Are you a PhD aspirant? Saitama is calling!

The International Graduate Program on Environmental Science and Infrastructure Engineering at Saitama University in Japan is offering highly qualified foreign students the opportunity to pursue doctoral study and research in related fields of the following courses:

• Course in Infrastructure Innovation
• Course in Environmental Science

The program starts either in April or October and requires a minimum residency of three years for a Degree of Ph. D./Doctor of Engineering/Doctor of Science. Class instruction, research supervision and guidance are conducted in English; while dissertations, reports, examinations and presentations by students also can be given in English.

I therefore strongly encourage African PhD aspirants in the aforementioned fields to apply for this programme. You can seek admission with the Monbukagakusho (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of the Government of Japan: MEXT) Scholarship. You do not have to apply for this scholarship separately because the application process caters for both the Scholarship and the study place. The deadline is 15 December, 2007. You have enough time to get the application going. Please don't be scared of competition from me (Nthambazale).Apply for it gladly because Nthambazale is not in it :). I am not applying for this one because I am being considered for a similar scholarship for the same 2008 cycle at another Japanese University. So if you and I are successful, we gonna meet that side.

Japan to start research on the new generation of the Internet

News reports indicate that Japan will start research and development on technology for a new generation of the network that would replace the current Internet. This technology is expected to be released for commercial use in 2020. Speaking to reporters in Brazil, where he is visiting, the Japanese communications minister Yoshihide Suga said

an organization will be set up as early as this fall with cooperation from businesses, academia and government offices for promoting the technology when the Internet is seen to be faced with increasing constraints in achieving higher throughputs of data as well as ensuring data security. The envisaged network is expected to ensure faster and more reliable data transmission, and have more resilience against computer virus attacks and breakdowns. The ministry is hoping Japan will take a lead in development of post-Internet technology and setting global standards, a move that ministry officials believe would help make Japanese companies competitive in the global market for hardware and software using such technology.

Some tech commentators are of the view that this is a duplication of the US led Internet2 project. I beg to differ with this way of thinking. The Internet2 project has been around for more than ten years. The Japanese might have seen its shortcomings (remember that they are very smart) hence their interest in coming up with their own initiative. After all, this is just research. Let the Japanese and all other capable nations do their own research on this issue. If their interests coincide with the Internet2 project, they are free to collaborate with the US guys.

Many Africans, including me, have a strong liking for Japanese technology. If you come to Malawi today, you will find Japanese cars (Toyota, Mitsubishi, Isuzu etc) and motorcycles (Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki etc) of all types. Actually, as I was growing up, my paternal grandfather used to own a Honda motorcycle. In light of this, I am of the view that a Japanese spearheaded Internet revolution will spread to the rest of the developing world more easily. As a result, all this talk about the digital divide will be history. What do you think?

View my blog in ten different major languages of the world

From today onwards, my visitors will be able to view this blog in ten different major languages of the world besides English. This development comes at a time when the patronage to this blog is increasing drammatically. My online fan base is exploding. I am very excited because my fans will now be able to read my postings in the language of their choice. If you check the column on the right, you will see a widget with which you can translate this page to Arabic, German, Portuguese, Chinese, Italian, Russian, Japanese, Spanish, French and Korean. This widget is available for free at Google Translator Widget blog.