Directorate of ICT

The Mandate of the Directorate of Information and Communication Technology is to harness and mainstream information and communication technologies into all the operational and management functions of the University and ensure that new developments in ICT are embraced and used to promote the vision and mission of the University.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) services at MUHAS have for a long time existed in the Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics to provide technical assistance in data processing. In July 1998 the then Muhimbili University College of Health Sciences (MUCHS) benefited from the voluntary service of an Irish computer software engineer. It was around this time that the University established a Local Area Network (LAN) connecting 186 computers and providing full e-mail and Internet services through a wireless link with the Main Campus of the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) that was funded through a Sida-SAREC support.Subsequently funds were acquired to purchase a Satellite link (VSAT) from AFSAT through which a dedicated bandwidth of 256/512kbps up and down links respectively was obtained to cater for both email and internet services.

Further improvement of the LAN in the Muhimbili campus was made possible in 1999 through a Sida-SAREC support which made it possible to connect most of the buildings in the Muhimbili campus using an optic fibre system. The optic fibre network terminates at a single point in each building and, from here; distribution to other rooms is by a UTP cables network. In September 2003, the second phase started whereby the University of Dar es Salaam Computing Center was awarded a tender to install a structured Local Area Network (LAN) in Administration Block, School of Pharmacy, School of Dentistry, and Institute of Traditional Medicine, Institute of Public Health and Community Health Building. The original server room was located in the Old physiology block in a small and congested space for the number of servers and routers available at that time. A case was made to find a more spacious location and a room on the ground floor of the administration block was identified as the new server room. This room was prepared to be server room and appropriate installation was done but before servers could be moved to this room a brighter idea to relocate the server room to the top of the MPL building was suggested. After agreeing on this idea, the spacious room which used to be shelter for storage water tanks was partitioned to provide three rooms for servers, system administrators and hardware workshop.