It is a mandatory requirement for a member of academia to have PhD qualification.
Currently in Sudan the severe brain drain experienced by the country has led to a scarcity of
PhD supervisors particularly in fields such as computer science and information
technology. This leaves the other option of studying abroad. However, the cost of education
abroad is unaffordable for the vast majority of the young college lecturers. Women find it
more difficult due to their family commitments as some are married and have young
children. Thus, many college lecturers stay in lower academic ranks for extended periods of
time [1].
This paper describes a novel programme which employs Information and
Communication Technologies (ICTs) to enable students to pursue their studies and to have
their research supervised by knowledgeable and experienced professors from renowned
universities worldwide. PhD students can attend lectures, receive supervision, present
seminars, lead discussions and interventions using their personal computers or laptops at
their homes or offices in their home towns. They only need to come to the University at the
end of the semester to take their exams face to face, meet their supervisors and give
presentations or progress seminars.