauhadury, ..............
DIRECTORS
Prof. Dr. SM Radicella, Head, Aeronomy and Radiopropagation Laboratory, ICTP, Chair of the URSI Commission on Developing Countries
Prof. Dr. R Struzak, Former Vice-Chair, ITU Radio Regulations Board, Member of the URSI Commission on Developing Countries
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