Nicaragua Events

Below are details of some recent events run by INASP and local partners

For more information on these workshops, or to download training materials, see the Training Activities and Materials page.

BMO: Network Technical Training workshops, August 2009*
Monitoring and evaluation of electronic resources and usage (MEERU), June 2009*
BMO: University and Research Institution's Briefing, June 2009*
The Use and Management of Electronic Information Resources, February, 2009
BMO: Training activities and consultation, February 2009
Seminar on Library Consortia PERii-Nicaragua, January 2009

*This series of events were organised as part of a collaboration between the National Council of Universities (CNU) and PERii.   

Bandwidth Management and Optimisation (BMO): Network Technical Training workshops, UNAN, Managua  Nicaragua, 27 August - 11 September 2009.
1. Intro LINUX y redes de computadoras & Intro BMO (27 Aug - 4 Sept 2009)
2. BMO (7/9/2009 - 11/9/2009)
These bandwidth training workshops were organised as a result of recommendations following a review undertaken early in 2009. Christian Benvenuti took on the role of lead facilitator and the co-facilitator was Derman Zepeda (UNAN-Managua). The twenty participants attending all of the sessions, of which 5 were female, were representatives nominated by 10 of the CNU member universities. The main aims and outcomes expected following this activity were for participants to be able to:

• effectively monitor and maximise the existing bandwidth capacity
• review available software solutions for monitoring network traffic
• recommend technical development in relation to networks
• improve capacity to apply and share the practical skills acquired

Feedback shows the event was considered a very practical and relevant by all who attended. The facilitators' approach and methodology, including adapting materials to meet the needs and level of the group present, and the commitment of participants to learn and apply new skills contributed greatly to the event's success.  At the end of the workshops all the participants received a CD with the lecture notes.

Workshop resources and materials are available for download. for related materials, see the BMO materials and resources page.

INASP and our country partners in Nicaragua would like to thank the publisher O'Reilly for the donation of bandwidth related books.  Some of these were used by the facilitator and others were presented to participants during the training.

Evaluación y Monitoreo del Uso de los Recursos electrónicos (Monitoring and evaluation of electronic resources and usage - MEERU); Managua, Nicaragua.  23 - 26 June 2009
Twenty-three participants attended this pilot training workshop and included nominated future MEERU facilitators from Honduras, Cuba, Bolivia and Nicaragua. The event was considered very successful with feedback extremely positive about the organisation, facilitation, content relevance and methodologies to work place environment.
Topics covered included:

• collection and use of statistical data on the use of PERii resources
• collection and use of qualitative data on the use of e-resources
• application of the PERii Resources Usage Control System (PRUCS) software
• bibliometrics

"Bandwidth Management and Optimisation: University and Research Institution's Briefing", Managua  Nicaragua, 22 June 2009
A seminar facilitated by Prof. Egbert de Smet provided participants with an overview of BMO issues and their impact on information services, information access, libraries and the institutions in general. Executive and other senior university managers and policy makers were amongst the participants and they were enthusiastic about the opportunity to attend.  The content included: 

• Fundamentals of bandwidth and network connectivity; what is bandwidth and how does it impact on an institutions teaching, learning and productivity?
• Bandwidth management status, requirements and options
• Bandwidth management and optimisation; a review of policy issues and technical issues
• The role of strategic management decisions in bandwidth management

The Use and Management of Electronic Information Resources, National Engineering University (UNI), 20 February 2009
Thirty three participants from UNI attended workshops designed to raise awareness and share skills and abilities in the use and management of electronic information resources.  This training reflects the practical application of the cascading methodology as it was facilitated by teams from universities trained in the first workshop facilitated by INASP in 2008.

Bandwidth Management Optimisation (BMO): Training and consultation, Consejo Nacional de Universidades (CNU), February, 2009
The local PERii Country Coordinator, in collaboration with INASP, organised visits and consultation with member universities of the CNU, followed by a technical training workshop by BMO expert, Christian Benvenuti from Italy. Christian facilitated this introductory training event on bandwidth related topics to 24 participants from the ICT staff of the university members of the CNU.  The event was greatly appreciated by those attending with requests for follow up activities in this subject area. 

See the news article on the training event which appeared in El Nuevo Diario or download the article in PDF format.

Linea Directa ( 113kb)

A full report is also available BMO consultation Nicaragua 2009 ( 2.19MB)

Seminar on Library Consortia PERii-Nicaragua, Managua, 29 January, 2009
This seminar, organised by Ruth Velia Gómez (Nicaragua PERii Coordinator) and presented by Mr Oscar Saavedra (Vicepresidente/ General Manager EBSCO), provided an initial introduction to participants on consortia development.  It was attended by thirty six participants representing Directors of University Libraries (members of the National Council of Universities [CNU]), private universities, autonomous bodies and government research institutions.  The content of the seminar included information on the general importance of consortia worldwide and the potential role for consortia in Nicaragua.