As Facebook celebrated its 10th anniversary this month, Iftin Foundation (IF) has conducted a survey to look into how universities in Somalia use the world’s most popular social media to connect with prospective and current students, faculty, parents and the general public.
Out of 45 universities surveyed in Somaliland, Puntland, and South Central Somalia only 40% of them had a presence in Facebook. Mogadishu-based Indian Ocean University has the most popular university facebook page with 7,234 fans, followed by Edna Adan University (Hargeisa) with 6,734 fans, whereas the University of Hargeisa sits in the third position with 5,759 fans.
Conducted on February 25, 2014, the survey referred to the official websites of the universities to find the addresses of their Facebook pages. “The purpose of the survey was to evaluate how universities in Somalia give attention to their digital presence. We started with Facebook, but later we will evaluate their websites from different aspects including how often they are updated and the quality of content they provide”, says Abdiweli Mohamud, program manager of Iftin Foundation.
IF is a Mogadishu-based organization established in 2012 to help local institutions expand educational opportunities through innovative programs. The Foundation’s achievements include launching Somalia’s first educational radio station (RadioIftin.com), Somalia’s first educational directory, among other initiatives.
