Multinational software vendor Microsoft launches its African School of Technology and Innovation Centre (STIC), in Johannesburg, today.
The centre will be located at the Central Johannesburg College in Troyeville, and will draw from the resources from a variety of other training centres, including that of the Department of Education, and Microsoft's 27 participating partners.
This is the fifth centre of its kind, following the establishment of similar Microsoft STICs over the past three years in Belfast, Brussels, Prague and Jordan.
"It's an incubation place for innovation in technology that will have applications and uses in the area of education," explains Microsoft's chairman for Africa, Dr Cheick Diarra.
The African STIC will nurture innovation in a number of fields, he adds, from hardware to power sources, to new ways of learning, and many other areas.
Commitment
The software giant's academic programmes manager, Reza Bardien, says the centre will have a permanently-employed manager - Angela Schaerer - who will coordinate all projects with Microsoft staffers and people from the partnering companies.
Diarra explains the levels of investment, from Microsoft's point of view, will depend on how frequently the centre is used. "The more often people come and test out new ideas and innovations, the more resources will be required.
"But what's important to note is that we have placed our full commitment behind the centre," adds Diarra, who was once the Mars exploration programme manager at Nasa.
Through the partnerships and resources available to Microsoft, the STIC will be able to respond to the challenges facing ICT in Africa, comments Bardien.
Key areas
Two areas on which Diarra focuses, and where he hopes the centre will play a role, are in developing alternative electrical power supplies, and dealing with illiteracy.
"The problem of access to technology on the continent is not just about affordability, but sometimes it's just about being able to find a socket to plug equipment into."
While multiple-language translations of information are often highly useful, in some areas - such as in Diarra's homeland of Mali - many people cannot read and write. Technology to translate written words into voice programs could help with this, he proposes.
"It's an area that I am particularly interested in."
He hopes this centre will be a way for experts in particular fields to share the knowledge they have with other nations across the continent.
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