The CPUT CRDOT
During the last business meeting in my department, I unfolded the plans to get a software/research group (The CPUT CRDOT) running. Below is the summary of my talk. The CPUT Software House, which is mentioned below, is a group that has been in existence for sometime, but I am hoping that it would ‘absorb’ the CPUT CRDOT.
The CPUT Software House
Introduction
The CPUT Software House is in its premature stage at the moment. Currently referred to as the CPUT Centre for Research and Development in Open Technology (CRDOT), it is made of over 10 students across different levels. It focuses on teaching the students skills required in the industry using Open Technologies. In addition, it collaborates with firms, parastatals and NGOs to provide solutions to their immediate problems. It is currently working with the Material Science Research Group, Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa to port a health application from the Windows Operating System to the Andriod Operating System. The application, on completion, will run on a mobile device, for example an Internet tablet PC, that runs the Andriod OS.
Online Presence
• The CRDOT has a web presence at http://www.ngportal.com/cputcrdot/.
• In addition, it runs an IRC channel #crdot at the Freenode IRC network (irc.freenode.net).
• Its group mail (Google Group) is at http://groups.google.com/group/cputcrdot.
• It is in the process of moving it application servers to a local server (in South Africa) at the IP 196.211.3.108.
Partners
The centre is also closely working with various research groups and communities around the globe, such as the Serval Community, Flinder’s University, Australia; the CDOT, Seneca College, Canada and the VillageTelco, South Africa.
In closing, the centre is working hard to expand in terms of getting more students involved, getting additional servers, which will reside in the school and having a laboratory of its own in the school.