ICT Authority Seeks E-learning Tools for its Talents Amid the Pandemic

ICT Authority has begun the recruitment of its fifth cohort of DigiTalent. This activity is done by the Authority alongside strengthening the current cohort before they graduate towards the end of the year.

ICT Authority has also been working with Huawei that has provided some essential ICT services. The development has seen the Authority enhance its commitment to helping students access the latest training skills, and taking advantage of its position to exposing students to the private sector.

The Authority takes pride in its digital tools and solutions. the 400 DigiTalents are managed and supported through an online portal. The portal has features that allow students to access internships and mentors. Also, the same portal is used to submit and access innovations.

The training program did not stop amid the pandemic because, well, Digitalents have access to online training. The institution says it has worked hard to make a difference by providing flexibility and cost-effectiveness needed at this time.

Huawei and ICT Authority signed a 2014 MoU that focused on capacity building. The MoU was renewed in 2017. Huawei has been instrumental in building many communication systems in Kenya and has the capacity to provide additional training to the students.

“I want to thank you especially for the continued support and collaboration in several programs that Huawei has been supporting under the skills and career development toward our Digitalents. Even our state corporations have a great interest in technology training that Huawei is offering,” said Zilpher A Owiti, Head of Capacity Development & Literacy, Programme Manager, and National Coordinator PDTP.

“It was an honor to facilitate HCIA-AI certification training for the PDTP group, my first experience with the program coordinated by Huawei and ICT Authority. We had 21 interns in the class from varied backgrounds, thus the training approach was to build up from basic concepts to advanced topics, and emphasize the practical labs. The interns had one week to prepare for the training but it looks like this did not happen. The start was slow, but with encouragement from ICT Authority and Huawei, attendance improved with time. Students with programming challenges shared their screens, and the whole class participated in finding a solution,” said Philip Apodo Oyier, one of the University lecturers helping train the students.

Upon the completion of the training, DigiTalents will have access to Huawei resources, including eNSP, Fusion Computer, and different AI models. They also become Huawei Certified ICT Associates and will be fast-tracked for future job interviews and hiring by Huawei and its partners.