This study is based on an initiative within the framework of providing capacity for HE in Ukraine, aiming to investigate the challenges for online higher education in wartime Ukraine from the teachers’ perspective. Initially, four exploratory interviews were conducted at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv which provided the basis for a larger-scale survey reaching 10 universities. According to the survey (220 responses), teachers wanted more education and training in the following areas: 1) Online course design, 2) Improvements in students’ wellbeing and engagement, 3) Communication online and 4) Assessment online. Co-creation and community of practice were identified as potential areas contributing to higher quality of university education in Ukraine. The benefits of the program were significant. Participants reported enhanced competencies in practical task development, student communication, and collaborative opportunities. The project-based approach facilitated a structured exploration of these issues, leading to actionable insights and recommendations for improving online higher education in wartime Ukraine. Co-creation and the establishment of a community of practice were identified as potential strategies for further enhancing the quality of university education in Ukraine. The study underscores the necessity for continuous professional development and collaborative approaches to support educators in these challenging times.

The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has significantly affected Ukraine's higher education system. Students and faculty need to relocate and conduct teaching and learning online and remotely instead of meeting physically at campus. There is substantial infrastructure damage to universities, electricity and facilities in general in the country. Furthermore, the war impacts on students and teachers wellbeing and health. The Swedish Institute funded a capacity building program for university teachers in Ukraine to support: "U-Train - Training to Teach Online in Wartime and After", 2023-2024. Stockholm university and Ivan Franko National University of Lviv were the partners in this program which addressed the digital transformation from campus to online teaching to maintain education continuity in higher education. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a the capacity-building program.

The specific research questions are:

1. How did Ukrainian teachers perceive the ICT capacity-building program?

2. According to Ukrainian teachers, what were the most significant outcomes of the program?

A mixed method approach was used including an online survey, participant observations of online seminars, and document analysis of final reports written by teachers about their Online Course Improvement Activity (OCIA). The survey results demonstrated the program's overall positive adoption with participants acknowledging advancements in teaching practices and professional growth. Notably, the online seminars which covered topics from AI integration in higher education to digital examinations received excellent feedback confirming their usefulness and efficacy in enhancing teaching skills. Challenges such as unreliable Internet connectivity and frequent interruptions because of bomb alarms and adjusting to new teaching methods were identified. The OCIA initiatives included a variety of activities aimed at meeting specific educational needs identified by the teachers themselves in their own courses such as how to assess arabic writing skills on a distance, updating legal education, improving botany courses, ICT in mathematics courses, and so on. In conclusion, the ICT capacity-building program has been effective in improving the overall skills of teachers during the war in Ukraine. The Ukrainian teachers appreciated the capacity program´s contribution in addressing disruptions and problems when conducting courses during challenging times. Despite facing obstacles like unreliable internet access and power cuts the educators valued the program for fostering resilience, professional development, and collaboration, highlighting its significance in enhancing teaching approaches in wartime conditions. The most significant outcomes of the capacity-building program according to the Ukrainian teachers were advancements in technological proficiency (100%), better student engagement (67%), and collaborative opportunities (67%). Furthermore, they learned new teaching methodologies and were inspired to explore topics such as AI integration in education, digital assessment methods, and student well-being concerns indicating a continued focus on technology integration and addressing significant educational obstacles. The participants expressed a strong interest in being being part of an extended and scaled-up version of this program which ends in June 2024.

Cyber security awareness among smartphone users is becoming one of the main challenges of cyber security in both developed and developing countries. This paper focuses on Thailand, a developing country that is ranked among the riskiest countries in the world with regards to cybercrime. Through a survey exploring the knowledge and practices of Thai student smartphone owners, as the young population is the largest user group, we seek to estimate the level of their cyber security awareness about the most common risks. The findings reveal that they are most susceptible to identity theft or data compromise, while they were on the whole found to have a higher level of security awareness than students in other countries. We argue for Thailand’s digital economy to be sustainable, ICT4D projects need to extend their focus to this population of smartphone users to increase security awareness.

