55 STUDENTS GRADUTE FROM SAFARICOM ACADEMY IN PARTNERSHIP WITH STRATHMORE UNIVERSITY
55 students have completed a two year course that will develop their leadership and entrepreneurial skills to meet the growing demand for innovative IT solutions.
The Master’s Degree in Mobile Telecommunications and Innovation is a jointly developed curriculum by Safaricom and Strathmore University. It was developed with the objective of bridging the gap between the industry requirements and training offered by institutions of higher learning.
The 30 full time and 25 part time students of 2012 intake are set to graduate in the University graduation that will take place on 27th June 2014. Last year 89 students from 2010 and 2011 intakes graduated from the academy.
“I am proud to be here today courtesy of a program that gives talented young Kenyans a path to blaze in their technology careers – with opportunities for training, mentoring and leadership along the way,” said Dr. Joseph Sevilla Director of @ILabAfrica during the graduation ceremony.
“We continue to offer support in your studies and I hope the graduates will utilize the Master of Science (MSc.TID) program and connections to develop their leadership and entrepreneurial skills to meet the growing demand for innovative solutions in the ICT sector” he added.
“There are huge opportunities for talented potential application developers and as an organization we are happy to provide the platform for them to achieve their dreams,” said Safaricom CEO Mr. Bob Collymore who was the guest of honour at the graduation ceremony.
“We are today announcing the launch of a testbed that will enable developers test their solutions without incurring the commercial rates as we continue to listen and develop other solutions to address the gaps in aiding startups and developers scale greater heights,” he added.
The programme boasts of success stories such as Cane Wanjau a former graduate from the Academy who founded ‘Flash-Cast’ a start-up that serves about 60 businesses in Nairobi and has also extended to the Nigerian Market.
Safaricom has so far invested close to Ksh 100 million on Safaricom Academy and Ksh 30 million Sponsorship of @iLab.
