What are the main activity areas of Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific (CSSTEAP)?
We teach 9-month PG courses in the following subject areas:

• Remote Sensing and GIS (50%)
• Satellite Meteorology and Global Climate Change (20%)
• Satellite Communications and GPS (20%)
• Space and Atmospheric Science (10%)

The percentages indicate the approximate proportion of students in each of the courses c.q. are an indication of the approximate capacity allocated to these subject areas. In addition, we give short courses in specialised topics related to the above subject areas (see www.cssteap.org).

Which fields of research are mainly emphasised in this institute?
CSSTEAP is an educational and not a research institution. However, students do a 3-month project as part of their 9-month PG diploma course, which may include a (modest) research component. In addition, CSSTEAP has an arrangement with Andhra University (AU) in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, to the effect that AU recognises the 9-month PG diploma course as qualifying for the course-work required for an MTech degree. Hence, those students that meet the educational requirements for an MTech degree at AU, may do a 1-year project, under the joint supervision of CSSTEAP and AU, and may thus obtain an MTech diploma at AU. These 1-year MTech research projects definitely contain a research component and basically all these studies relate to applications of space science and technology in the subject areas mentioned before.

What challenges have you faced in academics in Asia and the Pacific (AP)?
I would not wish to speak for the AP region in general, but in India, I think, one of the greatest challenges is to effectively implement the findings of science and technology. India is producing great services and products in ICT. However, more of this should be used in development of infrastructure, sustainable rural development and poverty alleviation. As an example, some time ago Kiran Karnik, the president of NASSCOM, said in a talk in Bangalore that India produces some 20% of its ICT products and services for the domestic market and 80% for export, whereas in China this is just the reverse, 80% is used domestically and 20% exported. I am not saying that India should blindly follow China, but the information is significant: India uses only a small fraction of its tremendous potential in ICT for domestic development. In academia we see more or less the same, at least as far as Remote Sensing and spatial information science is concerned: scientists do interesting research and develop nice models and software, but not much of this seems to find its way to the end-user. Of course, there are admirable exceptions to this, but the potential does not seem to be fully used. Hence, I think a major challenge for academia in India would be to address real world problems, develop solutions, and work with local authorities, NGO’ s and others to implement these technologies for the benefit of the end-users and, ultimately, for the country as a whole.

What is the trend of research and development in last few decades in the field of ICT?
In Remote Sensing and spatial data science there are lots of developments. Besides technological developments, I think two trends are to (a) make spatial data more accessible to the general public and (b) to develop applications that are of significance for socio-economic development, as well as natural resource management and disaster management.

What role the research institutes should play to popularise the ICT application more for development purpose?
Research institutes should primarily make the results of their research accessible to the general public, through publications, workshops, websites, etc. More specifically, they should reach out to academia and professional organisations, as well as to all levels of governance: central, state and district-level. There is a limit, of course, to what research institutes can do, but sometimes we see that researchers appear to be very reluctant to give others access to their technologies or share their data. This mentality should change: researchers and research institutes should be actively encouraged to share their data and research results with colleagues in related fields.

Which institutes in the world are playing remarkable role in promoting ICT research for development?
Too many to name. I think the World Bank and UN specialised agencies generally promote the use of ICT for development. But there are many other organizations active in this field.

Which fields need more application of ICT for the development of the nations, especially the developing nations?
First, developing nations need effective, low-cost technologies. Such technologies could be effectively used for infra- structure development, sustainable rural development, managing natural resources Research institutes should primarily make the results of their research accessible to the general public. and environmental quality, biodiversity conservation, and disaster management, to name only a few. Technologies such as tele-education and tele-health services have some potential, but may not reach the poor as the application of such technologies requires some basic infrastructure, e.g., schools, medical facilities, (solar) power supply, hard- and software, trained personnel, and so on, which are often lacking in the least-developed areas.

