Integrating environmental issues in IT education in Tanzania

Abstract

Tanzania is undergoing an unprecedented boom of IT industries. But awareness of environmental issues connected with ICT is almost nonexistent in Tanzania. ICT development without an eye on environmental protection is not sustainable. As of 2009 Tumaini University's B.Sc. program in IT has included a Green Computing course as an obligatory part of IT studies. That course aims at raising students' awareness of environmental issues caused by IT, at giving them knowledge about laws and regulations concerning the issue, and at equipping them with tools and knowledge for making informed choices concerning IT installations. In this paper we analyze Tanzania's educational needs concerning Green Computing and present Tumaini's Green Computing course.