ICT Research Grand Challenges Workshop
This Workshop serves as a follow-up to the National Colloquium on Information and Communication Technology Education and Training and the Production of Graduates, held in March 2007, which resulted in the production of the Birchwood Declaration (see http://www.cs.ru.ac.za/ICTSkills/ for further details of the Colloquium and Declaration). Article V of the Birchwood Declaration called for the CSSA and SAICSIT to arrange a "thinktank" to bring together leaders to set strategic goals for ICT research and innovation (i.e. identify "grand challenges" for ICT research in South Africa). SAICSIT have agreed to host the first such event as part of the SAICSIT annual conference for 2008 with the support of the CSSA (see http://www.nmmu.ac.za/saicsit/ for further details of the SAICSIT conference).
Participants in the Workshop are strongly encouraged to stay on for the conference, which is the leading national general research conference in ICT. The ICT Research Grand Challenges Workshop will follow a process similar to that adopted by other national ICT research initiatives (see [1], for example). Input is invited from all roleplayers (academic institutions, research organisations, industry and government) to help formulate strategic, national goals for research in ICT. In the first instance, proposals should be submitted to the Workshop organisers (see details below). These will be collated with input from the Birchwood Task Team and used as a starting point to guide the deliberations of the delegates at the Grand Challenges Workshop on 6 October 2008.
It is hoped that there will be no charge to attend the Workshop, and that participants will only be responsible for their transport and accommodation costs. However, pending financial support, participants should be prepared to budget approximately R400 for the Workshop, which will include lunch. Dinner on the evening of 6 October 2008 will cost R115. Registration will be managed through the SAICSIT Conference website (http://www.nmmu.ac.za/saicsit/). Further details will be made available as soon as possible.
Date: 6 October 2008
Time: 10h30-17h00
