Page 40 - UniZulu Annual Report 2020

and Project Management Plan (IIMP). The Master Project List is confirmation of ready-to-implement projects that are funded, allowing for the development of implementation packages. Refurbishment packages amounted to R184 433 941.20, with New Build amounting to R311 265 525.00. Infrastructure Programme implementation reference groups were set up and engagements are ongoing with the identified individuals following the relaxation of national lockdown regulations.
The ICT Department’s revised organisational structure was approved during the year under review and all key vacant posts were filled. This enabled the department to fully commence with the implementation of the ICT Strategic Plan (2017-2021), which is aimed at the delivery of high-quality IT facilities and services that are aligned with the needs of the University community; IT support structures and services that enable the effective use of IT with clear communication and information and governance and planning arrangements that ensure that IT facilities and services meet needs, are efficient, economical and address legal and regulatory needs.
During the year under review, the ICT Department, in collaboration with the TLC, upgraded the Institution’s version 2.5 of Moodle with four different instances (one for each faculty) to the latest 4.1 version of Moodle (as well as the latest version of PHP and MySQL). All faculty content was migrated from the old instances and redirects placed on their URLs to point to the new instance accommodating
all faculties. This led to the ability to track students’ performance through automated but very scientific learning analytics procedures. A Moodle mobile application was also developed. With the successful conceptualisation, development, and implementation of the above projects, the zero-rating of the University’s learning management system (LMS) could be implemented. The zero-rating has enabled students to access Moodle and engage in teaching and learning without incurring any data costs.
Other enhancements in IT include: The implementation of Phase I of the Higher Degrees Management System (HDMS); online requisition implemented on ITS Finance I-Enabler; installation of a 20-seater MTN-sponsored Student Disability Laboratory; upgrading of the ITS Integrator 4.1; the partitioning of the new Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) Server, which will mitigate some cybersecurity issues on ITS systems and the full implementation of the online residence booking system. In total, more than 50% of the ICT Historically Disadvantaged Institutions (HDI) Grant has been committed to the Infrastructure Management System. Staff capacity development (ICT staff), as well as student training, were conducted on the use of ICT systems. The online registration project has been fully implemented and the Student ITS system has been updated and secured.
The CCTV monitoring system has been reviewed and a plan was developed for the installation of an integrated surveillance system, which went out on tender.
UNIVERSITY OF ZULULAND ANNUAL REPORT 2020
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