Center for Information and Communication Technology for Development
ICT for Empowerment and Development
Our Team Members;
Mr. Prashant Manandhar, Member.
Mr. Manandhar has been working in the IT field since September 1997 as a System and Network/ Administrator/IT Professional in various organization from Non-Profit Organizations to UN agencies UNESCO, College to Universities, IT companies to Network Operation Centers, Publications to Health Care Institutions. Mr. Manandhar moved to San Francisco Bay Area in 2009 and permanent residence of USA, working as IT Professional in San Francisco Bay Area California. He has done Master of Science in Computer Engineering, CCNA Certified, MCSA certified and attended numerous ICT related training, Seminars and Conference in addition to he was a certified Cisco Academic Instructor for Nepal. Mr. Manandhar played a lead role to build Nepal’s National Research and Education (NREN) Network in 2007, in which he was a key founder and Board of Director as well.
Mr. Shakil Shrestha, Member.
Mr. Shrestha is the Director of Computer Laboratory at Lincoln University Oakland, California. Mr. Shrestha oversees and supervises operations of the Computer Lab and IT system. This includes ensuring compliance with FERPA/HIPAA; and federal, state, and accrediting agencies. Mr. Shrestha spent 10 plus years at Lincoln University, where he served in various technical positions for Computer Lab, with his most recent position as Director of Computer Laboratory. He was previously Database Admin at Lincoln University. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree in Management Information System, with a Bachelor in Information Management.
Ms. Sikchya Upadhayay, Member.
Ms. Upadhayay is currently a federal contractor (Syneren Technologies) for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at Silver Spring, MD. She works as a ‘Technical Specialist’ for air quality program. She has two M.S. degrees in Atmospheric Sciences and Hydro-Meteorology. She has more than a decade of experience working on research on environmental issues. She also has experience working with the non-governmental organizations in Nepal, working closely within the local communities and outreach.
Mr. Surendra Rajbanshi, Member.
Mr. Rajbanshi has 20 plus years of experience in Information technology field. He has completed Master of Science in Computer Engineering from Lvov Polytechnic University, Ukraine and also completed Cisco, Microsoft and CompTIA certifications. He served in various organization in the capacity of System and Network Administrator. Starting February 2014, Mr. Rajbanshi has been working as Senior Windows System Administrator at State of Arkansas, Department of Finance and Administration.
Mr. Umesh Manandhar, Member.
Mr Manandhar is the entrepreneur since he graduated Master of Business Administration degree in Management Information System from Lincoln University Oakland California in 2009. He has a tremendous experience on business administration and ICT applications since 2006.
Nepal Executive Team;
Mr. Pavan Singh Shakya
Mr. Avhimanyu Pandey
Advisors
Prof. Kilnam Chon,
Professor Chon contributed to the Internet’s growth in Asia through his extensive work in advancing Internet initiatives, research, and development. He developed the first Internet in Asia, called SDN in 1982, and his pioneering work inspired many others to promote the Internet’s further growth in the region. Chon has worked on networking systems, including the Internet, since the early 1980s. He founded and is the current chair of various regional Internet organizations such as Asia Pacific Networking Group (APNG), Asia Pacific Advanced Network (APAN), and Asia Pacific Top Level Domain Name Forum (APTLD). He is also the co-chair of the Coordination Committee of Intercontinental Research Networking (CCIRN).
Professor Chon received a PhD degree in computer science from University of California, Los Angeles in 1974, and a BS degree in engineering science from Osaka University. He joined the Korea Institute of Electronics Technology in 1979 to work on computer system development, and moved to Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in 1982 as a professor in the Computer Science Department. A research university located in Daejeon, South Korea, KAIST is the nation's leading science and technology institution and is considered the MIT of South Korea. He continues to teach at KAIST, as well at Keio University, Japan's very first private institution of higher learning. Chon established a company named Networking, Inc. in 2000, which helps establish technology incubators.
