About iSTEP Tanzania
Launched by TechBridgeWorld in 2009 the innovative Student Technology ExPerience (iSTEP) is a new internship program that involves students and recent alumni from Carnegie Mellon University with technology projects in developing communities. TechBridgeWorld is a Carnegie Mellon research group pioneering research in the field of Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICTD). The current iSTEP and TechBridgeWorld teams includes five interns working in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; one intern, one TechBridgeWorld faculty and four TechBridgeWorld staff working in Pittsburgh, United States; and one TechBridgeWorld staff working in Doha, Qatar over the summer of 2009.
Utilizing a multidisciplinary approach, the iSTEP team and partners work on collaborative research projects. This year our main partner in Tanzania is the University Computing Centre (UCC), a limited-liability company owned by the University of Dar es Salaam. The UCC provides information and communication technology (ICT) products to both the University of Dar es Salaam community, as well as the general public, including but not limited to Internet and web development, professional and diploma classes, and further ICT research.
The iSTEP program aims to give real-world experience to students and recent alumni in the ICTD sector, as well as develop needs-based solutions in collaboration with developing communities. Together with TechBridgeWorld faculty and staff, the inaugural iSTEP team is working with the UCC in Dar es Salaam on three projects based on needs identified by our partners in Tanzania.
