Words: Effah Amponsah
The West and Central African Research and Education Network (WACREN) is offering its members a licensed use on its Zoom service until the end of 2020 to support their need for online collaboration tools.
Zoom helps universities and schools to improve student outcomes with secure video communication services for hybrid classrooms, administrative meetings, and more. Licensed education plans remove the 40-minute time limit experienced with free accounts and support up to 300 meeting participants.
WACREN intends to assist member NRENs in supporting lecturers and researchers and address the challenges they face moving their courses and training sessions online. The offer would support decision-makers (VCs, DVCs, Rectors, Provosts, Directors of Research, etc.) faced with increased communication demands, as they work towards resolving the crisis currently faced by higher education in the region.
How to Participate
- NRENs that have members with existing Identity Providers (IdP) that are part of the WACREN eduID federated identity management service can enrol such users themselves.
- WACREN will enrol members from NRENs that do not have IdPs in an IdPs dedicated to the promotion. In this case, the NREN administrators will need to provide information about their users in a spreadsheet. A template will be made available.
- WACREN members are required to send an expression of interest designating an administrative and technical contact to zoompromo@wacren.net
All NRENs in the WACREN region are encouraged to deploy Identity Providers for their members as soon as possible. Aside from providing single sign-on and helping to secure the identities of their users, it eases the process of enrolment for the promotion and accessing other WACREN federated services. Please contact noc@wacren.net for this.
Terms and Conditions
- The offer is limited to a maximum of 300 licensesper member, with members participating in AC2/AC3 being eligible to request up to 1,000 licenses.
- Members with Identity Providers are eligible for additional licenses. WACREN will consider applications on a case by case basis with Learning Management System (LMS) integration applications receiving priority.
- The promotion will last until December 31, 2020.
- After the promotion period, this service will be provided at a fee, but with a very attractive pricing that will be communicated latest in November 2020.
WACREN is acquiring additional equipment to extend the on-premise service delivered from its Points of Presence (PoPs) in the region. This service is currently available in Nigeria as part of the WACREN Cloud and soon to be established in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali and Togo.
