Busitema University has installed RACHEL devices, portable content servers originally designed for offline use at every campus library, allowing students and staff to access thousands of specialized educational resources from anywhere with an internet connection. While RACHEL typically functions as a local Wi-Fi hotspot for communities without connectivity, Busitema has reconfigured its devices and assigned each a public IP address, making them accessible via the web. This innovation responds to the university’s multicampus structure and its commitment to creative ICT infrastructure that removes every barrier to information access.
Each device, called a Content Access Point (CAP), holds a vast offline library of textbooks, video lectures, interactive simulations, and reference materials tailored to each campus’s focus areas, including Health Sciences, Engineering, Agriculture, and Natural Resources. Unlike the standard RACHEL deployment, which limits access to users within physical range of the device, Busitema’s version allows any student or faculty member whether on a remote practicum site, at home, or in a different campus to connect via the web. The devices themselves support twenty to fifty simultaneous local users and run for over five hours on battery, but their new online functionality extends their reach far beyond library walls.
World Possible, the nonprofit organization that supplies RACHEL devices, has deployed them in over forty countries, from rural Guatemala to health clinics across Africa. Their built-in Datapost tool allows the university to track usage anonymously, and World Possible also offers teacher training and librarian support. More information is available at their website, https://worldpossible.org/.
To access a campus library’s RACHEL device online, users can visit the following links. For the Faculty of Health Sciences, the link is http://capfhs.library.busitema.ac.ug/. For the Faculty of Engineering, it is http://capfoe.library.busitema.ac.ug/. For the Faculty of Agriculture and Animal Sciences, it is http://capfaas.library.busitema.ac.ug/. For the Faculty of Science and Education, the link is https://capfse.library.busitema.ac.ug/. For the Faculty of Management Sciences, use https://capfms.library.busitema.ac.ug/. And for the Faculty of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, the link is https://capfnres.library.busitema.ac.ug/.
 Busitema University Library Services remains committed to innovative and inclusive academic resources, and questions can be sent via email to library@busitema.ac.ug.
