Academic literature on the topic 'Free Online Translation Tools'

People living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) commonly report feelings of loneliness and social isolation due to lack of support from family, friends, and health care providers. COPD360social is an interactive and disease-specific online community and social network dedicated to connecting people living with COPD to evidence-based resources. Through free access to collaborative forums, members can explore, engage, and discuss an array of disease-related topics, such as symptom management. This social media review provides an overview of COPD360social, specifically its features that practitioners can leverage to facilitate patient–provider communication, knowledge translation, and community building. The potential of COPD360social for chronic disease self-management is maximized through community recognition programming and interactive friend-finding tools that encourage members to share their own stories through blogs and multimedia (e.g., images, videos). The platform also fosters collaborative knowledge dissemination and helping relationships among patients, family members, friends, and health care providers. Successful implementation of COPD360social has dramatically expanded patient education and self-management support resources for people affected by COPD. Practitioners should refer patients and their families to online social networks such as COPD360social to increase knowledge and awareness of evidence-based chronic disease management practices.

AbstractThis paper presents a snapshot of what has been investigated in terms of the relationship between machine translation (MT) and foreign language (FL) teaching and learning. For this purpose four different roles of MT in the language class have been identified: MT as a bad model, MT as a good model, MT as a vocational training tool (especially in the form of translation memories, pre-editing and post-editing), and MT as a “CALL tool”. Subsequently, some of the implications of the use of MT and of free online MT for FL learning are outlined and discussed along with practical examples for language teaching purposes. Finally, qualitative data, drawn from our empirical investigation are presented as synthesized findings pertaining to the perceptions of language learners and tutors in relation to the use of MT and, in particular, free online MT as a language tool.

While junior clinical researchers at academic medical institutions across the US often desire to be actively engaged in randomized-clinical trials, they often lack adequate resources and research capacity to design and implement them. This insufficiency hinders their ability to generate a rigorous randomization scheme to minimize selection bias and yield comparable groups. Moreover, there are limited online user-friendly randomization tools. Thus, we developed a free robust randomization app (RRApp). RRApp incorporates 6 major randomization techniques: simple randomization, stratified randomization, block randomization, permuted block randomization, stratified block randomization, and stratified permuted block randomization. The design phase has been completed, including robust server scripts and a straightforward user-interface using the “shiny” package in R. Randomization schemes generated in RRApp can be input directly into the Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) system. RRApp has been evaluated by biostatisticians and junior clinical faculty at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Constructive feedback regarding the quality and functionality of RRApp was also provided by attendees of the 2016 Association for Clinical and Translational Statisticians Annual Meeting. RRApp aims to educate early stage clinical trialists about the importance of randomization, while simultaneously assisting them, in a user-friendly fashion, to generate reproducible randomization schemes.

Abstract Background Content knowledge surrounding transgender (trans) medicine is currently lacking in the formal medical education curricula. Evidence indicates that the main protocols used to assess and refer trans patients for gender-affirming medicine are misunderstood by health professionals, and require flexible adaptation to achieve health equity and patient-centred care. Approach A free online educational tool for gender-affirming medicine, The Path to Patient-Centred Care, was developed to teach learners how to adapt assessment protocols. Resource creation was supported by a knowledge translation grant that endorsed design thinking, a human-centred and solutions-focused framework recommended for use in curriculum development. Evaluation The Path to Patient-Centred Care provides learners with information related to key principles of patient-centred care in gender-affirming medicine, including a guide on how to adapt the main assessment protocols to achieve equitable care. The curriculum also includes narratives from trans patients and health professionals that focus on health equity, and a clinical vignette about a complex case, designed to foster critical thinking on medical ethics. Project future directions involve an implementation and evaluation pilot study with a diverse group of continuing professional development medical learners using a mixed-methods program evaluation design. Reflection The use of design thinking to develop this resource exemplifies a novel approach to curriculum development. By using pedagogical strategies that foster critical reflection, this innovative online education tool strives to teach self-directed learners how to provide care that emphasizes trans people’s self-determination and autonomy in medical decision-making.