Is the extent of ICT development at present sufficient for removing the ‘digital divide’ in near future?
Clearly insufficient. However, the bottlenecks are more related to poor governance, underdevelopment, poverty and lack of funding and political will, than to the technologies themselves. In India, effective, low-cost ICT technologies have been developed for application in rural areas, which have been successfully tested in pilot projects. However, the upscaling of such efforts requires political will and funding, accountable and transparent governance (e.g., in the case of e-Governance), establishment of basic physical and ICT infrastructure, and so on.

What are the future plans of this institute towards remarkable contributions in the fields of Space Science and Technology?
Our current strategy is essentially one of ‘consolidation’, which, roughly translated, means ‘more of the same’. Of course, we would like to receive (more) external funding, but because of CSSTEAP’s organisational arrangements and structure, this is unlikely to materialise in a big way. Also, we would like more AP countries to sign the CSSTEAP Agreement, i.e., become an active participant in CSSTEAP. However, we accept students from all AP countries anyway, i.e., irrespective of whether their home countries have signed the CSSTEAP Agreement, and thus the incentive to do so is somewhat limited. Hence, on this basis I would not expect major changes or remarkable new contributions to Space Science and Technology on the part of CSSTEAP. Having said this, I should note that a high-level Committee, chaired by the Director of the Space Applications Center (SAC) in Ahmedabad, has been constituted with a view of developing a new strategy for CSSTEAP. I have high expectations of this endeavour and this may well open new horizons for CSSTEAP, so that it can develop to its full potential.

One element of such a new strategy, I would expect, may well be the establishment of structural relationships with leading institutions in AP countries, aimed at applying space and ICT technology for development of the countries concerned. Such relationships would also provide a rational basis for the selection of students, which now occurs more or less at random. Also, somewhat contrary to our core operations, such special projects might well be fundable, e.g., by the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, or bilateral donors. Such a strategy would focus our educational efforts and probably increase the ultimate impact of our capacity building and institutional strengthening efforts in the Asia-Pacific region.

Brief Biography of Karl Harmsen Karl Harmsen is at present Director of Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific (CSSTEAP) affiliated to the United Nations and located in Dehradun, India. Prior to that he was involved with a number of environmental and Remote Sensing organisations. From October 2005 he will join as Director of United Nations University – Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA), located in Accra, Ghana. He was born in Netherlands and did his Ph.D from Agricultural University, Wageningen, The Netherlands on ‘Behaviour of Heavy Metals in Soils’.

IFIP World Information Technology Forum 2005 12 September, 2005 The three day Second World Information Technology Forum (WITFOR 2005) organised in Gaborone, Botswana has come up now with many committments to accelerate Information and Communication Technology basing on the guidelines of Millennium declaration and the WSIS Plan of Action. The forum organised by IFIP under the auspices of UNESCO and hosted by the Government of Botswana, looked into areas like contributing to the eradication of poverty through the appropriate use of ICT, bridging the multiple digital divides of contemporary society, encouraging partnerships and promoting collaborative networks and many more. Building on their experiences, the members participated resolved to focus on eight main thematic concerns like infrastructure, economic opportunity, environment, health, education, agriculture, social, ethical and legal aspects and empowerment and participation. Supporting research, development and economic analysis for enhanced ICT infrastructure in underserved areas, exploring appropriate scalable, replicable e-Business models that promote sustainable development, using and promoting ICT for environmental protection and the sustainable use of natural resources, using ICT to improve the efficiency and equity of health service provision, promoting innovative and effective methods to exploit ICT to improve teaching, learning and knowledge generation, using ICT to improve sustainable agricultural production systems by disseminating knowledge and information, etc. are the broad themes selected to remain in focus. It is recommended by the participants to bring action on each of these areas and the national governments, parliamentarians, local authorities, civil society, the business communities and academia are invited to support such ICT initiatives through regional, international and cross-sectoral collaborative networks. Source: www.witfor.org