Home  -  Back Issues  -  The Team  Contact Us
                                                                                                                    
Linking Young Minds Together
     Volume 2 Issue 35 | September 09 , 2007|


  
Inside

   News Room
   Spotlight
   Feature
   Photo Feature
   Travelogue
   Campus Buzz
   Author Profile


   Star Campus     Home


Feature

Intel Chairman's Visit to Bangladesh

Farzeen Mahboob


Yes!!! This is indeed a GIFT (Grameen Intel for Tomorrow) for the children of Bangladesh from Intel. They will donate about 1,000 computers to schools over the next three years. Not only that they will work with the government to implement the Intel World Ahead Programme and donate enough personal computers next year to set up a PC lab in all 64 districts of the country. Another opportunity came for us with the hand of our pride, the Nobel laureate - Dr. Md. Yunus.

Dr. Craig R. Barrett, the chairman of Intel Corporation- along with his wife Mrs. Barbara Barrett visited Bangladesh on 4th of September to inaugurate the “Intel World Ahead Program” under their CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) project in Bangladesh. Chief Executive Officer of Grameen Solution Kazi Islam and Intel Bangladesh Chief Zia Monzur signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations. It is a global effort to provide people in developing countries with the benefits of better, faster access to information and communications technology (ICT). The program elements will be implemented jointly between Intel and Grameen Solutions in collaboration with the government, to promote economic and social development through ICT and to create affordable technology solutions for ordinary people. Under the terms of the agreement, they will jointly promote and support digital inclusion projects across Bangladesh to improve education, connectivity and access to technology and localized Internet content and software applications.

The program began in May, 2006 to create a platform for low cost laptops (Classmate PC) that will be used by the third party manufacturers under their own respective brands for the children of the developing countries. The reference design of the classmate pc will be created by Intel. They will not build the sub notebooks. Instead they will build the chips that power them and that will be used by OEM manufacturers worldwide to build their own branded classmate PCs. Those PCs are affordable and full featured student laptops well suited for promoting project based learning in primary schools.

According to different sources, Intel and Grameen plan to collaborate this program through public and private partnerships on the deployment of WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) technology. It is widely hailed as a cost effective and efficient way to deliver wireless internet access to rural communities.Also, Intel and Grameen will jointly introduce several programs to make it easier for people across Bangladesh to access the vast resources of medical, educational and commercial knowledge on the Internet. Mr.Craig Barrett said “After over 30 years in this industry, I'm still amazed and inspired by how technology benefits the world we live in - technology is a tool that is advancing the way people work, learn, and live”. To spread this technology they will deploy together a PC ownership program that will offer low-cost PCs on easy monthly installments and will launch a project to set up Telecenters across the country. The Telecenters will enable employment opportunities for rural citizens to offer services such as Internet access, photocopying, printing and PC usage for e-government and e-commerce services. The centers will be financed through micro-loans. Prof. Muhammad Yunus said, "The problem is that poor people do not get the opportunity to ever discover their own potential because of the social and economic barriers built around them. I firmly believe that information and communication technology can play a dramatic role in the fight against rural poverty."

"Working with Intel and with support from the government, we're hoping to do what other emerging countries have done in a shorter time by launching a comprehensive set of programs to address technology accessibility, education, healthcare and connectivity across Bangladesh," Yunus added. "I am very happy to partner with Intel in achieving our social mission."

The effort to stimulate rural development in Bangladesh is also supported at the highest levels of government, including the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science and Information and Communication Technology, which will assist with implementation.

"We want to collaborate with Intel to bring technology close to Bangladesh," said Tapan Chowdhury, Honorable Adviser, Ministry of Science and Information and Communication Technology. "The Intel World Ahead program is a holistic program which will help build everything - the right systems tailored to local needs, critical connectivity, and sustainable local capabilities through quality education which will make a meaningful difference in people's lives."

Intel will also work with software companies in Bangladesh to develop localized Internet content and software for the government, schools and the telecenters. For example, Intel plans to work with local software companies to introduce Intel's school Learning and Teaching Technology. The interactive learning Web site will provide math and science lessons tailored for local needs. In this regard, I had a talk with the honourable Acting President of BASIS (Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services) Mr. Rafiqul Islam Rowly. He said that this will create a great job opportunity for the people of Bangladesh. But the more important thing is that we are stepping in a new era. He added that the children of our country can get an international standard educational content through this program. We can hope for a very talented and technological advanced future generation for
the upcoming years.

Email: farzeen.mahboob@gmail.com

 

Copyright (R) thedailystar.net 2007