Information and Communications Technology and Development Certificate Program

We propose that University of California, Berkeley create a new certificate program focused on preparing students in the research, project management, and design of information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D). This burgeoning field in academia and practice has seen a lot of capital and intellectual investment in the past decade amid rising hopes that information and communication technology can help stimulate economic development and remedy a few of the nagging developmental concerns in economically backward developing regions. Successful efforts in this arena will require multi-disciplinary approaches and skills that the University of California Berkeley is uniquely positioned to offer, particularly with regard to the core elements of ICT4D -- technology, information and development. This new certificate program could build on and integrate the existing efforts at Berkeley, such as the Technology Infrastructure for Emerging Regions (TIER) research group in Computer Science, UNIDO Bridging the Divide research fellowship and conference at the Haas School of Business, and the ICTD academic conference and ICT4D course in the School of Information. With the growth of such projects, and the successes of ICT4D-related classes at Berkeley, it is clear that interest in the interest in the field exists, and UC Berkeley could be at the forefront of studies in this field.

We envision a program that combines work in the classroom with opportunities to conduct research in the field. The fieldwork element is critical, because it is impossible to make an informed contribution to the problems of developing regions without a degree of contextual knowledge and experience. We foresee using the privileged reputation and location of the University of California, Berkeley to establish relationships with corporations, non-profit organizations, and state and international agencies that are vested in the type of training provided by the certificate to offer real world opportunities to the students.

Project mission:

Prepare students in the research, project management, and design of information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D).

Build on and integrate the existing efforts at Berkeley in ICT4D

Required resources:

1. Total project needs: $200,000