Organization of American States Department of<br />Human Development
The ABC of Telecommunications

NOTE TO ALL APPLICANTS TO OAS SCHOLARSHIPS

PLEASE READ BEFORE STARTING

The application must be completed in its entirety before exiting the site or submitting the form. The information you enter can be saved as you are working on it during this session. However, information cannot be saved for another session before the application is submitted. We strongly suggest that you print a blank application form prepare the narrative information in a separate Word document which you can copy and paste into the on-line application form, and fill out the other data by hand on the application form before you begin to fill out the form on line. Once you access and open the form, it can remain open (without exiting or submitting it) indefinitely, so you will have time to fillout the form and check your information before submitting it. No changes will be permitted after you submit the form.

This application must be completed on-line.

 

The General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (GS/OAS) through the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) and Neotelis are offering partial tuition scholarships1 to qualified candidates of the Americas to further their education through the course:

The ABC of Telecommunications

                                                            OAS/DHDEC/CIR.086/2013

About the Organization of American States (OAS), CITEL and Neotelis

 

The General Secretariat of the Organization of American States

 

GS/OAS is the central and permanent organ of the Organization of American States (OAS). Through its Department of Human Development, Education and Culture (DHDEC),GS/OAS supports OAS member states in creating policies and executing programs that promote human capacity development at all educational levels. By enabling formative opportunities to citizens, DHDEC strengthens democratic values and security under the framework of regional integration. DHDEC does this: (i) by supporting the efforts of OAS member states to improve the quality of and equity in education while enhancing and highlighting the contribution of their diverse cultures to economic, social, and human development; and (ii) by assisting the citizens of the Americas in realizing their full potential by giving them access to knowledge and skills through training that improves the standard of living for individuals, families and communities in the region.

 

The Inter-American Telecommunication Commission of the OAS (CITEL)

 

CITEL is a high-level specialized advisory body of the Organization of American States (OAS), leader in the region in all aspects involving telecommunications and information and communications technologies (ICTs), representing to the world the aspirations and cultural diversity of different regional players, with the aim of achieving the region’s full integration into the Information and Knowledge-based Society.

 

The purpose of CITEL is to facilitate and promote the integral and sustainable development of telecommunications/ICTs in the Americas based on the principles of universality, solidarity, transparency, equity, reciprocity, nondiscrimination, technological neutrality, and resource optimization, taking account of the environment and sustainable human development to benefit society in every country of the region.


 

About Neotelis

 

Neotelis assists telecommunications organizations and telecom users worldwide to face the challenges of the global competitive environment by providing training, consulting and information-based services such as conferences and publications on various topics related to telecommunications.

 

Since 1997, Neotelis' team of senior experts has performed consulting and training mandates for operators, regulators, policy-makers and governments in over 120 countries around the world. This extensive international experience allows Neotelis to meet the requirements of a wide range of consulting and training assignments and demonstrates our ability to adapt to highly diverse telecom environments.

 

Neotelis delivers a unique training experience to telecom specialists and managers in companies of all types of industries, including finance, media, manufacturing, retail, technology and transportation.

 

Neotelis can add significant value by bringing neutral, unbiased expertise and contribute substantially to the success of your organization.

 

I.     ABOUT THE PROGRAM

1.  Modality of the course:                              Online

 

2.  Start and end dates of the course:         1 October 2013 to 1 December, 2013

 

3.  Course duration:                                         Self-paced online course expected to take 20-30 hours of online study.

 

4.  Language of instruction:                           English

 

5. Coordinator of the course: 

Mrs. Hélène Duran, e-mail:  [email protected]

 

6. Course Objectives: 

 

§         Present an integrated view of the telecommunications industry and its ecosystem

§         Provide the key fundamental concepts of telecommunications networks and technologies

§         Decode the language of telecommunications

§         Review key current issues and trends in telecommunications and look to what the future holds in this exciting and rapidly-changing industry

 

7.   Course Content: 

 

§         Module 1: Evolution of telecommunications technologies

 

§         Module 2: “Voice is king - Developing the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)

-         Associated technical concepts

·         Transmission

·         Switching

·         Numbering

·         Signalling

·         Dedicated lines

·         CPE

·         Analog vs. Digital

 

§         Module 3: “The rise of data” - Developing the Public Switched Data Network (PSDN)

-         Associated technical concepts

·         X.25/X.75

·         Frame relay (FR)

·         Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)

 

§         Module 4: “Wireless gives wings for mobility” - Developing the Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN)

-         Associated technical concepts

·         Antennas and towers

·         2G, 3G, 4G mobile and beyond

·         Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPAN)

·         Roaming

 

§         Module 5: “The revolution” - TCP/IP and the Internet

-         Associated technical concepts

·         OSI & TCP/IP models

·         Addressing

·         Special services supporting IP

 