Abstract Motivation Computational methods for protein post-translational modification (PTM) site prediction provide a useful approach for studying protein functions. The prediction accuracy of the existing methods has significant room for improvement. A recent deep-learning architecture, Capsule Network (CapsNet), which can characterize the internal hierarchical representation of input data, presents a great opportunity to solve this problem, especially using small training data. Results We proposed a CapsNet for predicting protein PTM sites, including phosphorylation, N-linked glycosylation, N6-acetyllysine, methyl-arginine, S-palmitoyl-cysteine, pyrrolidone-carboxylic-acid and SUMOylation sites. The CapsNet outperformed the baseline convolutional neural network architecture MusiteDeep and other well-known tools in most cases and provided promising results for practical use, especially in learning from small training data. The capsule length also gives an accurate estimate for the confidence of the PTM prediction. We further demonstrated that the internal capsule features could be trained as a motif detector of phosphorylation sites when no kinase-specific phosphorylation labels were provided. In addition, CapsNet generates robust representations that have strong discriminant power in distinguishing kinase substrates from different kinase families. Our study sheds some light on the recognition mechanism of PTMs and applications of CapsNet on other bioinformatic problems. Availability and implementation The codes are free to download from https://github.com/duolinwang/CapsNet_PTM. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Nitrogen fixation is carried by an enzyme complex called nitrogenase which consists of two main components, a dinitrogenase that is encoded by nifD and nifK and an iron containing reductase, also called Fe protein which is encoded by nifH. Nitrogen-free medium was used to detect the ability of nitrogen fixation by Klebsiella pneumonia, then DNA was extracted and overlap extension polymerase chain reaction of nifH, nifD and nifK. To obtain nucleotide sequences of these genes, sequencing of the PCR products was one. The reverse sequence of nifH and the forward sequences of nifD and nifK were converted into amino acids using online translation tool. Homology modeling was carried out using SWISS-MODEL. The modeled amino acids sequences was validated using ERRAT and PROCHECK. The modeled sequences were reliable and of quality higher than 90%. The two subunits of Fe protein were constructed and tertiary structure was predicted together with the binding sites for prosthetic group and ADP molecule in Fe protein. The following amino acids Asp11, Lys13, Asn157, Ser158, Val183, Pro184, Arg185, Asp186, Val189, Gln190 and Glu193 seem to participate in the ADP binding. The complexity of this enzyme makes it difficult to be cloned in plants.

Yoga therapists are interested in knowing whether their therapeutic interventions are helpful in improving health and wellbeing in their yoga therapy clients. However, few yoga therapists use standardized, reliable, and valid questionnaires to determine the therapeutic effectiveness of their treatments. Patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures are paper or web-based questionnaires used to assess an individual's perceptions of their symptoms and/or quality of life. In 2004, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) launched the PROMIS® initiative to standardize and simplify the collection of PROs in research and in clinical practice. The PROMIS® initiative launched a multicenter cooperative group that collected and reviewed thousands of PROs, then extensively tested them in over 20,000 research participants. The result was a web-based collection of item banks of the best questions or “items” within three domains of interest: physical, mental, and social health. These item banks are housed in the Assessment Center, a free online resource for collecting PROs.1 Incorporating PROMIS® outcomes into yoga therapy streamlines and optimizes the collection of PROs by enabling access to reliable and valid questionnaires that are easy to read, simple to complete, and are available in multiple languages as well as in both adult and pediatric versions. The use of standardized PROs may improve yoga therapy implementation in healthcare and accelerate translation of clinical research by allowing yoga therapists to conduct indepth symptom assessments using tools that allow for comparisons to other therapeutic clinical and research interventions. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the development of the NIH PROMIS® initiative and to provide suggestions for incorporating PRO collection into yoga therapy. Important considerations to consider when implementing PROs into yoga therapy are discussed, including the choice of questionnaires and method of delivery (paper or web-based), frequency of PRO administration, interpretation and management of PRO results, and the management of problematic issues that arise.

