openEyA Gran Winners 2011 Announced!

SDU, Trieste May 26, 2011

ICTP’s Science Dissemination Unit (SDU) congratulates the winners of its 2011 Grant programme “International e-Learning Grant using openEyA“. The Grant aims to support the automated production of on-line scientific content (via “webinars”) and e-learning and distance education (via “web lectures”).

This grant is meant to contribute to capacity building and development by implementing academic webcasting using openEyA. The grantees have agreed to publish recorded lectures on the web and distribute them freely in digital form for educational purposes.

The five Winners, selected by the SDU Team, will receive all USB essentials for implementing a set of the openEyA automated recording system (worth about 200 Euros in hardware each), including USB High-Definition Webcams and omni-directional microphones.

The five grantees selected for 2011 are:

• Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Fisica, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogota, Colombia, http://www.unal.edu.co
• Institute of Cybernetics, Mathematics & Physics (ICIMAF), Habana, Cuba, http://www.icmf.inf.cu/
• The Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Informatics, Mongolia, http://www.mas.ac.mn/en/
• School of Physics and Technology, V.N.Karazin Kharkiv National University, Ukraine, http://www-htuni.univer.kharkov.ua
• Vietnam Auger Training Laboratory (VATLY), Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology(INST), Vietnam, http://www.inst.gov.vn/Vatly/Vatly.htm

Congratulations to the openEyA Winners and our sincere thanks goes also to all Grant submissions received!  We shall start to deliver all USB essentials by Courier to the above Winners Institutions at the earliest.

The SDU Team

openEyA Grant

The Science Dissemination Unit (SDU) of the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy,  is also offering in 2011 an academic webcasting grant to have an “off-the-shelf” solution for on-line Learning. The aim is to help non-profit institutions from countries that are members of the United Nations, UNESCO or IAEA to implement the automated production of on-line scientific content (via, e.g., webinars) and e-Learning and Distance Education (via, e.g., webcasting of  lectures). Last year Grant winners can be seen here.

Year 2011

This year SDU grant provides all USB essentials for implementing a set of the openEyA automated recording system (worth about 200 Euros in hardware), including

• 1 USB Webcam-HD (Linux compatible, UVC Driver; e.g., Logitech High-Definition Webcam C510 of 8Mpx, or C910 of 10 Mpx) to be used for the taking of synchronized Slides.
• 1 USB microphone (omni-directional, e.g, Samson Mic).
• a second USB Webcam (Linux compatible, UVC Driver, lower resolution 2Mpx or so) to be used for the Lectures Video.

The 2011 openEyA Grant may be awarded to up to four different organizations.

Grant Eligibility

Eligible organizations must be not-for-profit, based in a developing country, and aiming to contribute more efficiently to capacity building and scientific development. The grant will not be given to an individual. Grant recipients must agree i) to start academic webcasting at their institutes using openEyA as soon as possible coordinating the necessary permissions from Lecturers;  ii) to publish recorded lectures freely on the web and distribute them in digital form for educational purposes only.

Grantee Requirements

All eligible entries will be judged by SDU based on a balance of the following criteria, which must be addressed in the application letter (see “How to Apply”):

• access to the Internet with a reasonable bandwidth (demonstrated via an existing website or network speed measurements);
• a dedicated web server with enough disk space to make available the organization’s own digital lectures (please provide a web address or URL in the application letter).

In addition, grant recipients will be required to send a progress report to SDU on the implementation of their academic webcasting activities. They also must agree to upgrade their openEyA software as soon as updates are available.

How to Apply?

Application for the SDU grant is free. To apply, an organization’s official representative must send a signed letter containing the information below, and addressing the grantee requirements mentioned above. The entry must be written in English to qualify. All information collected will be treated as confidential. The decisions by the SDU will be final and binding.

Original entries should  send a PDF letter by e-mail to: <sdu@ictp.it> indicating

• Organization name
• Organization full address
• Organization website
• Contact name, phone, e-mail
• General purpose of the Organization
• Name, e-mail person responsible for technical issues

Furthermore, the e-mail should also include

• A snapshot (screen grab or photo JPG) of your PC screen (e.g., any “32 Bits” Desktop, Laptop, Netbook …) with Linux Ubuntu 10.10 installed and showing that the latest openEyA software is also already installed! All this install process takes little time and is cost free.
  

NOTE: download openEyA from www.openeya.org

Deadline

Applications must be received by Tuesday 17 May 2011. Finalists (up to four) will be notified via e-mail soon after the deadline and the grant equipment will be delivered to your place thereafter.

In all terms, SDU is not responsible for technical failures of any kind, including but not limited to the malfunctioning of any computer, cable, hardware, or software delivered. Any taxes on grants or prizes are the sole responsibility of the winning organizations. The Grant is not transferable to a person or any other organization.

ABOUT openEyA

openEyA allows to archive (in Flash format) and share (via web, zip) traditional scientific lectures and talks carried out using, for example, chalkboards in classrooms and/or using modern presentations (PPT, PDF, animations, etc). All of this is done using a low-cost Netbook and with just one click!

The EyA system has these main features (see examples):

• no human intervention during recording and post-processing;
• scalable architecture;
• no special requirements for the speaker or lecturer;
• Slides/ images taken from screen captures or any USB Linux compatible webcam (e.g., webcam-HD of 10 Mpx or even a webcam of 2 Mpx)
• low-cost ownership and implementation and fully automated;
• low-bandwidth friendly features (recording saved as zip files).

For More Information

To find out more about this SDU “International e-Learning Grant using “openEyA: Automated Lecture Capture System” send us an e-mail to: <sdu@ictp.it>