Friday, February 22, 2013

Coursera and edX add universities and hope to expand global reach | Inside Higher Ed

Coursera and edX add universities and hope to expand global reach | Inside Higher Ed


I see great potential here for developing countries to achieve the high level of education required to compete in today's global market, but at a fraction of the cost of sitting in world-class university classrooms.

Friday, February 8, 2013

Immigration entry / exit forms now a thing of the past in Abidjan airport

I just travelled through Abidjan airport and I noticed an interesting development. You no longer need to fill in entry / exit forms at Immigration. They simply scan your passport, scan your fingers and take your photo - the usual stuff. What else do you need?

I just popped over in Accra and the usual forms...

I'm amazed at why these forms are needed when all the information that's required are already available on the passport. The only additional information (on the form) is the purpose of visit and accommodation details. What relevance is this info anyway? Who's going to check if the hotel you indicated is the one that you're staying at? Most times they simply want you to enter an address, and that's it. No real interest in checking. So, what's the point?

The people who suffer the most are the illiterate travellers who are subjected to the inconvenience of finding someone to complete their forms. I see no real positive value in this old-fashioned practice, especially in a continent with high levels of illiteracy. May be someone can educate me here...


Sunday, February 3, 2013

10 Observations on Technology in Africa from Eric Schmidt of GoogleICT Works | ICT Works


After a week of business meetings in the cities of sub-Saharan Africa, Eric Schmidt posted a detailed list of observations. As he used to run Google and is still on their board, I’ll give him a bit more credit than others who might want to opine after a week’s exposure to the continent’s dynamism.
Eric starts with 3 positive major trends:
  1. the despotic leadership in Africa from the 1970s and 1980 is in decline, replaced by younger and more democratic leaders
  2. a huge youth demographic boom is underway, with a majority of the population of 25, or even under 20
  3. mobile phones are everywhere, and the Internet in Africa will be primarily a mobile one
And then he lists 10 observations that many of us already see, but its great to have validation from a global business leader:


10 Observations on Technology in Africa from Eric Schmidt of GoogleICT Works | ICT Works