31 July 2019 | Volume 78 | Edition 6
Eduroam Branches Out! Eduroam internet services are now available at 57 public libraries in the City of Cape Town, making it easier for students to get work done off-campus. By Akhona Matshoba s a result of the joint effort by the City of Cape Town (CoCT) and Tertiary Education and Research Network South Africa (TENET), eduroam internet services will now be more accessible to students and staff from all four public universities in the province, namely, the University of Cape Town, University of the Western Cape, Cape Peninsula University of Technology and the University of Stellenbosch.
“to make access to campus learning materials more accessible to students” According to Guy Halse, Director for Trust and Identity at TENET, the motivation behind this initiative was “to make access to campus learning materials more accessible to students, particularly for those who live long distances
[away] from university campuses or who come from less privileged backgrounds.” This effort is appreciated by Jade Petersen, a final year student at the University of Cape Town who often has to travel from home to campus. “This is going to be a huge relief for me because the library is five minutes away from my home. It will also help me save data [when having] to do my assignments,” she says. Petersen went on further to say that this will help level the playing field between her and her peers who live on campus and have unlimited access to the eduroam Wi-Fi. When asked about any plans to expand the project to the remaining 48 libraries that are without the eduroam services, Luthando Tyhalibongo, the CoCT’s Media Manager explains to us that, “A stable and high-speed data link is required
source: tenet.ac.za
before a Wi-Fi service such as eduroam can be activated at a City Library. The balance of the 48 libraries’ links are currently inadequate for Wi-Fi services and will be upgraded as funds are made available over the next few years.”
“this will level the playing field” Halse adds to this, saying that, although hospitals and clinics are not part of the scope of the project at the moment, he sees
value in expanding this initiative to such locations in the longer term. This would be especially useful as significant numbers of health science students operate in these spaces daily.