Category: Science &Technology

{{Rwanda Education Board is organizing its first Educational Technology Innovators’ workshop with the objective of investigating ways of scaling up best educational technology innovations.}}

It also aims at enhancing participants’ skills in developing and writing grant proposals; to create Educational Technology Innovators’ clubs across the country.

The event will be held on 12th – 16th December 2012 at Umutara Polytechnic.

Rwanda Education Board believes that innovation and infusion of technology in education can boost the quality of teaching and learning in schools.

Seventy Rwandan Educational Technology Innovators that have showcased their innovative ideas at the Rwanda International Conference on Technology in Education (RICTE 2012) and Students and teachers are expected to attend that event.

Participants will present their educational technology innovations and receive comments for further improvement.

Participants will also be taught how to develop and write grant proposals and how to commercialize schools projects.

{{Rwanda Public service ministry is working on software which will prevent public servants from using social media which has been linked to poor service delivery.}}

In an interview with IGIHE, Minister Murekezi Anastase said that last year the level of service delivery in public services was better than in private sector.

However, the minister revealed that this year, public services were poor saying many of public servants do not use ICT opportunities in their jobs correctively.

“They use Facebook and Twitter in their personnel communication which doesn’t have any link with services. They spend a lot of tome watching movies during working hours,” Minister Murekezi said.

MIFOTRA will not allow ICT to impede development, instead of promoting growth and development of the country, he added
Minister Murekezi Anastase promised that early in 6 months that software will be installed in all public servants computers.

He insists that this will promote a culture of good service delivery in public sector.

“ Actually to use facebook, twitter, Google and other websites to read informations is no bad thing, but public servants should choose to use or read only the websites which have information relating with Rwanda and in Rwandese interests.” He said.

{{A smartphone app which provides summaries of news stories soared to number nine in Apple’s app store just two hours after its release in the US.}}

The app, called Summly, was designed by 17-year-old Londoner Nick D’Aloisio, and has received more than $1m in funding from investors.

High-profile supporters include Stephen Fry, Tech City CEO Joanna Shields and Newscorp owner Rupert Murdoch.

However some early reviewers have described the app as “confusing”.

“Navigation unclear,” wrote Oliver Devereux on the app store’s review page, while another described it as “quite unintuitive”.

But the app is still rating an average score of four out of five possible stars from users overall.

Mr D’Aloisio took time off school to develop his idea for a smartphone application that offers summaries of existing news stories published on the net.

The free-to-download app uses algorithms to process news stories into summaries which users can then swipe to see in full if they wish.

BBC

{{Detailed photographs have leaked showing China’s new stealth Jet fighter being tested.}}

It is the second such stealth fighter China has tested in as many years and appears destined to become the communist nation’s future aircraft carrier-based fighter jet, according to weapons analysts.

The plane, dubbed by outsiders as the J-31, was test flown Tuesday in Shenyang.

According to the analysts, the two photographs appear to have been leaked by officials in China.

“It has to be an official photographer because nobody else can get that close to the airplane,” said John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org.

“These are all publicity photos from the factory, and I could not imagine that the factory would publicize these things without somebody higher up in the food chain authorizing it.”

Richard Fisher, a senior fellow in Asian military affairs at the International Assessment and Strategy Center (IASC), agrees these are not pictures sent out surreptitiously by some Chinese aviation aficionado. “The Internet censors are controlling this process, have no doubt that.”

But Fisher said the reason for the release may not be as threatening as some might imagine.

“It’s being done in a way to help promote pro-military nationalism in China. There’s just a huge, large audience in China for this kind of information. It’s kind of like NASCAR.”

No matter who let the pictures go public, they won’t answer all the questions surrounding China’s fighter program. “They don’t want to reveal anything that’s truly useful to a foreign military or intelligence service,” Fisher said.

The J-31 appears be a lighter fighter jet similar to the American F-35.

“The J-20 is the heavy stealth fighter, (The J-31) is going to be the medium-weight stealth fighter. It’s very much in the same vein as the F-22 versus the F-35, with the Raptor, the F-22 being the heavy fifth-generation fighter for the U.S. Air Force versus the medium-weight F-35.”

Pike said that could be the case, but it may be that China is test flying both prototypes and will choose just one to put into production.

