Annual Report 2005-06 - Higher Education Commission

Annual Report
2005-06
learning through interactive video lectures from distant locations. The equipment required for
video conferencing is simple to operate. On screen menus enable one to enter the number one
want to call or select from an address book. Modern video conference systems enable users to
share documents and computer images with the remote (far end) users.
Online Lectures are available for students of different fields. Scientists, researchers, teachers from
local and foreign universities/institutes of higher education deliver lectures and students sitting in
universities can interact with them and ask questions. These lectures are also recorded and
archived for offline use on demand, i.e. the recorded lectures can be telecast anytime for learning
purposes. The system is also used for meetings, interviews (for selection of candidates) and
conferences. Multi-point Control Unit (MCU) enables interlinking multiple sites/campuses
simultaneously and bridging the session with international organizations/institutes' systems to
share and disseminate the robust communication. Video conferencing facility is providing an ever
vital evolving service in many spheres.
HEC has initiated this project to provide video conferencing facility to all public sector universities.
In the first phase 18 universities/institutes are being provided with this facility out of which 12
universities/institutions are now operational and lectures from foreign/local universities on
multiple subjects/discipline are being telecast. In second phase video conferencing facility will be
provided to 48 universities and institutions. HEC will provide the option to the students,
researchers, and institutes the facility to get the information regarding the various sessions
arranged using the video conference facility. The key rationale behind the development of such
application is to register faculty members and students who are interested to participate in video
conferencing sessions/events/presentations/lectures at universities where video conferencing
facility is currently available.
NEWS
in Focus
Online Lecturing and IP-based
Video Conferencing Tested
The Higher Education Commission, Islamabad
has initiated a project entitled “Online
Lecturing and Net-Meeting using IP-based
Video Conferencing System” which aims at
providing interactive and online lecturing
services to all the public sector universities.
Video conferencing is an extremely useful
method of communication because it saves
people the time, expense, travel and can often
accomplish many of the things a physical
meeting can. Though not new, the technology
has the potential of becoming ground
breaking as a communication tool for
Pakistani universities. In the first phase of the
project 24 universities/degree awarding
institutions are being provided with these
facilities at a cost of Rs. 100 million. Six
companies have bid for the tender and gave
three live demonstrations in November for
evaluation on technical grounds.
As part of the overall technical evaluation
process these vendors were asked to provide a
live demonstration of their quoted products as
well as the proposed solution. For this purpose
they set-up their video conferencing system at
least three sites at different locations. The
project is envisioned for PERN-connected
universities/institutions. In order to perform
this demonstration session successfully
universities/institutes were requested to
arrange and provide a conference
room/lecture room to set-up these video
c o n f e r e n c i n g e q u i p m e n t s f o r t h i s
demonstration. In this connection the video
conferencing set-up was arranged at six
locations across Pakistan, including HEJ
Karachi, COMSATS Institute of Information
Technology, Liaquat University of Medical and
Health Sciences, University of Peshawar, UET,
Lahore and HEC, Islamabad.
HEC News & Views: December, 2005
44