Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM

iSchool to Lead Partnership Expanding Internet Connectivity in Liberia

Thursday, September 27, 2018, By J.D. Ross
Share
School of Information Studies

The School of Information Studies (iSchool), Imcon International and the Republic of Liberia will collaborate on the 40 in 2021 Project, a far-reaching initiative that will digitally transform the country of Liberia by increasing the nation’s current Internet penetration of about 7 percent to 40 percent by 2021. The announcement was made Thursday by Elizabeth D. Liddy, dean of the iSchool, and Rob Loud, CEO of Imcon International Inc.

Imcon is the developer of the Internet Backpack, a remote connectivity solution that allows users to communicate from almost any location on the planet. The device can be used to create internal wireless networks with large coverage areas utilizing various radio frequencies.

Associate Professor Lee McKnight will serve as the faculty lead on the project. His research focuses on wireless grids, the global information economy, and national and international technology policy.

Associate Professor Lee McKnight will serve as the faculty lead on the project. His research focuses on wireless grids, the global information economy, and national and international technology policy.

A delegation from Imcon traveled to Liberia’s capital, Monrovia, last week to meet with high-ranking government officials, including Nathaniel McGill, the minister of state for presidential affairs; Professor Ansu D. Sonii, the minister of education; and Dr. Wilhemina Jallah, the minister of health.

McGill expressed his support for the 40 in 2021 Project, acknowledging “the potential significant value to the country, especially the benefits to be gained by Liberia’s ailing education and health sectors.” Jallah and Sonii also demonstrated their support for the project by executing a Memorandum of Understanding, for their respective agencies, to formally launch the partnership.

The iSchool will lead research, education, cyber-physical network design and implementation for the Liberia project. Associate Professor Lee McKnight will serve as the faculty project manager.

As part of an estimated $150 million project, Imcon International will provide 6,000 Internet Backpacks, as well as edgeware, through its partner, VMware, to the Republic of Liberia for education, healthcare, rural community and government use, connecting the Internet to all schools and hospitals throughout the country.

“We are pleased to take part in this project with Imcon and lend our technical and research expertise to this important endeavor to increase Internet connectivity across Liberia and other locations around the globe,” says Dean Liddy. “The iSchool is deeply committed to leveraging our academic and scholarly resources to improve the world around us.”

The initiative includes a project-based learning curriculum through Imcon’s education partner, One Planet Education Network. In addition, through its partnerships with Hu-manity.co and OrbHealth, Imcon will also implement a nationwide broadband network dedicated to Liberia’s education and healthcare systems and deploy and maintain the country’s first electronic medical record system.

“The Internet Backpack is a revolutionary technology and a groundbreaking solution with multiple applications for use across the planet,” says Loud. “This alliance will dramatically jumpstart our ability to extend our proprietary technology and effectuate positive change for underserved people as well as for those in remote areas without access to standard connectivity. The Liberia project is the first of many projects we envision rolling out on a global scale over the coming months and years.”

  • Author

J.D. Ross

  • Recent
  • Drama Department to Virtually Present New Theatrical Work Inspired by University’s 150th Anniversary
    Saturday, January 23, 2021, By Erica Blust
  • Professor Rahman Awarded Google Grant to Engage Underrepresented Students in Computing Research
    Saturday, January 23, 2021, By Alex Dunbar
  • Special Collections Research Center Launches Latin American 45s Digital Collection
    Saturday, January 23, 2021, By Cristina Hatem
  • VPA Faculty to Present World Premieres at Society for New Music Concert Jan. 31
    Saturday, January 23, 2021, By News Staff
  • ‘Democracy on Trial: Can We Save It?’
    Friday, January 22, 2021, By News Staff

More In STEM

Professor Rahman Awarded Google Grant to Engage Underrepresented Students in Computing Research

Electrical engineering and computer science (EECS) Professor Farzana Rahman received a 2020 Google exploreCSR award to fund the development of an undergraduate student engagement workshop program, Research Exposure in Socially Relevant Computing (RESORC). The RESORC program will provide research opportunities…

Arts and Sciences Welcomes New Director of Forensics Kathleen Corrado

After 25 years working in the field of forensic science and over two decades of executive experience as a laboratory director, Kathleen Corrado has been named director of the Forensic and National Security Science Institute (FNSSI) in the College of…

Hehnly Lab Awarded $1.2M NIH Grant to Research Critical Tissue Formation

A key process during the development of an embryo is tissue morphogenesis, where the number of cells in an organism increase through cell division and tissues begins to take shape. Heidi Hehnly, assistant professor of biology, has been awarded a…

The Role of Digital Forensics and Tracking Down US Capitol Riot Criminals

With just under a week left before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony, investigators and law enforcement agencies across the country are working speedily to identify as many of the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot offenders as they can. Knowing exactly…

A&S Researchers Awarded $2.1M Grant to Study Causes of Congenital Heart Defects

Congenital heart defects are the most common type of birth defect, affecting nearly 1 percent of births in the United States each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Doctors have been unable to lower that number…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2021 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.