While these are both fifth-generation fighter jets, that doesn’t put them on par with America’s two newest fighters.

For example, Pike said China’s jet engines just don’t come close to American engines. “This is a sucking chest wound of Chinese military aviation.”

Pike said the primary Chinese military jet engine is based on an American design. “We started development of this engine back in the ’60s. Then they commercialized it in the 1970s. Then the Chinese got a hold of it 20 years ago and it’s still no good. It’s a half century-old design that they’ve been working on for two decades, and it’s still no good.”

Fisher has a higher opinion of that engine. “It’s not entirely true that China is currently facing massive problems. They’ve actually had some measure of success.”

And Fisher said China appears to be developing a brand new engine for the J-31. “The engines that will likely power the J-31 we do know a bit more about. Those engines were actually revealed at the Zhuhai show in 2008,” Fisher said referring to an annual China air show. He believes the new J-31 engine is undergoing preliminary testing.

Another problem is the stealth characteristics of the plane.

The J-31 is designed to have a stealthy shape. “From the side profile, it really looks like a 75% (scale) F-22 from the bottom, and the top profile it very much looks like an F-35.”

The J-31 may have the stealth coatings that help it absorb radar signals instead of letting them bounce off and give away its position.

But Pike explained the plane has wide seams where different parts of the plane come together. “The seams form something the radar can bounce off of. I’m looking at some close-ups of the J-31 and it’s seamy. It’s got all kinds of seams and ripples on the skin.”

Fisher agreed. “Yes, that’s definitely a fair assessment, but what we can say is that it will have a definite low-observable capability, that’s for sure.”

While it may start out as a land-based fighter, Pike and Fisher both said it could become China’s carrier-based fighter jet when the nation builds a second, catapult-based carrier. Their first carrier, currently undergoing sea tests, uses a ski-jump style flight deck to launch planes.

So should America start worrying about these new fighters ?

“Who else do you think these airplanes were designed to fight?” Pike said. “If the Chinese think that their military is a lot stronger than anybody else in the neighborhood, then they’re going to throw their weight around.”

Pike estimated the J-31 might become a threat in 2027. “You would expect to see the Chinese stealth fighter enter operational service, I don’t know, 15 years from now.”

Fisher is predicting much sooner.

“My estimate is that the J-31 will start entering squadron service in four to five years.”

{{On November 02, 2012, the Ministry of Youth and ICT organized a workshop on the validation strategy of Central or Chief Information Officer (CIO). }}

Minister Jean Philbert Nsengimana said during the event that there’s a way to explore boundary between ICT and business.

Worldwide, CIOs are today viewed as key contributors to improve service delivery by understanding the market or business and aligning Information Technology to strategic and business goals of the institutions they serve.

It is in this regard that the Ministry of Youth and ICT embarked on the process of developing a new CIO strategy and implementation plan for the Government of Rwanda.

ICT experts came from different institutions working mainly in ICT in Rwanda, and Michiel Malotaux, a consultant, presented why CIO’s have a crucial role in an institution.

In his opening remarks Minister of Youth and ICT, Jean Philbert Nsengimana said that Rwanda has invested in developing this sector because it is important in the development.

He said: “We have been investin in developing applications (…) now we need to know how much we are investing in people”.

Michiel Malotaux, an IT expert, hailed the way Rwanda is developing ICT in general, and commends its vision to develop mainly this sector.

Michiel said that it is important to use imihigo (performance contract) to explore what has been achieved in ICT sector.

Minister Nsengimana noted that “We’ll emerge stronger in this workshop, be prepared we want this strategy to be the foundation of our change. “ He added that “We’re exploring the boundary between IT and business”.

Michiel in his presentation said that this strategy can be used in different domains to deliver a better service.

Emmanuel Dusenge from the MYICT said that it can be nice if CIO strategy can be a pillar to address the ICT development in Rwanda, he said that “We have to look on how we support in details our institutions and we identify the gap, what we can bring in it”.

Dusenge added that “We really what to see mainly the change this strategy will bring in terms of business.”

Minister Nsengimana said that CIO’s Department is important we can cluster ICT experts in an institution and then we can see who can perform well than others.

Nsengimana said that this strategy will bring an impact in facilitating activities regarding ICT in Rwanda.

