ICT governance in higher education: Case study of the rise and fall of open source in a Gulf university

Abstract

Open source software is a natural fit in higher education as both are based on an ‘open science’ model of knowledge development, and collaborative learning. It also helps bridge the gap between knowledge production and its use whenever academics become involved with open source development contrary to the proprietary model where software is produced within the confines of commercial vendors R&D labs. However in higher education, open source has not broken through the bottom of the software stack where it is confined to fulfilling mostly system computing requirements. At the application and visible level, open source adoption is hampered by a number of factors chief amongst these is the lack of reliable ICT governance structures. The problem is exacerbated in developing country contexts where governance in general is subjected to the power-play between several actors of the higher education scene. The governance conundrum faced by open source adoption in developing countries is illustrated through a detailed case study of an open source project failure at GNU, an American-style university in the Gulf region. The rise and fall of GNU open source project is discussed within a general framework of ICT and open source governance in developing countries higher education sector. Lessons are drawn from the case to recommend a FOSS strategy for development.