Dr. Mahabir Pun,
Currently Dr Pun is evolving National Innovation Center (NIC) of Nepal and main founder leader of NIC; more about Dr Pun. Mahabir Pun first dreamed of connecting his village of Nangi to the internet in 1997, and has been working ever since to bring the internet to rural Nepal. Mahabir was born in Nangi, and completed his primary education there. After working as a teacher for several years, he completed a master's degree in education at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Mahabir has constructed computer labs at several schools in the area and planned out the entire Nepal Wireless network. He plans to to continue to expand access in the future. a. Mahabir Pun was elected Ashoka Fellow (http://www.ashoka.org/node/2754) in 2002 by Ashoka Foundation, USA, which is the global association of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs. The foundation recognizes people from around the globe, who have "innovative solutions to social problems and the potential to change patterns across society". b. Mahabir Pun, was given Overall Social Innovations Award for 2004 (http://www.globalideasbank.org/site/news/index.php?articleId=116) by the Global Ideas Bank (aka the Institute for Social Inventions) based in UK. c. The Ramon Magsaysay Foundation of the Philipinnes awarded our Team Leader, Mahabir Pun Ramon Magsaysay Award 2007 for Community Leadership (http://www.rmaf.org.ph/Awardees/Citation/CitationPunMah.htm). Mahabir Pun and the Nepal Wireless Team thanks everyone who has helped us get this recognition. d. University of Nebraska, USA invited Mahabir Pun for winter commencement speech and awarded Honorary Degree, Doctor of Humane Letters in December 2007 for his outstanding work for his country, Nepal. Mahabir wish to thank all volunteers involved with him, as the recognitions he got are for all of them as well. He is working on the fourth phase of the project in 2008 with his team.
Rajesh Lamichane,
Mr Lamichhane is an IT professional with 16 years of experience in the IT field. He has worked as System and Network Administrator, Sharepoint Support Specialist, System Engineer for IPTV in various UN agencies, Financial Institutes and ISPs. For the last 5 years Rajesh has worked with CISCO as the IPTV Systems Engineer in Canada. Rajesh has a Masters in Electronic Engineering from Moscow Power Engineering Institute. He holds various certifications like MCP and MCTS. When working as a consultant to Rastriya Banijya Bank in Nepal, Rajesh was the lead in designing and implementing the banking network for more than 100 branches throughout Nepal. Rajesh was also the lead IT professional to set up the entire IT infrastructure and Network for UNDP Regional Center in Colombo, Shrilanka.
Mr Kristian Frikke-Schmidt,
Mr. Shmidt is a Test specialist with 15 years’ experience within software test. Mr Frikke-Schmidt has a broad knowledge of software testing and in particular performance test of web applications and web services on various platforms.
He has experience with creating and evaluating the application requirements, assisting in the selection of test cases; create test scripts, execution of functional as well as non-functional test and based on that evaluate the solution. He has done numerous tests in areas related to computer networks, container and shipping industry, banking and automotive. He is through that used to an international and multicultural environment with stakeholders placed around the world.
Mr Frikke-Schmidt originates from Denmark; He has lived in The San Francisco area but moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2014. He currently works as a senior performance test engineer in the automotive industry.Mr Frikke-Schmidt holds a bachelor of science in electronics engineering.
George McLaughlin,
Mr George is a Graduate of the Royal Institute of Chemistry, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, and has been inducted as a Member of the Order of Australia (2009). He worked in the UK chemical, pharmaceutical and engineering industries, prior to undertaking research at the University of Sussex and the Australian National University (ANU), where his research publications have been cited more than 1000 times.
Subsequently, he took on the roles of Business and Technical Manager of the Research School of Chemistry, then Head of Management Information Systems at ANU before being seconded to the Australian Vice Chancellors Committee to manage various projects.He led the the Australian Academic and Research Network (AARNet) from 1995 until 2003, focusing on AARNet’s connections to and engagement with the research communities around the world and managed the transition of AARNet to a not-for-profit organisation with its own carrier licence and among the first NRENs to acquire it own IRU capacity on international circuits. Since then has worked with various international agencies and on initiatives that have a focus on exploiting Research and Education Networks to enhance collaborative opportunities in research and discovery and to improve societal outcomes.
Dr. Bhushan Raj Shrestha,
Dr. Bhushan is a founder Board Member of Center for ICT for Development and founder Chairman of Nepal Research and Education Network (NREN). He is one of the key initiators in founding ICT for Development in 2015 and NREN in 2007. Currently he is a Board Member as well as an IT Specialist of NREN and ICT4D. He is also a member of steering committee of Trans-Eurasia Information Network (TEIN4). He has Masters in Statistics from Tribhuwan University; MS in Computer Science from Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines; and PhD in “Environmental Information System for Municipality Management” from Vienna University of Technology, Austria in 2001.
He started his carrier in Information Technology more than 25 years ago. After completing his MS Computer Science in 1995, he has been involving in various IT related projects in Nepal. He has experience of implementing Information Technology in the field of various Research and Development activities such as monitoring climate change, environment management, urban management, disaster management, etc. He has also served as an advisor of Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) for implementing IT and Urban Management Information system in KMC.