high-end switch at the LIXP. The server enables Google services to be available locally, reducing latency for users as international transit is not required. Liberia’s Google Cache Server became operational in in FY 2018. Digital Liberia’s status as an independent party helped the process of convening fiercely competitive ISPs to engage in dialogue for improvement of the sector. SNAPSHOT CONNECTIVITY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LIBERIA Building a 21st century learning environment for Liberia’s higher education institutions. In a survey of 57 University of Liberia students, Digital Liberia found that 82% of students needed to access education or research materials online at least a few times a week. However, 84% of students responded that they never or rarely are able to access campus WiFi. Students frequently have to pay for internet use either at an internet café or by using their own mobile data to access needed materials. “We learned a lot of new things, new things that we can carry with us to our campuses and add value to our work. Most of the [ICT] infrastructure in Liberia is very small, but now we understand how things work, how networks are designed from scratch. With this, we can connect and start to improve our education sector.” Joseph Ofosu Participant from United Methodist University. The Liberian education system is in a state of recovery after decades of civil instability. The enduring impact of two civil wars, compounded by school closures during the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak, exacerbated Liberia’s fragile education system and even weaker information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure. Although information is more accessible than ever before, students and faculty at Liberia’s colleges and universities have limited opportunities to plug into today’s interconnected world. Internet at universities across the country is expensive and inconsistent, hindering the ability of students and faculty to collaborate, access educational resources, and keep up with modern institutions. Digital Liberia is addressing these issues by partnering with the University of Liberia to develop a comprehensive connectivity roadmap to guide the university beyond the life of the Digital Liberia project. The project procured and installed Wi-Fi equipment to enable internet access at the university’s four campuses. This new IT infrastructure serves as the foundation for the University of Liberia to become a founding member of the Liberia Research and Education Network (LRREN). To enhance university ICT staff ability to manage campus networks, Digital Liberia hosted an intensive training course for ICT specialists from local colleges and universities. More than 30 specialists from 11 institutions attended the training, learning technical skills for designing and managing campus internet and intranet. Digital Liberia partnered with the Network Startup Resource Center to bring in ICT experts from Ghana, Uganda, and the United States to lead the event, giving participants a technical deep dive into network configuration, security, monitoring and troubleshooting. After the workshop, instructors visited each campus to provide technical assistance and advice on building a structured campus network With this training, Digital Liberia is helping to build the next generation of Liberia’s ICT network professionals. Participants enhanced their technical skills and developed a local community of practice. Participating colleges and universities now have a team of more self-reliant ICT professionals with the capacity to design and maintain their own campus internet and intranet. By training university staff to support their own networks, universities not only reduce the operating costs of their network, but also ensure network sustainability. Participants were excited to apply their new skills. . Expected Result 7 Improved internet and intranet connectivity at prioritized University of Liberia campuses Poor internet connectivity on the University of Liberia’s four campuses limits the ability of students and the faculty to communicate and connect to educational resources. This also prevents the university from proceeding with plans to develop a research education network (see Expected Result 8), which requires members to have structured networks. In order to improve connectivity, Digital Liberia developed a DIGITAL LIBERIA FINAL REPORT | 21