This paper proposed a novel method to extract bilingual translation pairs from the web. Based on the observation that translation pairs tend to appear collectively on the web, a recursive process is used to extract high quality translation pairs from the web. First query the search engine with some seed data and crawl the returned pages. Then identify the Collective Translation Pair Block (CTPB) which contains the collective translation pairs using a heuristic evaluation method. After the CTPB has been identified, a PAT tree is employed to generate the extraction patterns automatically. Then a ranking SVM model is used to re-rank these patterns based on the F measure. The top 10 patterns are adopted to extract the translation pairs with the help of surface pattern. At last in order to get the high quality extraction translation, the extracted translation pairs are verified by a SVM classifier based on the translation relevant between the source and the target language.

Abstract Crowdsourcing and collaborative translation, activities emerging on the translation scene recently, are playing an increasingly important role in the world of professional translation and in the localization industry. This article focuses on a study carried out to analyze the perception of a group of translator trainees regarding these new translation practices. A total of 20 undergraduate students participated in the research and were asked to perform a collaborative localization task using an online collaborative platform. Data subjected to a quantitative and qualitative analysis suggest that online collaborative translation tasks enhance students’ motivation towards collaborative translation and help consolidate their technical knowledge about specific localization tools and files.

The present study explored the use of translation technology in second language (L2) writing by English as a Second Language (ESL) students at the University level. The appropriate role of translation, and specifically translation technology, in L2 curricula has been the subject of theoretical and practical debate. In order to address knowledge gaps relevant to this debate, the present study sought to document students’ current use of translation technology, specifically free online translation (FOT) tools, and their opinions about these tools. The study’s mixed-methods design included video observations and questionnaires regarding FOT use completed by 19 university students enrolled in a high intermediate-level ESL course. Semi-structured follow-up interviews were conducted with the six participants who were observed using FOT tools extensively on the video recordings. Results showed that high intermediate-level ESL students have a primarily positive attitude toward FOT tools. In addition, the majority of students reported using such tools regularly, even though only about one third of the students were actually observed using the tools significantly in the video recordings. Results are discussed in the context of the ongoing debate over whether and how translation technology should be used in L2 classrooms.

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Comunicação e Expressão, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Letras/Inglês e Literatura Correspondente, Florianópolis, 2013.<br>Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-18T20:46:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 332777.pdf: 8216934 bytes, checksum: d9c6b777d9c9b0f2a3212787858b8619 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013<br>Abstract : This study describes the key steps in developing online parallel corpus-based tools for processing COPA-TRAD (copa-trad.ufsc.br), a parallel corpus compiled for translation research and pedagogy. The study draws on Fernandes s (2009) proposal for corpus compilation, which divides the compiling process into three main parts: corpus design, corpus building and corpus processing. This compiling process received contributions from the good development practices of Software Engineering, especially the ones advocated by Pressman (2011). The tools developed can, for example, assist in the investigation of certain types of texts and translational practices related to certain linguistic patterns such as collocations and semantic prosody. As a result of these applications, COPA-TRAD becomes a suitable tool for the investigation of empirical phenomena with a view to translation research and pedagogy.<br><br>Este estudo descreve as principais etapas no desenvolvimento de ferramentas online com base em corpus para o processamento do COPA-TRAD (Corpus Paralelo de Tradução - www.copa-trad.ufsc.br), um corpus paralelo compilado para a pesquisa e ensino de tradução. Para a compilação do corpus, o estudo utiliza a proposta de Fernandes (2009) que divide o processo de compilação em três etapas principais: desenho do corpus, construção do corpus e processamento do corpus. Este processo de compilação recebeu contribuições das boas práticas de desenvolvimento fornecidas pela Engenharia de Software, especialmente as que foram sugeridas por Pressman (2011). As ferramentas desenvolvidas podem, por exemplo, auxiliar na investigação de certos tipos de textos, bem como em práticas tradutórias relacionadas a certos padrões linguísticos tais como colocações e prosódia semântica. Como resultado dessas aplicações, o COPA-TRAD configura-se em uma ferramenta útil para a investigação empírica de fenômenos tradutórios com vistas à pesquisa e ao ensino de tradução.

