Giga: supporting governments around the world to connect every school in the world from Campus Biotech

2.6 billion people worldwide are not yet a part of the digital world. This includes over 50% of 15-24 year olds in low income countries¹. It is also estimated that half of the world’s schools remain offline.

To bridge this digital divide, the International Telecommunication Union ( ITU) and UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) jointly launched the Giga initiative in 2019, with a clear mission: supporting governments to connect every school in the world to the Internet, turning education into a gateway for access to information, opportunity and choice.

The Giga Connectivity Centre, located at the Campus Biotech Giga’s global headquarters, serves as a multipurpose space dedicated to advancing universal connectivity. Formally launched in June 2025, thanks to the longstanding support of the Government of Switzerland, it is central to Giga’s mission.

Giga’s work draws on the expertise of two major organizations, ITU and UNICEF, providing support across four areas: school mapping, infrastructure modelling and cost analysis, financing and contracting. These are anchored on capacity development to empower governments to enhance their capacity in effectively implementing sustainable school connectivity.

A Centre for learning, technology innovation and collaboration

The Giga Connectivity Centre hosts the Giga Learning Hub. This is the umbrella for capacity development and knowledge sharing under the Giga initiative. It aims to empower countries engaged in Giga with actionable tools and insights to advance school connectivity worldwide. The Hub is managed by ITU Academy.

The Centre is also focal point for Giga’s provision of support to countries in procurement and mobilization of finances for school connectivity, aiming to reduce costs and accelerate deployment.

A community project that embodies the spirit of Campus Biotech

Beyond Giga’s core action areas, the Connectivity Centre acts as a community space for knowledge sharing, networking and other events, convening representatives from governments, private sector, UN agencies, civil society, academia and other development partners, including across Geneva’s unique ecosystem.

Across all its different roles, the Centre’s work unites behind a common purpose, advancing inclusive universal connectivity – from schools to communities and beyond- bringing information, opportunity and choice to children and young people everywhere.

Campus Biotech, a hub of excellence in life sciences and technology, provides an ideal setting for this collaborative approach — a place where research, public policy, and digital innovation converge in the service of the common good.

By hosting the Giga Connectivity Centre, the Campus Biotech strengthens its position as an international hub for science, technology, and socially driven innovation. Having already hosted major initiatives in neuroscience, digital health, and bioengineering, it now becomes the place where another form of progress takes shape — one that seeks to give every child and young person the means to learn and thrive in a connected world.

To find out more on Giga’s activities, visit https://giga.global/

¹ https://www.itu.int/itu-d/reports/statistics/2024/11/10/ff24-youth-internet-use/