Abstract:
Use of grid computing as a distributed computing
paradigm for collaborative research in universities cannot be
over emphasized. It is a technology which provides a platform on
which computing resources from heterogeneous systems are
brought together as needed by the users. Collaborating
researchers who require huge computing resources can use this
technology to do their work. A number of universities are in the
process of adopting this technology however appropriate model
to make the process easily achievable in developing countries’
context is lacking. This study focused on developing grid
computing adoption model for collaborative research in
Universities in developing countries. The study had four
objectives; to find out how universities that participated in
UNESCO-HP brain gain and HP Catalyst initiatives engaged in
collaborative research, to determine the extent of grid adoption
in the selected universities, to evaluate critical success factors for
adoptability of grid computing, and, to develop grid adoptability
model for collaborative research. The study based on positivist
philosophy adopted mixed methodology and survey design. The
population targeted was the universities and research institution
mainly in developing countries. The researcher used East Africa
as a cluster zone and identified four Universities that
participated in UNESCO-HP initiatives as a sample; University
of Nairobi (UoN) and Masinde Muliro University of Science and
Technology (MMUST) in Kenya, Makerere University (MU) and
Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) in
Uganda. The instruments used were structured questionnaires
and interview guides. In this paper, we present results of the first
two objectives of the study.