碩士<br>輔仁大學<br>翻譯學研究所<br>96<br>At present, most research of machine translation is based on mathematics or statistics. They try to find a better approach to source language, in order to improve the quality of translation. In contrary, the subject matter in this research is focused on the interaction between source language and translation machine. This thesis is based on cognitive linguistics, aiming to find a better approach to translation machine. And making nowadays translation technology can translate specific sentence pattern without modifying a lot of computer program. In Chen Zhong (2006)’s opinion, there is a “boundary” between the objective world, cognitive world and linguistic system. The opinion about “boundary” and “cognition” become this study’s basis, and was applied to review the relation between online translation service and Japanese news headlines. The corpus (Japanese news headlines) which contain case particle “NI” came from The Nikkei Financial Daily. In the process of testing corpus from The Nikkei Financial Daily by the online translation service, some practicable translation rules (method for transforming source language structure) are concluded. The method for transforming source language structure, not only make case particle “NI” functional in sentence, but also be recognized by nowadays translation technology. Six rules for transforming source language structure are concluded in this research. Key words: Cognitive Linguistics, Machine Translation, Case Particle, Source Language, Japanese to Chinese Machine Translation

This GSoD In Focus Special Brief provides an overview of the state of democracy in Asia and the Pacific at the end of 2019, prior to the outbreak of the pandemic, and assesses some of the preliminary impacts that the pandemic has had on democracy in the region in 2020. Key fact and findings include: • Prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, countries across Asia and the Pacific faced a range of democratic challenges. Chief among these were continuing political fragility, violent conflict, recurrent military interference in the political sphere, enduring hybridity, deepening autocratization, creeping ethnonationalism, advancing populist leadership, democratic backsliding, shrinking civic space, the spread of disinformation, and weakened checks and balances. The crisis conditions engendered by the pandemic risk further entrenching and/or intensifying the negative democratic trends observable in the region prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. • Across the region, governments have been using the conditions created by the pandemic to expand executive power and restrict individual rights. Aspects of democratic practice that have been significantly impacted by anti-pandemic measures include the exercise of fundamental rights (notably freedom of assembly and free speech). Some countries have also seen deepened religious polarization and discrimination. Women, vulnerable groups, and ethnic and religious minorities have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic and discriminated against in the enforcement of lockdowns. There have been disruptions of electoral processes, increased state surveillance in some countries, and increased influence of the military. This is particularly concerning in new, fragile or backsliding democracies, which risk further eroding their already fragile democratic bases. • As in other regions, however, the pandemic has also led to a range of innovations and changes in the way democratic actors, such as parliaments, political parties, electoral commissions, civil society organizations and courts, conduct their work. In a number of countries, for example, government ministries, electoral commissions, legislators, health officials and civil society have developed innovative new online tools for keeping the public informed about national efforts to combat the pandemic. And some legislatures are figuring out new ways to hold government to account in the absence of real-time parliamentary meetings. • The consideration of political regime type in debates around ways of containing the pandemic also assumes particular relevance in Asia and the Pacific, a region that houses high-performing democracies, such as New Zealand and the Republic of Korea (South Korea), a mid-range performer (Taiwan), and also non-democratic regimes, such as China, Singapore and Viet Nam—all of which have, as of December 2020, among the lowest per capita deaths from COVID-19 in the world. While these countries have all so far managed to contain the virus with fewer fatalities than in the rest of the world, the authoritarian regimes have done so at a high human rights cost, whereas the democracies have done so while adhering to democratic principles, proving that the pandemic can effectively be fought through democratic means and does not necessarily require a trade off between public health and democracy. • The massive disruption induced by the pandemic can be an unparalleled opportunity for democratic learning, change and renovation in the region. Strengthening democratic institutions and processes across the region needs to go hand in hand with curbing the pandemic. Rebuilding societies and economic structures in its aftermath will likewise require strong, sustainable and healthy democracies, capable of tackling the gargantuan challenges ahead. The review of the state of democracy during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 uses qualitative analysis and data of events and trends in the region collected through International IDEA’s Global Monitor of COVID-19’s Impact on Democracy and Human Rights, an initiative co-funded by the European Union.

