Alfredo Terzoli

Alfredo Terzoli is currently a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Zululand and Emeritus Professor at Rhodes University in South Africa.

His main research interest has now become the application of ICT to help development in marginalized areas of South Africa and Africa. In this endeavor he has been the catalyst of a long term, large ICT for Development venture between the University of Fort Hare and Rhodes University, known as the Siyakhula Living Lab (siyakhulaLL.org). The main focus of this venture was to find a sustainable manner to bring marginalized rural communities within the knowledge economy. The venture built a large network of relationships among academia, government, private sector and user communities, all interested in social and economic development to everybody advantage, both in South Africa and abroad.

A more technical research interest in networks architectures and the building of advanced telecommunication services is naturally supporting his work in ICT for Development. And so is his attempt to increase the number of practitioners in the ICT field that come from marginalized sections of the South African society and so directly aware of local impediments and possibly more inclined to help overcome them.