The role of Universities in creating ICT awareness, literacy and expertise: Experiences from Tanzanian public universities

Abstract

This paper discusses, analyzes and gives a way forward on the creation of ICT awareness, literacy and expertise in public universities in Tanzania. Relevant literature and websites were reviewed and interviews with key persons were conducted in order to get the existing ICT awareness, literacy and expertise situation and potentials in Tanzanian universities. The study was limited to practical experiences on the way two public universities in Tanzania create ICT awareness, literacy and expertise that made the basis of discussion. The two universities revealed the following: formulation of policies and strategic plans, collaborations with institutions, agents and governments from developed countries, ICT based curricula, establishment of ICT infrastructure, ICT units, e learning environment, ICT short courses, computer science degree programmes, organization of workshops, seminars and public lectures, use of media such as television, radio, newsletters and websites. This paper concludes that universities contribute to some extent in creating ICT awareness, literacy and expertise internally and in the country. It recommends that universities should review the methods used to enrich their communities with ICT awareness, literacy and expertise in order to bridge the digital divide gap.