AbstractEducation is rapidly evolving from co-located settings to remote and online learning. However, many proven educational tools are designed for collaborative, co-located classroom work. Effective sketching and ideating tools, such as card-based workshop tools, cannot be applied in remote teaching.This paper explores how the paper-based card and playboard metaphor can be digitized for remote student co-creation via video call sessions. Therefore, a card-based toolkit for co-creating educational games is transformed into a digital representation for remote application. In a between-subject trial with two university student groups (n = 61), it is investigated how users perceive ideation/balancing support and applicability of the technology-enhanced card toolset compared to the paper-based variant. Both groups thereby created an analytic game concept for privacy education.The results remarkably revealed that remote co-creation using the technology-enhanced card and playboard in video call sessions was perceived as significantly more supportive for ideation and game concept balancing. Students also felt more confident to apply the digitized card toolset independently while being more satisfied with their created game concepts. The designed educational game concepts showed comparable patterns between the groups and disclosed the students’ preferences on how games for privacy education should be designed and when and where they would like to play them. Conclusively, design implications for digital card ideation toolsets were synthesized from the findings.

The analysis of big data on human experience (reviews, comments, ratings, etc.) can provide valuable insights to companies and institutions. This pioneer study applied the artificial intelligence proprietary tools of The Data Appeal Company for a different aim: monitoring the online perception of environmental issues on 88 beaches of Sicily. Results proved that it is possible to monitor environmental situation even to sites where there are no other kind of monitoring, using as bases the free and available contents posted by humans online, processed and analyzed by artificial intelligence

This chapter discusses an ongoing seven-year Digital Development Program (DDP) which has trained and encouraged English for Academic Purposes (EAP) instructors to teach digitally. As leaders of an EAP team at Ruppin Academic Center, and as proponents of the idea that mindful use of technology enhances both teaching and learning, we adopted the Technology, Pedagogy, and Content Knowledge model known as TPACK (Koehler &amp; Mishra, 2008), as our guiding. We used Moodle as the virtual learning environment (VLE) platform for our program. In our attempt to achieve as paperless and digital a classroom as possible, we continue to introduce numerous online programs and activities via our VLE. The purpose of this chapter is to describe the transition from face-to-face English and content teaching to blended and flipped learning at our institution. Feedback has been positive. We also offer suggestions to other institutions which may be seeking to make similar changes. The appendix lists the websites, resources, software, and applications, which are mostly free or open source.

This chapter covers the pressing issues of online free expression at the time of global telecommunication services and social media. What once was the domain of the state has become the prerogative of private global companies – it is their terms of service and sense of social responsibility that have replaced local perceptions of morality and set limits to individual personal rights. Whether protecting privacy or defending against defamation, it is the Internet Service Provider who can offer tools far more effective and prompt than any national court and law enforcement agency. And even though the right to free expression is firmly rotted in the global standard of article 19 UDHR, nowhere than online are the differences in its interpretation, originated by history, morality and religion, more palpable. The paper aims to discuss each of the three composite rights of free expression (the right to hold, impart and receive information and ideas) and identify the actual limitations originated by national laws. The author emphasizes states' positive obligation to take active measures aimed at protecting free expression, ensuring that all human rights are “protected, respected and remedied”. This obligation makes the interrelationship between national lawmakers and international telecommunication service providers complex as the latter serve as the actual gate keepers of free expression in the information society. The paper covers a discussion on how different countries deal with this challenge through various approaches to ISP liability, including the notice-and-take down procedure as well as content filtering (preventive censorship). The author goes on to criticize those mechanisms as enabling ISPs too much freedom in deciding upon the shape and scope of individuals' right to impart and receive information.

There Change the design of the studying process in University during the covid-19 pandemic from face to face to online learning needs some tools to support it. Some tools coming with their own advantages and disadvantages. One of them is Zoom. It becoming tools liked by many lecturers and college students because easy installation process and complete features although it is not free and easy to hack. Nevertheless, internet access is still becoming a big problem in online learning. A mix between two tools of online learning is one of the solutions, for example, zoom and google classroom application. Zoom is used for virtual communication in online learning but it does not provide features for sending the assignment. Otherwise, google classroom provides features to send and receipt some assignments, and it can save the quote on the internet. Both of them will complete each other to support all needs in online learning.

