PLAN-IT Toolkits

Participants from Networking Academies throughout Uganda attended the Uganda PLAN-IT Workshop on the 29 and 30 June 2006 to learn about PLAN-IT toolkits focused on the Gender Initiative, Workforce Development, and Financial Sustainability. The regional academy at Faculty of Computing and IT, Makerere University, hosted the two-day event that was organized by the regional and local academy instructors within Kampala as well as the UN Volunteers, Mr. Richard Okou and Ms. Josephine Nakato. Academy participants were from:

• Faculty of Computing and IT (RA)
• Uganda Institute of Information and Communication Technology (UICT)
• Uganda Christian University
• Department of Women and Gender Studies Makerere University
• Islamic University in Uganda
• Gulu University
• Kampala International University
• Mbarara University of Science and Technology
• Gayaza High School

Legal main contacts, instructors, and other Academy representatives gained the technical and business skills they need to manage and expand a Cisco Networking Academy Program, including:

• Discussion forums
• Planning activities
• Hands-on use of the toolkits
• Presentation on maintaining quality

In addition, a Networking Academy Quality Assurance Committee was established to oversee and set guidelines on instructions and accountability to quality in Academies.

Ms. Hital Muraj, Cisco Area Manager East Africa, presented an overview of the Networking Academy in Africa. She also shared the importance and feasibility of solid financial planning and sustainability using the PLAN-IT Toolkit.

All participants had completed an Academy Audit - providing a more in-depth consideration into the fundamentals of how their Academies operate. This audit provided the framework through which Academies could focus on specific programs to meet their specific needs. The participants learned about PLAN-IT applications and benefits and discussed sustainability of their respective academies. They also learned how to establish goals for long-term success in the three focus areas of the PLAN-IT toolkits. The participants were also able to create schedules for launching the PLAN-IT toolkits, using the Implementation Plan.

A review of the February East Africa Roadshow reinforced the fundamental technical skills required to ensure a strong Academy. General issues and topics from the Nairobi Roadshow were reviewed as part of the Qualitity Initiative.

The PLAN-IT Workshop in Uganda opened greater opportunities for the Academies to achieve sustainability. Participants shared their experiences and vowed to implement the PLAN-IT toolkits in their Academies, each with a different idea of how to use the new tools they received.