Month: November 2017

Adding ICT4D To Your Curriculum

~ Richard Heeks ~ 1 Comment

ICT4D – information and communication technology for development – courses are increasingly being added to the curriculum for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in development studies, information systems, business studies, computer science, etc.  Why?

First, the size and growth of the ICT4D domain.  US$ billions are being spent each year: by individual users at the base of the pyramid; by telecom and digital firms reaching BoP markets; by governments and NGOs and social enterprises serving those markets; by donor agencies.  Annual growth rates – for mobile and smartphones, for broadband – are always double-digit.

Second, the urgency and morality of the goals that ICT4D serves.  ICT4D means using digital technology to address the world’s most pressing problems: poverty, inequality, disease, illiteracy, corruption, climate change, etc.

Third, the buzz of ICT4D innovation.  There is both a need and exciting agenda for innovation that engages students: not just technical developments but also new business and social models.

If you want to add an ICT4D course to your curriculum, it is now easy to do so.  The Routledge textbook supporting such a course, “Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D)” is available in physical and e-book formats via: https://www.routledge.com/Information-and-Communication-Technology-for-Development-ICT4D/Heeks/p/book/9781138101814

The textbook uses extensive in-text diagrams, tables and boxed examples with chapter-end discussion and assignment questions and further reading.  Online resources (slide packs, session outlines and notes) support use for teaching and training purposes, and inspection copies can be requested for those planning to adopt the book as a core text.

The book is designed for use around a ten-session course, but can be modified for alternative course designs:

  1. Understanding ICTs and Socio-Economic Development
  2. Foundations of ICTs and Socio-Economic Development
  3. Implementing ICT4D
  4. ICTs and Economic Growth
  5. ICTs, Poverty and Livelihoods
  6. ICTs and Social Development
  7. e-Governance and Development
  8. ICTs and Environmental Sustainability
  9. The Future of ICT4D
  10. *Visit / External Speaker / Lab Session*