§         Module 6: “A new world – Convergence” - Developing the NGN (part 1)

-         VoIP

-         Signalling

-         Numbering/addressing

-         Quality of Service (QoS)

-         Security

-         IP internetworking

 

§         Module 7: “A new world – Convergence” - Developing the NGN (part 2)

-         Broadband – The new king on the block”

-         Convergence – “All services on one network”

-         Devices

-         Innovative services and application

·         Triple and quadruple plays

·         Mobile content services

·         Television

·         Other services

 

§         Module 8: Industry structure – Key participants

-         Policy-making, regulation and operation

-         Governments and regulators

-         Operators and service providers

-         Other participants

·         Equipment manufacturers

·         Businesses and consumers

·         Telecommunication standards organizations

 

§         Module 9: Industry outlook

-         Current hot issues

-         Major drivers

-         Global market evolution and trends

-         Challenges, impacts and opportunities in the telecommunications industry

-         The future of telecommunications

 

II.         ABOUT THE SCHOLARSHIP

1.       BENEFITS:OAS/CITEL will pay US$ 200.00, Neotelis will pay US$ 200.00 and the Scholarship recipient will pay US$ 200.OO.  The
registration fee to the course for scholarship recipients will be of US$ 600.00

 

2.       ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

 

·         Be a citizen or permanent resident of an OAS Member State  (Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba[1], Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, México, Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Perú, República Dominicana, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and The Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago,  United States of America, Uruguay, and Venezuela).  With the exception of Canada since NEOTELIS is a Canadian institution.

·   Participant profile: At least two (2) years of telecommunication/ICT experience working for an operator or a regulator.

 

Participants should have at least Bachelors degree in Administration, Commerce, Economics, Engineering, Law or Science.

 

·   To be considered for admission, scores must be submitted from either the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the academic International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Exceptions may be made for applicants who hold a degree from a university located in a country in which English is the official language and also the language of instruction at the university. The minimum scores for admission consideration are:

·   Academic IELTS: an overall band score of 6.0 with no individual score below 5.0

·   TOEFL: 550 on paper-based or 80 on Internet-based test

 

 

3.       SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION RESTRICTIONS:

 

If you were awarded an OAS Professional Development Scholarship in the past twelve (12) months or if you currently hold an OAS Scholarship for Academic Studies, you are NOT eligible to apply for another Professional Development Scholarship.

 

Also, Staff members of the General Secretariat, persons under performance contracts with the General Secretariat, staff members of the permanent missions to the OAS, and their relatives are not eligible for OAS academic scholarships. 

 

4.       SUBMISSION OF SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION:

 

Required documents:

·         Completed OAS Scholarship Application Form, please selected the course: http://www.oas.org/en/scholarships/professionaldev.asp

1.       After having read the course information thoroughly, click “Continue/Continuar” at the end of the page.

2.       Complete application form.

3.       After completing application form click “Send/Enviar” at the end of the page 5.

4.       A copy of the application form will be sent automatically to your e-mail account.

5.       Print and sign application form e-mailed to your account.

6.       Submit signed form and

·      Copy of the transcript of the latest degree obtained

·      Updated resume

·      One letter of recommendation of current or most recent employer

To the National Liaison Office (ONE) http://www.oas.org/es/becas/programaregular/one.asp  in your country.

 

5.         SCHOLARSHIP SELECTION CRITERIA:  Scholarships shall be granted based on the following criteria:
The merits and overall credentials of the candidate, including his/her academic and professional background, and
An extensive and equitable geographic distribution for the benefit of all member states that takes into account the greater needs of the smaller and relatively less developed economies.

 

6.         RESPONSIBILITIES OF SCHOLARSHIPS RECIPIENTS:

 

All Scholarship Recipients must:

 

·         Confirm their acceptance of the scholarship award by signing and returning to OAS DHDEC their completed form: “Acceptance of the Scholarship Award”.

·         Inform the OAS Department of Human Development, Education and Culture at least one week before the program start date in the event he/she is unable to begin the program of study so that the scholarship may be offered to the next ranked candidate.

·         If after accepting the scholarship, the scholarship recipient for whatever reason cannot attend the course, he or she must immediately notify the Department of Human Development, Education, and Culture of the OAS.

 

Any questions regarding submission of applications for this course should be sent to: [email protected]



[1] On June 3, 2009, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Americas adopted resolution AG/RES. 2438 (XXXIX-O/09), which resolves that the 1962 Resolution that excluded the Government of Cuba from its participation in the inter-American system, ceases to have effect in the Organization of American States (OAS). The 2009 resolution states that the participation of the Republic of Cuba in the OAS will be the result of a process of dialogue initiated at the request of the Government of Cuba, and in accordance with the practices, purposes, and principles of the OAS.

 

If you are ready to fill out the application form from beginning to end,
please click the "Continue" button below.