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ISSUE NO 77 JOBS, PEOPLE, EVENTS...

PEOPLE & JOBS

* Africa’s preoccupation with privatising telecoms is putting the sector at risk as it falls behind in improving service quality, says Jan Mutai, secretary-general of the African Telecommunications Union. "In seeking to privatise, our telecommunications companies are not paying sufficient attention to the revolution of standards."

* The United States International University in Nairobi(accredited by the Ministry of Education in Kenya and Western Association of Schools and Colleges in the United States of America) is looking for someone to each Information Systems. The candidate must have a Ph.D. or DBA in information systems or related information technology fields. Candidates must also have a numerate or business undergraduate degree. Faculty will be expected to teach at both the undergraduate and graduate levels in at least three of the following areas: Computer Programming, Telecommunications and Networking Technology and Applications, Systems Analysis and Design, Web-based Applications Development, E-commerce, and Information Systems Management.

Applications should include a cover letter expressing your interest and qualifications for the position, an up-to-date C.V., including the names, postal and e-mail addresses, telephone /fax numbers of five references, and copies of all degree certificates. Send to the Human Resources Manager, United States International University (hrm@usiu.ac.ke )

* The Chief Executive of the National Computer Service (NCS), Dr Nii Quaynor, is to represent a five-member international body to expand keywords on the Internet. He will be co-ordinating all sub-Saharan African languages to be incorporated into the domain names so that those languages are not excluded from the process.

The new body, known as Multilingual Internet Names Consortium (MINC), comprises individual members from the industry, academia, research, governments, investors and international organisation from all the continents.It will ensure that domain system names are expanded to allow users to access websites in their native languages to make the Internet an even playing level.

* Charley Lewis, formerly head of COSATU’s Information Technology Department has taken up with the LINK (Learning, Information, Networking, Knowledge) Centre attached to the School of Public and Development Management at Wits University.

* M-Web CEO Antonie Roux gave the opening address at South Africa’s eighth annual computer fair. He predicted that the Internet and wireless Internet access will have a major impact on Third World markets, with massive increases in the number of people going online, and steady growth in Internet advertising revenues and business-to-consumer e-commerce. He noted that 23% of the current South African IT spend was in the small and medium enterprise sector.

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