{{As Microsoft globally launched its latest Windows 8 operating system in New York last Friday, a number of computer makers rushed to ride the wave of its publicity.}}

PC makers like Samsung Electronics, Lenovo, Sony and Toshiba took turns in unveiling new portable PCs featuring convertible designs here in Korea.

Microsoft’s new operating system can run on PCs, tablet PCs and all-in-one PCs, bridging the gap between traditional laptops and tablet PCs, said officials at Microsoft.

Windows 8 also adopts a new user interface through which users can download apps from its store and it comes in two types, Windows 8 Home and Windows 8 Pro.

Internet Explorer 10 and the cloud service “SkyDrive” are some of the key features of the new interface.

As the first firm to introduce the new lineup of Windows 8 devices, Samsung Electronics on Oct. 24 launched two products ― ATIV Smart PC and ATIV Smart Pro ― equipped with maximum convertibility in design, portability and app-compatibility. The screen and keyboard are completely detachable.

Sony also released new PCs including Sony Vaio Duo 11 on Oct. 29, characterized by its fully functional port connectivity and surf slider monitor, which allows users to smoothly slide the screen open and shut.

Sony’s new signature PC, Vaio Duo 11 comes with an 11.6-inch screen and battery-powered digital stylus pen with which users can write, draw and click with more accuracy.

While Samsung advocates the idea of a detachable screen that users can carry around like tablet PCs, Sony adheres to the sliding screen, insisting that users would prefer actual tablet PCs rather than tablet-like PCs.

Meanwhile, Toshiba is planning to unveil its lineup of Windows 8 devices next week.

{{By the beginning of 2013 Rwanda will use geothermal waters in the country to produce an additional 111 Mega watts of electricity.}}

According to Yves Muyange, the director general of the Energy, Water and Sanitation Authority, the geothermal energy will be extracted from different parts of the country including Rubavu, Kinigi and Bugarama districts.

Muyange said the study of extracting the resource has been completed and what is remaining is the project implementation.

Earlier 2010, BGR & KenGen studies concluded that a High temperature geothermal system exists on the southern slopes of Karisimbi volcano and determined sites for drilling 3 exploration wells.

The move is in line with increasing electricity access among Rwandans and avoiding instant interruptions occurring in most of the time.

{{The Center for Diseases Control (CDC) and Tulane University donated 97 Samsung tablets to National University of Rwanda (NUR) faculty of Medicine. }}

These machines are loaded with educational materials for the medical students to easily browse and access to the plethora of e-resources.

Speaking to media shortly after the launch of Tablets for Medical Education(TFME) at NUR, Dr. Nancy Beth Mock , the director of Tulane University-Rwanda Office said that this donation was offered to the faculty of Medicine as support to capacity development and consideration of Rwanda’s will of developing ICT.

According to Prof. Patrick Kyamanywa, this donation will help to upgrade the teaching and learning innovations towards improving the training of Rwanda’s future health workforce.

He said, “Medical knowledge increases daily, students will be able to access to more information through navigating the tablets and enhance their learning”.

Magnifique Irakoze, one of the beneficiaries of Samsung tablets stated that students are committed to use these electronic tools to improve their skills.

The faculty of Medicine plans to monitor the results of tablets usage and their contribution to learning.

This donation is worth US$37,800 and beneficiaries are the level 3 clinical year medical students.

{{A new method of fish farming is being tried out in Bugesera district lakes where fish is left in the purposely built cases that keep afloat in the water. }}

The method limits fish from moving all around water in the lake, with good feeding, they grow quickly promoting fish farming says Wilson Rutaganira the coordinator of PAIGELAC.

These floating cases are made with small-spaced nets with about 2 meters in height; these nets are tied together around the cases and strengthened by stones to keep them from falling apart.

This technical program is meant to promote fish farming and increasing the fish production in Rwanda.

“Ever since we started testing this new method, the fish production increased on much percentage as we plant small fishes weighing about 30-40 grams and in 6 months the same fish weigh in between 400 and 500 grams.” Rutaganira explained.

With each case having about 2000 small fish, each case produces about 7 tons of fish in the period of six months which is worth Rwf1.4 million when planting and maintaining is worth Rwf1million.

This method is already being used in all lakes in Ruhondo, Muhazi and Burera district.

{Hope Magazine}