The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has welcomed the first 12 academic institutions admitted to participate in Sector activities under a new Resolution that encourages the involvement of universities and their associated research establishments in the work of the Union.
Algeria’s Institut National des Télécommunications et des Technologies de l’Information et de la Communication (INTTIC) and Tunisia’s Ecole Nationale d’Ingénieurs de Tunis (ENIT) both join the work of all three ITU Sectors—Radiocommunication (ITU-R), Telecommunication Standardization (ITU-T) and Development (ITU-D). China’s Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications (NUPT) and Beijing-based Tsinghua University join the work of ITU-R and ITU-T. Waseda University, Japan, Tunisia’s University of Sfax and Ecole Supérieure des Communications de Tunis, India’s Sinhgad Technical Education Society and Aalborg University’s Center for Teleinfrastruktur in Denmark, join the work of ITU-T, while the Kigali Institute for Science and Technology in Rwanda, the Open University of Tanzania, and Bucks New University, UK, all join the work of ITU-D.
“We are excited about the important contribution academic institutions will make to enriching ITU’s breadth of knowledge in key emerging areas,” said ITU Secretary-General Dr. Hamadoun Touré. “These institutions are the seed-beds that nurture the rising stars of tomorrow’s ICT industry, be they engineers or business leaders. Their unique perspective will help ITU remain at the forefront of the industry it serves.”
Participating in the work of ITU Sectors will give academic and research institutions the opportunity to exchange views, knowledge and experiences with a multiplicity of players from the developed and developing worlds, and from the public and private sectors. It also provides new opportunities for institutions to develop mutually-beneficial partnerships with manufacturers, operators, financial institutions, other research institutions, and public authorities from across ITU’s 192 Member States.
Academic institutions will have the chance to play an active part in the ongoing activities of ITU’s Sectors and to influence the emergence of new technologies and standards. Their participation in ITU meetings, seminars and workshops will also enable them to enlarge the scope of their work beyond purely technical and commercial concerns, to embrace wider issues in the ICT public policy and regulatory arena.