Countdown to virtual classroom

By Siyabonga Africa, ITWeb junior journalist

Johannesburg, 15 Sep 2008

InnovationLab is making headway in creating a virtual classroom that it says will define the standard for education solutions in rural areas.

InnovationLab CEO Joe Manchu says his organisation is collaborating with a number of companies to bring about the virtualisation of a general solution for schools.

"The virtual classroom will be launched in a year from now, and policymakers and investors will be able to visit it and see how they can invest in developing educational solutions for rural areas," says Manchu.

InnovationLab, a Cisco initiative, is about creating virtual and physical environments for the demonstration of innovative business and social solutions for the emerging markets. "At the Innovation Lab, we look at creating comprehensive ICT solutions for schools and these would include networking solutions and also surveillance products for schools," says Manchu.

Multimillion-rand boost

Cisco will invest R215 million into the Cisco Innovation Hub Technology Centre (CIHTC). The centre will be become the home of ICT initiatives, including InnovationLab, a global Talent Acquisition Programme, the Cisco Netversity, an Entrepreneur Institute and a Software Development Programme. It will be situated in the Innovation Hub, in Pretoria.

A Cisco statement says the CIHTC, which is aimed at fostering and developing local skills, intellectual property, entrepreneurship and solution development capabilities in the local ICT sector, will create more than 200 direct jobs and 800 indirect jobs.

Manchu says InnovationLab's labs solutions, which are part of the CIHTC's activities, could result in local sales revenue of approximately R30 million and potential sales export opportunities of the same amount for entrepreneurs and their partners.

IP is neglected

Manchu says the ICT industry is not doing enough to bridge the gap between research and development in developing intellectual property (IP). "We have many students coming out of institutions and developing good ideas, but those ideas end up on a shelf gathering dust," he explains.

"InnovationLab is geared towards bridging the gap between research and commercialising those ideas by providing a platform for innovators to showcase their ideas to potential investors," says Manchu.

Science and technology minister Mosibudi Mangena announced earlier this month that the Department of Science and Technology was fast-tracking the Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Financed Research and Development Legislation through Parliament. This legislation will ensure the country and innovators will benefit from the IP being developed into commercial products.