A Mobile WebRTC-Based Platform to Support Young and Upcoming Researchers

Lack of research support is impacting the research capacity in Zimbabwean universities, which calls for a system that supports young and upcoming researchers to be put in place. The problems that arise as a result of the status quo are that research output is lagging behind that of other countries, developing research capacity is impacted, quality research is lacking, and the critical research skills gap which hampers economic recovery is widening. The intention of this research is to develop a mobile WebRTC-based platform to connect established researchers with young and upcoming researchers for guidance and support and to enable peer-to-peer learning. This therefore is a form of knowledge management platform that encourages knowledge dissemination among Zimbabwean academics. This research builds a mobile application that allows young researchers to collaborate with more experienced researchers and peers. While the experienced researchers will use this technology to guide the young researchers, the platform will also encourage peer-to-peer learning. The application consists of the three APIs of the WebRTC platform of peer-to-peer learning, multipoint conferencing, and selective forwarding to build a rich environment for interaction between the researchers.