Call to Participate in the Building Wireless Community Networks Course (Scholarship)

CITEL’s Working Group on Capacity Building and Human Resources Development, along with CITEL’s Secretariat, has as its primary objective to strengthen CITEL’s efforts regarding scholarships and training courses of interest to CITEL/OAS member states.

Following up on CITEL’s schedule of courses for 2024 (COM/CITEL/RES. 329 (XLI-23)) and thanks to the 300 scholarships generously offered by the Internet Society (ISOC) once again this year as a continuation of its commitment to the 2030 ICT Alliance for the Americas, according to their objective of “promoting the open development, evolution and use of the Internet for the benefit of all people around the world,” the Internet Society and CITEL are pleased to announce the call for applications to participate in the course/scholarship “Building Wireless Community Networks,” which will be held online from 8 April to 19 May 2024.

The deadline for registration is 18 March 2024 (23:59 EST, Washington, DC).

Course Overview

The course consists of training community members in wireless technology and Wi-Fi equipment that uses unlicensed spectrum bands of 2.4 and 5.8 GHz. The goal is to create wireless networks that belong to and are operated by the community, thus allowing it not only to implement and manage these networks but also to enable the transfer of knowledge.

Specific Objectives

• Acquire basic concepts of the creation of wireless community networks.
• Get familiar with experiences that enable the student to get references for the efficient design of wireless community networks.
• Acquire the necessary knowledge to design an implementation plan for wireless community networks.
• Transfer knowledge about wireless community networks to other members of the community.

Participant Profile

• OAS member states
• CITEL associate members
• Telecommunication and/or ICT ministries and secretariats of OAS member states
• Regulatory bodies for the telecommunication/ICT sector of OAS member states
• Regional organizations
• Telecommunication/ICT professionals and technicians
• Civil society, and
• Other interested communities

Dates, Location, and Course Type

The course will be taught by distance learning (online) from 8 April to 19 May 2024 (6 weeks). It will be held in Spanish and English, with a course load of 8 hours a week.

A total of 300 scholarships are being granted (250 scholarships to Spanish-speaking participants and 50 to English-speaking participants).

Key Information

Course name	Building Wireless Community Networks
Course mode	Distance learning course (online)
Course dates	8 April to 19 May 2024
Instruction language	Spanish and English
Benefits	100% coverage of the course registration and fees Study materials Certificate issued by Internet Society/CITEL-OAS
Number of scholarships offered	300 full scholarships (250 to Spanish-speaking participants and 50 to English-speaking participants), offered on a “first come, first serve” basis
Registration deadline	18 March 2024 (23:59 EST, Washington, DC.)
Announcement of selected scholarship recipients	22 March 2024 (12:00 EST, Washington, DC.)

Eligibility

• A citizen or permanent resident of any OAS member state.

Application and Selection Process

• Complete the online application form by 18 March 2024.
• The selection of participants for the course/scholarship will be made on a “first come, first serve” basis.
• The list of selected scholarship recipients shall be published on 22 March 2024 at 12:00 (EST, Washington, DC time) on the CITEL and Internet Society websites.
• Scholarship recipients must officially accept the scholarship by filling out and signing the Scholarship Acceptance Form that CITEL and the Internet Society will send you online. If, for any reason, confirmation has not been received before the course begins or if a selected participant is unable to attend the course, the scholarship shall be given to the following person on the list of those who registered.
• If you have already been granted a CITEL scholarship over the past six (6) months or if you are currently a scholarship beneficiary for another CITEL course, you are NOT eligible to apply to the present scholarship.
• The participant must complete a course satisfaction questionnaire that shall be provided at the end of the program

Announcement of the Results

On 22 March 2024 at 12:00 EST, CITEL and the Internet Society will publish the results on their respective websites. We will only contact the persons appearing on the published list.

For further information about this course, please contact Roberto Zambrana ([email protected]) and María Celeste Fuenmayor ([email protected]).