The government of Bolivia planned to introduce information technology in secondary education through establishing computer labs in schools and through granting each subject teacher a laptop. This initiative was tested for the first time in 2012 with three public schools in La Paz. Most of the subject teachers have never used a computer before. The Swedish Program for ICT in Developing Regions (SPIDER) supported teachers’ training in basic digital skills. This was not sufficient for the teachers to adopt the technology in their daily practice. Within a follow-up research project a constraints driven model for overcoming the barriers teachers faced was developed and applied. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the whole process of digital inclusion with focus on the design and implementation of this model. Teachers’ adoption of the technology and changes in their skills, attitudes and beliefs were assessed through the analysis of the qualitative data obtained in focus group discussions and observations, as well as through the quantitative data collected through a longitudinal survey. The results show that the adopted model proved to be a successful complement to the government policy. From persons intimidated by the laptops, the subject teachers became confident users of digital technology capable of creating numerous educational units and interactive teaching tools.

Bangladesh is a developing country in Southeast Asia, with more than 160 million people and not enough healthcare facilities to provide services to those in need. The country is struggling to increase the effectiveness and efficiency in healthcare through introducing e-health. This paper compares the development and implementation of e-health preferred generic tools, as defined by the World Health Organization, in the private and public hospitals in Bangladesh. Case study research is used for the study with two comparable hospitals, one private and one public selected as cases. The fieldwork conducted in 2013 made possible to elicit the real status of the e-health tools. The findings were derived from the transcripts of the interviews with the technical and medical personnel at the hospitals. It appears that the private hospitals in Bangladesh are more advanced in building the infrastructure and using e-health tools following the international standards. The market oriented functioning of private hospitals is the driving force for taking actions and behaving pro-actively in the daily use of the technology that is not the case with the public health sector. Lack of funding and capacity, inertia and many governmental norms and regulations are the main obstacles for the public hospital lagging behind in the use of e-health tools.

E-learning has become one of the primary ways of delivering education around the globe. In Somalia, which is a country torn within and from the global community by a prolonged civil war, University of Hargeisa has in collaboration with Dalarna University in Sweden adopted, for the first time, e-learning. This study explores barriers and facilitators to e-learning usage, experienced by students in Somalia’s higher education, using the University of Hargeisa as case study. Interviews were conducted with students to explore how University of Hargeisa’s novice users perceived elearning, and what factors positively and negatively affected their e-learning experiences. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model was used as a framework for interpreting the results. The findings show that, in general, the students have a very positive attitude towards e-learning, and they perceived that e-learning enhanced their educational experience. The communication aspect was found to be especially important for Somali students, as it facilitated a feeling of belonging to the global community of students and scholars and alleviated the war-torn country’s isolation. However, some socio-cultural aspects of students’ communities negatively affected their e-learning experience. This study ends with recommendations based on the empirical findings to promote the use and enhance the experience of e-learning in post conflict Somali educational institutions.

The book is published in the Spider (Swedish Program for ICT in Developing Regions) ICT4D Series. The research reinforces monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of past activities by providing analyses of outcomes and impacts. It refers to seven projects with Swedish partner universities conducted in 2007-2010, looks at their similarities, and offers an alternative way of interpreting the outcomes. The discipline of modeling and simulation is suggested as a complementary or alternative method for monitoring and evaluation of ICT4D projects. System Dynamics model of the project representing all seven projects is created and used as a proof of concept for using modeling and simulation in monitoring and evaluation of ICT4D projects.

The aim of this research is to propose the use of modelling and simulation as an alternative or complementary method for monitoring and evaluation of ICT4D projects. As a proof of concept for this idea, System Dynamics approach in evaluating Spider’s program “ICT Collaboration Projects with Swedish Partner Universities 2005-2009” is presented. The results obtained are compared to those available in the external assessment of the same program, created using qualitative approach. The conclusions drawn in both cases are the same. Hence, this example opens the door for models to enter the area of ICT4D. The advantages in using them for future projects are numerous. They offer clarity and compactness in presenting the results, as well as the opportunities to check outcomes under different scenarios.