This season's training will be done online using an AVIC Online Learning Platform.
Image: HANDOUT
A Chinese Multinational construction firm AVIC International has announced the seventh edition of the Africa Tech Challenge after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid- 19 pandemic.
The competition targeting the youth in Technical Training Institutions in Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Egypt, Zambia, and Zimbabwe will see the top six teams walking away with numerous prizes.
Themed 'Limitless innovation', this year's competition will focus on the rapidly developing construction industry.
It will focus on the design component, to boost design abilities, especially in reading and drafting construction drawings using cutting-edge technology tools such as ZWCAD.
In Kenya, the firm is partnering with the Ministry of Education in a bid to emphasizes harnessing technology to push the boundaries of creativity.
After a one-month training in construction engineering reading theory and construction drawing drafting, contestants from various countries will compete in a preliminary competition.
One winning team from each nation will be chosen via the preliminary competition to compete in the final, and the top three individuals from each country will be awarded.
The top three teams in the final competition will also be awarded, and candidates who do very well will be offered prospects for employment as well as scholarships to study in China.
This season's training will be done online using an AVIC Online Learning Platform.
Participants will be provided with CAD software during the programme.
The initiative takes the shape of a training programme and a competition, with the most outstanding participants getting fully financed scholarships to prestigious Chinese universities.
The winners are also awarded internships and job opportunities among other rewards.
Moreover, all Africa Tech Challenge participants receive certificates to show their participation and to highlight the skills they learned during the session.
This makes it simpler for them to obtain future internships or attachments and job opportunities.
Africa Tech Challenge is also a significant economic development driver since it drives solutions to challenges in the national economy that need interdisciplinary use of science and technology.
For this year's competition, vocational institutions will create teams of four, with one instructor and three students under the age of 24.
In total, 236 students (59 teams) from the six countries Kenya, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ghana, and Uganda are enrolled for ATC Season Seven.
The sixth season challenge focused on enhancing the participant’s skills in CNC Lathe Machining Techniques, in support of the government’s continued efforts to achieve the Big Four Agenda.
AVIC International has operated in Kenya for over 20 years, where it now has various projects in Infrastructure Construction Contracting, Real Estate, and many CSR operations in Vocational Education.
The Global Trade Centre, which AVIC is now developing, is the largest investment in Nairobi County, and its completion will result in the creation of more than 10,000 jobs.
It will also serve as the African headquarters for AVIC International.