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The Impact of ICT in Public and Private Universities in Sudan

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Abstract

This paper examines the impacts of ICT in public and private Sudanese universities. We verify the first and third hypotheses that the use of ICT facilitates connection, networks and collaboration within public and private universities in Sudan, with local, regional and international institutions. We support the second hypothesis that the use of ICT enhances access, production and dissemination of knowledge in Sudanese universities. We support the fourth hypothesis that the use of ICT introduces ‘creative-destruction’ effect by providing opportunities for knowledge production, building connection and organizational changes; but simultaneously also creating hazards to knowledge production and building disconnection for those who do not share the knowledge in public and private Sudanese universities. We show that the most important advantageous related to the use of Internet for enhancing production, creation and transfer of knowledge include increasing digital knowledge for academic and researchers, rapid quantitative and qualitative increase in transferring information, development of new models for disseminating and distributing electronic information, and increase free access to electronic publications for academic purposes. We find that top problem related to the use of Internet is the lack of regular budget for universities libraries to pay for licenses and access to scientific and technical information.

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Notes

  1. See for instance, Quah (2001), Pohjola (2001) and Smith (2000).

  2. This literature on the impact of ICT began in the late 1980s. For an early example, see Martin Neil Bailey and Robert Gordon, (1988) ‘The productivity slowdown, measurement issues and the explosion of computer power’, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 2: 347–423. A recent contribution is Jorgensen, D., and Stiroh, K.,(1999) ‘Information technology and growth’, American Economic Review: 109–116. For a comprehensive discussion, see Daniel Sichel, (1997) ‘The Computer Revolution. An Economic Perspective ,’ Washington: Brookings Institution.

  3. See for example, Telecommunications Policy (2005) 29(7): James Hodge; Alison Gillwald; Patricia K. McCormick; Gillian Marcelle; and Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka and Kaushalesh Lal . See also Ahwireng-Obeng (2000), Durrant (2004), Unwin (2004), Olukoshi and Zeleza (2004), Beebe et-al . (2003), Adei (2003), Radwan (2003), Thairu (2003), Massingue (2003), Oyeyinka and Adeya (2003) and Mwenechanya (2003).

  4. The university survey includes students, academic teaching and support staff affiliated to ten public and private universities. The five public universities are: Khartoum University (KU), Sudan University of Science and Technology (SUST), Juba University (JU), Al-zaim Al-azhari University (AAU) and Omdurman Islamic University (OIU). The five private universities are: Computerman University (CMU), University of Medical Sciences and Technology (UMST), Sudan International University (SIU), Sudan Academy for Banking and Financial Studies (SABFS) and Ahfad University for Women (AUW). The university survey was distributed after translation of the English version into the Arabic language in order to increase the response rate.

  5. As indicated by 64, 60, 60 and 54% of the respondent all universities academic staff, respectively.

  6. As indicated by 61, 61, 58 and 52% of respondent public universities academic staff, respectively.

  7. As reported by 76, 71, 65 and 59% of respondent private universities academic staff, respectively.

  8. As indicated by 80, 60, 60 and 60 of the respondent support staff, respectively.

  9. As reported by 65, 69, 69 and 69% of the respondent students, respectively.

  10. As indicated by 95, 94 and 91% of the respondent all universities academic staff, respectively.

  11. As reported by 90% of the respondent all universities academic staff.

  12. As indicated by 89% of the respondent all universities academic staff.

  13. As reported by 88% of the respondent all universities academic staff.

  14. As indicated by 86% of the respondent all universities academic staff.

  15. As reported by 85% of academic staffs in all the respondent universities.

  16. As indicated by 84% of the respondent all universities academic staff.

  17. As reported by 79, 78 and 74% of the respondent all universities academic staff, respectively.

  18. As reported by 80, 60 and 40%of the respondent support staff, respectively.

  19. As indicated by 92, 88, 85, 81, 77, 73, 69 and 62% of the respondent students, respectively.

  20. As indicated by 88% of the respondent all universities academic staffs.

  21. As reported by 84% of the respondent all universities academic staffs.

  22. As indicated by 83% of the respondent all universities academic staffs.

  23. As reported by 81 and 80% of the respondent all universities academic staffs, respectively.

  24. As indicated by 79% of the respondent all universities academic staffs.

  25. As indicated by 77% of the respondent all universities academic staffs.

  26. As reported by 75, 74, 74, 70 and 68% of the respondent all universities academic staffs, respectively.

  27. As indicated by 80, 60 and 40% of the respondent support staffs, respectively.

  28. As indicated by 88, 77, 73, 69, 65, 62, 58, 58, 58, 58 and 54% of the respondent students, respectively.

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  1. UNU-MERIT, School of Business and Economics, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Samia Satti Osman Mohamed Nour

  2. Economics Department, Faculty of Economic and Social Studies, Khartoum University, Khartoum, Sudan

    Samia Satti Osman Mohamed Nour

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Nour, S.S.O.M. The Impact of ICT in Public and Private Universities in Sudan. J Knowl Econ 9, 1391–1414 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-016-0429-x

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