At the African University of Science and Technology (AUST) lectures and labs take place in Mandela Hall, where our lecture halls are located, as well as in AIMS Hall, which houses our three computer labs and the Science Library. We have installed blackboards and whiteboards in all classrooms.

Each classroom is equipped with a state-of-the-art ceiling-mounted beamer, which, connected to a professor's computer serves as a technological aid in the demonstration and visualization of the course material to students. In this way, the professor is able to project the screen of the computer to the wall, and present the day's lecture to the students in a manner, which enhances the learning experience, by fostering stronger and more direct interactivity between professor, curriculum and student.

Each student has been provided with a laptop that comes equipped with Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron Linux. Ubuntu is our university's operating system of choice, and it has been installed on all student laptops and all computers in the labs.

The three computer labs of AUST are equipped as follows:

Two Computer Labs, each with 21 workstations (Ubuntu 8.04). Both these labs have Mimio installed on the professor's Workstation. Mimio is an interactive whiteboard software, that can be used for live computer-based demonstrations of scientific experiments and procedures.

On all the workstations of the computer labs we have installed a wide variety of up to date educational and academic software packages, e.g. Matlab and Eclipse, Octave and Icarus Verilog, to name just a few.

Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS)

The African University of Science and Technology (AUST) strives to become a beacon of research and technological advancement in Africa. It is here the jumping-off point for Africa's mission into the high-tech age is located. The university motto Knowledge is freedom is not just a fancy slogan. Freedom of knowledge is the foundation of our technological philosophy here at AUST. We have adopted the Linux distribution Ubuntu as the platform of choice for our IT infrastructure.

The Free and Open-Source spirit is one that AUST has subscribed to with a passion borne of the conviction, that in order for Africa's students to contribute to the global advancement of mankind in spheres of high-technology, state-of-the-art engineering and groundbreaking sciences, our students must have at their disposal the best tools for the best possible solutions. Research and development will have to be the backbone of any advancement Africans hope to achieve. At first glance, research and development matching what obtains in industrialized parts of the world would be but a mere pipedream for an African university, given the socio-economic developmental status of most African nations. So, how then are we to produce the next Einstein from Africa?

Undaunted by these prospects, AUST has recognized the fantastic opportunity presenting itself in the form of Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS). Linux, the most famous FOSS in the world today, is an operating system that surpasses other operating systems in all aspects, especially security, stability, scalabilty, support and productivity. Most Linux operating systems (better known as distributions or distros) come with a vast and highly skilled community of professionals, experts and enthusiasts that provide free support and assistance to whoever seeks and asks. All the OS source-code is open, and the first benefit that comes to mind is: the distro can be adapted to meet the needs of any given research department or development group. Something that is not exactly common-place or even easily implementable with a proprietary and closed-source operating systems.

Ubuntu is the Linux distro used in our two computer labs. As there are equivalent and mostly superior open-source Linux-compatible alternatives to the prohibitively expensive proprietary softwares, our academic software packages here at the AUST computer labs are cutting-edge. An example: for numerical computation, AUST students utilize Scilab and Octave, and our professors view these as the preferred options, rather than the non-free MatLab (which is also available).

Instead of paying for expensive software that is widely known to be unstable, insecure, virus-prone and unflexible, AUST took the bold and visionary step of implementing a fully Free and Open-Source solution for the IT infrastructure. Our servers and the computer lab desktops all run Ubuntu, an enterprise-level operating system that is completely free of charge. Add to this, the myriad of high-powered free and open-source academic software packages we have installed for our students.

In order for Africa's universities to meaningfully contribute to this continent's advancement, they should favour the most sensible , most qualitative and economically viable path: Linux, the operating system used by computer science, engineering and science departments at universities worldwide. Free and Open-Source Software for the enlightenment and nuturing of the young minds that are to shape our future in this world. Tomorrow's Einsteins.