Theme: UbuntuNet – Promoting Regional Research and Education Collaboration

Hosted by TERNET, the Tanzanian Research and Education Network

in partnership with UbuntuNet Alliance.

The exciting news during 2012 is not about having UbuntuNet, our data network, augmented by new connections with the roll out of the AfricaConnect project: it is about the fact that the new segments will establish, for the first time, a regional network where African traffic can be exchanged within Africa.  However, our motivation is not the data infrastructure: it is the use of the regional network to enable increased regional research and education collaboration, resource sharing, and exploitation of advanced applications (e.g. video conferencing, grid and cloud computing applications). This has defined the theme for UbuntuNet-Connect 2012, the 5th in the series of UbuntuNet Alliance Annual Conferences.

UbuntuNet - Promoting Regional Research and Education Collaboration

The conference will provide opportunities for showcasing examples of collaborative regional research and learning that not only support African development, but also enable African researchers to participate in global research undertakings.  A key event during the conference will also be the formal launch of the AfricaConnect component of UbuntuNet that is funded by the European Union and African NRENs. UbuntuNet Alliance is calling for abstracts of papers to be presented at the UbuntuNet-Connect 2012 Conference related to the theme. The papers should fall under (but not limited to) the following sub-themes:

• Collaboration in scientific areas
• Collaborations in arts and culture
• E-learning
• Resource-sharing
• Collaborative approaches to capacity building
• Approaches to, and opportunities for research and education data networks

Authors are invited to submit a 500 word abstract (with up to 5 keywords) of their proposed papers, clearly indicating the key message to be shared, not later than 31st August 2012. Papers collaboratively authored are especially welcome.  Papers may describe completed research, or relevant case studies or projects; they should not normally describe planned research.

Abstracts should be sent to:  info@ubuntunet.net.  Abstracts will be double blind peer reviewed.

A limited number of travel fellowships will be provided to authors whose papers are accepted from least developed and developing countries in Africa. 

For further details contact info@ubuntunet.net