Sustainable design and engineering is an important topic, yet it is under-represented in educational institutions; moreover, it must be taught to practicing professionals, not just students. A free online system has been created to address both problems at once, providing educational materials for educators and also providing a self-paced program for professionals or students to earn a certificate in sustainable design. Called the Autodesk Sustainability Workshop, it is a collection of video tutorials and supporting materials (PDF reference guides, slide decks, quizzes, and other resources) that can be used either by individuals themselves or by educators (either in schools or the workplace) to learn principles and practical skills related to green design, mechanical engineering, and building science. Its dozens of video tutorials span the range from introduction to fundamental principles in sustainability, to specific operation of analytical software tools such as FEA and energy modeling. All videos are on focused topics and of short duration (typically 3–6 minutes) so they can be inserted into curricula as educators see fit, not forcing a full curriculum structure. For self-guided learners, or educators who desire a full curriculum, an interactive structure provides quizzes along with the learning resources; upon successful completion, they lead up to a certificate in green design. Currently there is only one certificate, in basic building science; future releases will expand the certificate program to sustainable product design as well, since many of the learning resources are on these topics. For content not covered by the certificate program, the website’s information architecture suggests a multi-threaded approach to learning sustainable design. As three-quarters of a million people around the world have already viewed content from the site, this self-directed online learning system is proposed to be a highly scalable method of providing sustainable design and engineering education.

