Video Technology opens the college of agriculture to the outside world

Baghdad - October 2010

PRT and College of Agriculture staff members smile after the job’s complete

Tim Malis checks the signal once the equipment’s installed

Baghdad//   Baghdad University's College of Agriculture is moving quickly into the 21^st century, thanks in part to Provincial Reconstruction Team - Baghdad.  The College recently received new equipment that will allow students, professors and administrators to hold meetings with colleagues around the world, using video teleconferencing technology. 

The equipment is just one part of a comprehensive PRT effort to support the College in its mission to provide training and instruction to its students and to the farmers of Abu Ghraib. 

For nearly two years, the PRT has worked on many projects to help revitalize the College, including new equipment, training, and a renovated conference center.  This week, PRT team members helped install the video equipment that will allow the conference center to host its first teleconference.

 "Video telecommunication is a great opportunity for the college to reconnect nationally and internationally," said Christine Scheckler, a USAID representative at the PRT who has helped drive this effort forward. "Through this technology, the college will be able to reach out to new partners to share research and technological advances. Where doors have been closed for a long time, they can now be opened and easily accessible."

 The equipment will help reverse decades of isolation for College faculty members from the outside world.  Professors and students will be able to communicate with their colleagues around the world, opening new opportunities for personal and academic exchanges.

 "Dean Hamza quote here"

 Through its partnership with the College, the PRT will continue to work to support the revitalization of the agricultural sector in