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IoT.nxt collaborates with UFS to develop future tech leaders

IoT.nxt is working with the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Agricultural Sciences to support education in data science, given its growing use in business.

Johannesburg, 30 Jul 2019

Leading Internet of Things company IoT.nxt has entered into a partnership with the University of the Free State (UFS) to support education for Data Science students and drive the development of future leaders in technology and technology innovation.

IoT.nxt is working with academics in the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Agricultural Sciences to guide the development of curricula. In addition, the company’s executives will  guest lecture and share corporate experience about what the latest applications of data science can deliver to business and industry.

“The support of education drives in the field of technology has been a key focus as IoT.nxt has expanded, and this initiative is the next step for our expanded programme. We created opportunities for interns shortly after the establishment of IoT.nxt, and we will now take our project one step further with the UFS partnership,” says Nico Steyn, CEO of IoT.nxt.

“The job of 'data scientist' was listed as the top tech job in the USA last year by Glassdoor, one of the biggest global recruitment websites, for the third consecutive year. We have exceptional, talented young people in SA interested in a career in tech.

“However, there is an industry-wide shortage of qualified people and a growing demand for students to graduate with a qualification suited to what businesses require. Our company, and the vibrant broader technology industry in SA, needs such graduates and through our partnership with UFS we will aim to drive interest in this career,” Steyn says.

According to Steyn, IoT.nxt selected the UFS for this partnership as it views the university as one of the leading institutions providing education in this field, and to some degree, because many UFS alumni, including co-founders of IoT.nxt, are UFS graduates.

“The partnership with IoT.nxt will open new opportunities for our students and staff, not only to work with one of the most innovative companies in the country, but also to be exposed to new and creative ways of thinking, all in preparation for the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). We also believe the partnership will strengthen our academic programme, especially in data science, and prepare our students to be ready for the ever-changing world of technology,” says Dr Eduan Kotzé, academic departmental head of Computer Science and Informatics.

In addition to its ongoing intern programme and the UFS partnership, IoT.nxt supports the Belgium Campus iTversity in Pretoria, and many of the interns who obtained work experience at IoT.nxt are students of this technology-focused institution.

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IoT.nxt

IoT.nxt’s IoT platform is a digital transformation enabler making the Internet of Things a reality. IoT.nxt unlocks exponential business value by harnessing the power of system and device interoperability. Their unique technology stack bridges the gap between all protocols in the industrial ecosystem, creating a single integration/translation point. Its patented RaptorTM gateway allows organisations to retrofit all existing legacy systems with no rip and replace. A powerful data abstraction model further translates anything and everything from the edge, supporting a true subscription based big data model. IoT.nxt opened its European office in The Hague in 2017 and set operations in the USA in Dallas, Texas in 2018. Telecoms giant Vodacom acquired a majority stake in IoT.nxt in May 2019.

www.iotnxt.com

Editorial contacts

Daleen van Wyk (Media Liaison)
IoT.nxt
(+27) 83 302 0827
daleen.vanwyk@iotnxt.com
Jason Bradlee (COO Americas)
IoT.nxt
(+1) 973 479 2157
jason.bradlee@iotnxt.com