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UNITeS in Partnership with Universities
In support of the United Nations Information Technology Service
(UNITeS), the UNV programme has built a global network of universities
for ICT4D (Information and
Communication
Technologies for Development) activities that involve volunteers. The “University
Volunteer Network under UNITeS” provides human resources
and knowledge resources, through qualified and experienced volunteers
from partner universities. These volunteers serve for six months in
developing countries. Read more about their activities in Botswana,
Lesotho, Senegal, Bosnia & Herzegovina,
Ecuador, Trinidad and Tobago, Honduras, India, Mongolia, Jordan and
Kosovo on a variety of capacity-building ICT projects .
UNITeS received a in recognition
for the University Volunteer Network. In addition, in its , the UN ICT Task Force encourages
partnerships between leading training institutions, universities
and community-level
ICT4D programs, and recommends UNITeS as an avenue for such partnerships.
The common thread among all UNITeS collaborating universities is their
interest in taking action to narrow the digital divide. The UNV programme
partners with universities in the North and the South, and helps them
to get involved in ICT4D
activities in their own countries.
Partnering with a university involves:
- Credit-bearing
courses for students active in UNITeS ICT4D
initiatives.
- A sabbatical
programme in place for professors, staff and researchers to undertake
assignments in developing countries related to thematic
applications
of ICT.
- The generation and identification of volunteering opportunities
by UN Volunteers Programme Officers, as well as other partners
in the field that could involve students, professors, researchers
and
faculties from partnering universities.
- Development and contribution of course material in ICT4D, and
postgraduate degrees and seminars in International Cooperation that
include information
on ICT4D as a tool to benefit users in the communities.
Students, faculties and staff at partnering universities are also encouraged
to engage in online volunteering activities to support organizations
working in and for developing countries, as part of the service managed by the .
University volunteers through UNITeS should:
- Be engaged in the last year of undergraduate degree, or engaged
in post graduate and/or PhD in any field of study, or have completed
such;
- Have strong ICT-related skills, particularly in applying
these skills to project management, capacity building, health,
education, agriculture, community support, HIV/AIDS, or another
area of human development;
- Have a strong commitment to see tasks completed and documented,
and to report regularly on progress and activities;
- Have an excellent written and spoken command of English, as
well as Spanish and/or French;
- Have working experience in a multi-cultural
environment, and have excellent interpersonal communication and
presentation skills, with cultural sensitivity and tact;
- Have
volunteer experience at any level, and a strong belief in volunteer
ideals and volunteerism as a fundamental element of community
projects;
- Possess maturity to face sometimes difficult situations
during
field assignments in developing countries.
Current partner universities:
- Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Spain (coordinates
national network with 13 Spanish universities, members of the Spanish
Network of Universities in support of UNITeS: Universidad de Valencia,
U. de Valladolid, U. de Salamanca, U. de Murcia, U. Pompeu Fabra, U. Politécnica
de Catalunya, U. Rey Juan Carlos, U. de Granada, U. de Alcalá,
U. País Vasco, U. de Córdoba, U. Politécnica
de Valencia, U. de Cádiz)
- University of Benin of Nigeria (UNIBEN)
- L’Institut Supérieur d’Informatique
et de Gestion of Burkina Faso
- Makerere University of Uganda
- Kwansei Gakuin University of Japan
- The Hanoi University of Science of Viet Nam
- The Ateneo De Manila University
- Universidad de Colima of Mexico (coordinates
regional network with 10 universities in Latin America:
Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru)
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