Summer Heats up at USTTI
June 22, 2004

First Trimester Update

As the USTTI begins its second trimester, we have already received 9,309 applications, exceeding the total of 7,624 applications processed for all of 2003! Thus far this training year, 94 women and men representing 48 countries have graduated from USTTI training programs. The staff is currently working with sponsors on our second trimester courses and will soon begin working with third trimester sponsors to identify potential participants. Therefore, we encourage anyone interested in our third trimester programs to apply as soon as possible.


Montana Course Graduation

USTTI Curriculum Coordinator Brian McCloskey recently traveled to Bozeman, Montana to attend the graduation ceremony for course M4-117, “Wireless Technologies: Advantages and Concepts,” sponsored by QUALCOMM Incorporated. During this weeklong course held at the Burns Telecommunications Center on the campus of Montana State University, participants were briefed on the latest wireless technologies while experiencing rural America. QUALCOMM joined the USTTI Board the beginning of 2004 and will offer a total of four courses in the 2004 training year.


OAS/CITEL Fellowships Awarded

Four broadcasting officials from Barbados, Dominica, Jamaica, and Suriname recently participated in Voice of America’s first course of 2004, “New Technologies in Broadcasting.” These four scholars were awarded fellowships under a recent agreement between USTTI and the Organization of American States/Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (OAS/CITEL), intended to increase training opportunities for exceptional communications officials from Latin America and the Caribbean. Congratulations to the fellows on their selection, and the USTTI looks forward to extending its training outreach to America’s southern neighbors!


Alumni Update

Congratulations to Mr. Kwame Duodu of the Ghana Telecommunications Company, Ltd., who was recently promoted to Chief Manager of his company’s IT Branch. Kwame is a 2003 USTTI graduate of courses M3-321, “Internet Service Provider Design Seminar & Backbone Routing Protocol Workshop,” and M3-223, “Network Security Workshop,” sponsored by Cisco Systems, Inc.; and M3-216, “Internet Regulatory and Trade Policy,” sponsored by Nortel Networks. Special thanks to the exceptional trainers at Cisco Systems, Inc. and Nortel Networks who made these courses possible, and best wishes to Kwame and Ghana Telecom for their continued professional advancement.


Site Visit to Black Entertainment Television (BET)

On May 20, five USTTI scholars from The Gambia, Ghana, India, Kenya, and Zambia participated in course M4-130, “Introduction to the African-American Cable Television and Entertainment Industry,” offered at BET’s headquarters in Washington, DC. The participants engaged in high-level discussions with BET executives on the current state of television programming in the United States and new developments in the industry, followed by a tour of BET’s studios and national control center. This visit reinforced the participants’ intensive two-week training session at WHUT-TV, Howard University Public Television.


Summer Research for USTTI Interns

Throughout the year and especially during the busy summer training months, the USTTI relies upon several interns from Washington, DC-area universities to assist in the vital daily operations of the USTTI. The interns also assist by providing the USTTI staff with extensive briefing materials on the countries of USTTI participants. On July 20, Jorge Arriaza, Lacy Smith, Elizabeth Wellford, and Jacqueline Wolfert each will present a detailed report on the history, government, and communications infrastructure of Nicaragua, Armenia, Cambodia, and Madagascar, respectively. We look forward to their informative reports on these countries and to additional reports throughout the summer on telecom-IT developments around the world!