Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams will today officially open the Samsung Future-Innovation Lab, a collaborative effort between the South Korean tech giant and the University of the Western Cape (UWC).
This comes as the communications and digital technologies minister recently stressed the importance of partnerships with global ICT companies in order to boost SA’s ICT sector and talent pool.
In a statement, the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) says the lab is an opportunity for youth between the ages of 18 and 35 to gain skills in software development and digital social innovation.
The current intake of 40 students is being trained on Web and mobile software development, it states,
According to the DCDT, the launch of the lab forms part of Samsung’s R280 million Equity Equivalent Investment Programme (EEIP), unveiled in May 2019.
Through the EEIP, Samsung SA has committed to driving projects that mainly focus on skills development and are projected to have a measurable impact on job creation.
In addition to the six-month development experience, Samsung and UWC partnered with Microsoft AppFactory to deliver an advanced nine-month software development programme, which seeks to address the gap of high-demand software skills.
Meanwhile, Pinky Kekana, deputy minister of communications and digital technologies, will address the Limpopo Digital Transformation Summit taking place today.
According to a department statement, the summit seeks to create an interface between citizens, business, government, education institutions and key players in the ICT sector.
The deputy minister will, on behalf of the DCDT, outline its view on digital transformation as it relates to SA in the now and not so distant future, says the statement.
“As government, the goal is to see that the exponential growth of the country remains at the forefront of its agenda,” says Kekana. She states that a key message will be that of reaffirming government’s commitment to support all emerging ideas and industries, with emphasis on those falling within the ambit of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR).
The summit will run over two days and will also see presentations from the provincial government of Limpopo and 4IR presidential commissioner, Nomsa Kana.
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