University of Zambia, Computer Centre

The University of Zambia is an institution of higher learning providing academic programmes in various disciplines to students from across the country. The Computer Centre is a specialised section within the University that maintains and manages the Information technology infrastructure of the entire institution.

Collaborative Virtual Network (CVN)

Field of Application

• Within the University departments and schools
• Affiliated Institutes and research centres
• Companies and businesses that deal with the University
  

Technology

• Operating systems: Debian or SuSE Linux
• Programming languages: HTML and PHP
• Database: MySQL

The University of Zambia, Computer Centre wishes to set up an open-source based information system that will enable it store and retrieve data used in the day-to-day administration of the institution.

The project aims at setting up an open-source based information system that will enable the University and it working partners to better communicate and share information through the creation of a virtual network. This virtual network will link the University and its partners through the use of electronic means to communicate. The University will be able to reduce its reliance on paper based means which result in time delays and high overheads associated with paper based communication. A reduction in the amount of stationery used to store and exchange information will certainly result in less expenditure being spent in the purchase of paper based materials. The system will involve migration to open-source software which incurs no licence fees and should result in a safe and secure information system for the storage and processing of information like student records, personnel details and academic records. The main feature of the information system is a web interface that allows users not only from within the University, but also from outside the institution to securely access and use the system. Users of the system should be able to interrogate the database used to store information and also store data in a safe and secure manner with reduced risk of data loss or corruption. Since the system will be used by a great number of users it is essential that issues of reliability and availability are given the highest priority in the design stage. High availability and security are therefore vital for the successful implementation of the entire project.