This report maps the African landscape of Open Science – with a focus on Open Data as a sub-set of Open Science. Data to inform the landscape study were collected through a variety of methods, including surveys, desk research, engagement with a community of practice, networking with stakeholders, participation in conferences, case study presentations, and workshops hosted. Although the majority of African countries (35 of 54) demonstrates commitment to science through its investment in research and development (R&amp;D), academies of science, ministries of science and technology, policies, recognition of research, and participation in the Science Granting Councils Initiative (SGCI), the following countries demonstrate the highest commitment and political willingness to invest in science: Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. In addition to existing policies in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), the following countries have made progress towards Open Data policies: Botswana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, South Africa and Uganda. Only two African countries (Kenya and South Africa) at this stage contribute 0.8% of its GDP (Gross Domestic Product) to R&amp;D (Research and Development), which is the closest to the AU’s (African Union’s) suggested 1%. Countries such as Lesotho and Madagascar ranked as 0%, while the R&amp;D expenditure for 24 African countries is unknown. In addition to this, science globally has become fully dependent on stable ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) infrastructure, which includes connectivity/bandwidth, high performance computing facilities and data services. This is especially applicable since countries globally are finding themselves in the midst of the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR), which is not only “about” data, but which “is” data. According to an article1 by Alan Marcus (2015) (Senior Director, Head of Information Technology and Telecommunications Industries, World Economic Forum), “At its core, data represents a post-industrial opportunity. Its uses have unprecedented complexity, velocity and global reach. As digital communications become ubiquitous, data will rule in a world where nearly everyone and everything is connected in real time. That will require a highly reliable, secure and available infrastructure at its core, and innovation at the edge.” Every industry is affected as part of this revolution – also science. An important component of the digital transformation is “trust” – people must be able to trust that governments and all other industries (including the science sector), adequately handle and protect their data. This requires accountability on a global level, and digital industries must embrace the change and go for a higher standard of protection. “This will reassure consumers and citizens, benefitting the whole digital economy”, says Marcus. A stable and secure information and communication technologies (ICT) infrastructure – currently provided by the National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) – is key to advance collaboration in science. The AfricaConnect2 project (AfricaConnect (2012–2014) and AfricaConnect2 (2016–2018)) through establishing connectivity between National Research and Education Networks (NRENs), is planning to roll out AfricaConnect3 by the end of 2019. The concern however is that selected African governments (with the exception of a few countries such as South Africa, Mozambique, Ethiopia and others) have low awareness of the impact the Internet has today on all societal levels, how much ICT (and the 4th Industrial Revolution) have affected research, and the added value an NREN can bring to higher education and research in addressing the respective needs, which is far more complex than simply providing connectivity. Apart from more commitment and investment in R&amp;D, African governments – to become and remain part of the 4th Industrial Revolution – have no option other than to acknowledge and commit to the role NRENs play in advancing science towards addressing the SDG (Sustainable Development Goals). For successful collaboration and direction, it is fundamental that policies within one country are aligned with one another. Alignment on continental level is crucial for the future Pan-African African Open Science Platform to be successful. Both the HIPSSA ((Harmonization of ICT Policies in Sub-Saharan Africa)3 project and WATRA (the West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Assembly)4, have made progress towards the regulation of the telecom sector, and in particular of bottlenecks which curb the development of competition among ISPs. A study under HIPSSA identified potential bottlenecks in access at an affordable price to the international capacity of submarine cables and suggested means and tools used by regulators to remedy them. Work on the recommended measures and making them operational continues in collaboration with WATRA. In addition to sufficient bandwidth and connectivity, high-performance computing facilities and services in support of data sharing are also required. The South African National Integrated Cyberinfrastructure System5 (NICIS) has made great progress in planning and setting up a cyberinfrastructure ecosystem in support of collaborative science and data sharing. The regional Southern African Development Community6 (SADC) Cyber-infrastructure Framework provides a valuable roadmap towards high-speed Internet, developing human capacity and skills in ICT technologies, high- performance computing and more. The following countries have been identified as having high-performance computing facilities, some as a result of the Square Kilometre Array7 (SKA) partnership: Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa, Tunisia, and Zambia. More and more NRENs – especially the Level 6 NRENs 8 (Algeria, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, and recently Zambia) – are exploring offering additional services; also in support of data sharing and transfer. The following NRENs already allow for running data-intensive applications and sharing of high-end computing assets, bio-modelling and computation on high-performance/ supercomputers: KENET (Kenya), TENET (South Africa), RENU (Uganda), ZAMREN (Zambia), EUN (Egypt) and ARN (Algeria). Fifteen higher education training institutions from eight African countries (Botswana, Benin, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, and Tanzania) have been identified as offering formal courses on data science. In addition to formal degrees, a number of international short courses have been developed and free international online courses are also available as an option to build capacity and integrate as part of curricula. The small number of higher education or research intensive institutions offering data science is however insufficient, and there is a desperate need for more training in data science. The CODATA-RDA Schools of Research Data Science aim at addressing the continental need for foundational data skills across all disciplines, along with training conducted by The Carpentries 9 programme (specifically Data Carpentry 10 ). Thus far, CODATA-RDA schools in collaboration with AOSP, integrating content from Data Carpentry, were presented in Rwanda (in 2018), and during17-29 June 2019, in Ethiopia. Awareness regarding Open Science (including Open Data) is evident through the 12 Open Science-related Open Access/Open Data/Open Science declarations and agreements endorsed or signed by African governments; 200 Open Access journals from Africa registered on the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ); 174 Open Access institutional research repositories registered on openDOAR (Directory of Open Access Repositories); 33 Open Access/Open Science policies registered on ROARMAP (Registry of Open Access Repository Mandates and Policies); 24 data repositories registered with the Registry of Data Repositories (re3data.org) (although the pilot project identified 66 research data repositories); and one data repository assigned the CoreTrustSeal. Although this is a start, far more needs to be done to align African data curation and research practices with global standards. Funding to conduct research remains a challenge. African researchers mostly fund their own research, and there are little incentives for them to make their research and accompanying data sets openly accessible. Funding and peer recognition, along with an enabling research environment conducive for research, are regarded as major incentives. The landscape report concludes with a number of concerns towards sharing research data openly, as well as challenges in terms of Open Data policy, ICT infrastructure supportive of data sharing, capacity building, lack of skills, and the need for incentives. Although great progress has been made in terms of Open Science and Open Data practices, more awareness needs to be created and further advocacy efforts are required for buy-in from African governments. A federated African Open Science Platform (AOSP) will not only encourage more collaboration among researchers in addressing the SDGs, but it will also benefit the many stakeholders identified as part of the pilot phase. The time is now, for governments in Africa, to acknowledge the important role of science in general, but specifically Open Science and Open Data, through developing and aligning the relevant policies, investing in an ICT infrastructure conducive for data sharing through committing funding to making NRENs financially sustainable, incentivising open research practices by scientists, and creating opportunities for more scientists and stakeholders across all disciplines to be trained in data management.