Online Courses Now Available in Ethiopia

Arba Minch University is a research university located in Arba Minch, Ethiopia. It was officially inaugurated in 2004 and is one of the top widely recognized universities in Ethiopia. It is also one of the oldest universities in Ethiopia. Arba Minch University is a non-denominational university which offers undergraduate and graduate programs. Before its inauguration as a University, it was known as Arba Minch Water Technology Institute (AWTI) offering a qualified course in water resources planning, design and development. The university now offers courses in technology, natural sciences, business, health sciences, as well as, other disciplines.

Arba Minch University is taking another step forward. They currently have four campuses across the country. The university is linking all four locations via video conferencing. The solution came from FVC and will be using a Polycom (News - Alert) video conferencing solution.

FVC is a leading Value Added Distributor (VAD) across the Middle East and North Africa. They are focused on three areas of enterprise computing: United Communications, Information Security and Advanced Networking. They support a network of channel partners, one of which is Polycom, a video conferencing company.

The university has decided to implement video conferencing across its four campuses using Polycom’s RMX 1500 RealPresense Collaboration Server. This system will be connecting 100 devices using Polycom Converged Management Application (CMA) 4000. Polycom will support recording, streaming solutions and firewalls.

Arba Minch University has set up one video conferencing classroom in each of its four campuses. They are using the Polycom HDX 8000 system. This system has two ceiling microphones and a Vaddio (News - Alert) AutoTrak system. This ensures that the camera follows and tracks the instructors as they walk around the classroom. The tracking system provides the same type of interactivity as if you were in a regular classroom. Another part of the solution is the use of a Vaddio video whiteboard. All of the instructor’s notes on the whiteboard can be seen by all of the students in each of the campuses.

It took four and a half months to implement this solution. FVC played a vital role in training a team at the university. They were trained to provide ongoing support for the infrastructure. FVC is the authorized training partner for Polycom in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

The medical students are using the video conferencing system for classes and weekly discussions with Johns Hopkins University in the United States. Abra Minch University is in the process of acquiring the Polycom Practitioner Cart for its operation theatre. This is a telepresence device that allows medical and non-medical peripheral devices to easily be connected to the system which allows the sharing of high definition real-time images. This would allow surgeries to be broadcasted to students in the conference room or other universities.