The PISCES Project

The Pacific Islands Schools, Connectivity, Education, and Solar (PISCES) Project is a multi-stakeholder endeavor that focuses on using partnerships for local skill-building and technology training in both the Federated States of Micronesia and Guam. We hope to demonstrate a complete, replicable model for bringing solar powered computer-related technology and Internet connectivity to underserved schools and communities.

The project is about far more than just technology: Training, skill-building, and partnerships are all equally important components of the endeavor. The first half of the project is a workshop in solar-powered long-distance wireless connectivity held at the University of Guam. Among other hands-on activities, workshop participants will install two permanent long distance solar-WiFi connections on the Univ. of Guam campus.

The project’s second half, in Chuuk, Micronesia includes a technology deployment on the remote island of Udot as well as the team’s participation in the Department of Education’s Summer Institute for teachers and administrators in the capital city, Weno. Our team will first deploy a Solar-Computer-Lab-in-a-Box and establish solar powered long distance WiFi connectivity at Udot Primary school, then speak with teachers and administrators from across the state at the Summer Institute, gauging their interest in and attitudes toward technology.

Remote islands face many challenges when adopting new technologies and establishing connectivity to the rest of the world. The PISCES Project’s knowledge-sharing, training, and partnering experiences are designed to foster local capacity-building necessary to harness technologies and practices that can link those in the South Pacific to the rest of the globe.

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