Dean's message: ICT for developing nations

I recently co-taught an exciting course with Berkeley colleagues Eric Brewer and Tom Kalil in which we explored ways to apply information and communication technologies (ICT) to help solve tough quality-of-life problems in developing regions of the world. Many feel that the developing world has more immediate needs than an ICT infrastructure—food, clean water, and health care, for example. However, we believe that by designing a stable ICT network infrastructure on which relevant applications can be built, we can help rural communities achieve self-sufficiency and long-term sustainability.

After a recent seminar where I presented some of the material from our class, one participant approached me and asked rather skeptically, “Do you really think a cell phone will save the world?” I was a bit taken aback. I explained that this project is not about saving the world. It’s not about charity or about dumping a truckload of fancy technology on some unsuspecting village in India. What we are after is better expressed in the old adage: Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish, and you have fed him for a lifetime.

By developing, demonstrating, and implementing an affordable ICT network infrastructure—one that can be deployed and operated as a sustainable local business—we believe we can empower villagers to solve their problems themselves; in essence, provide a modern version of that fishing pole. The key word here is self-empowerment—providing opportunity—the only scaleable and effective way to make a dent in the gap between rich and poor.

Of course, what works in L.A. won’t work in Lagos, and the constraints we face in the developing world are very different. For example, we need different interfaces to our devices and cheaper components that can run on much less power. Access to precious resources must be shared, leading to very different ways of interacting with such systems. We also know that any new technology deployment is likely to have unintended, even potentially sinister consequences. So development and deployment must involve true partnerships with local and willing communities, step-by-step testing, iterative improvement, and a long-term perspective.

As an engineer, I believe that by actively participating in such a multidisciplinary, multicultural project, we can begin to build a truly global, mutually respectful, and inclusive community—one in which issues of poverty and national security are the exception rather than the rule.

I welcome your thoughts at dean.forefront@coe.berkeley.edu.

A. Richard Newton
Dean, College of Engineering
Roy W. Carlson Professor of Engineering

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