Global Tech giant Microsoft ADC has partnered with Kenyan Universities as it seeks to build a global tech talent pipeline.
The Vice President, of Product Management at Microsoft in Seattle, USA, Joe Dadzie said that the organization decided to engage institutions of higher learning noting that ‘tech giants need to start in the classroom’.
Some of the Universities working together with Microsoft ADC include Zetech University, USIU, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and Kirinyaga University.
Dadzie reiterated that some of the resources Microsoft has been sharing with students include the; Cloud skills challenge, free student certification programmes and Microsoft Learn student ambassadors around the institutions of higher learning.
Others, he said, are the Imagine Cup, an idea that helps students bring their unique tech solutions to life, Azure for students and Azure AI text analytics demo, power platform user group Kenya, the game of learners, and educator developer blogs among many other exciting opportunities.
The Vice President who was accompanied by Microsoft ADC Managing Director Catherine Muraga and Irene Githinji, Education Engagements lead at Microsoft ADC, said that they will partner with Universities in enhancing their curriculum, especially in the technical and technology courses.
“Some of these programmes include Computer Science, Information Technology, Software Engineering, Cyber Security and Computer Networks among others,” he noted.
He spoke during the ongoing Microsoft ADC Campus Tour at Zetech University’s Technology Park in Mang’u, Juja constituency on Tuesday,
The Director of Research & Extensions at Zetech University Esther Mwangi called on students to seek more skills and initiatives such as the Microsoft Learn student ambassadors among other products available at Microsoft.
“Students should also take initiative of the many programmes at Zetech University including the Zetech University Innovation Hub, which can be used to incubate their ideas until the invention is fully matured and run through simulations to ensure its effectiveness to the society at large,” she said.
She reiterated that the University has already incubated many inventions by bright minds at the institution including the AirSafi invention – that monitors the air quality index, Totsi USB cables now a big factory at Kirinyaga County, African Telecommunication Union (ATU) Innovation challenge where the University’s invention emerged as 1st runners-up representing the whole East Africa as position one, the smart pest deterrent system among many others.
“We continue to pursue technology as one of its pillars in the strategic plan, and collaborations with institutions such as Microsoft continue to play a pivotal role in ensuring that the students in the IT field get to find all the available resources at their disposal while at Zetech University to kick-start their career journey, by bringing the world of work to students and what is expected of them as they study,” the Don said.
Zetech Vice Chancellor Prof Njenga Munene hailed that partnership saying that it will help rope in more students into tech studies.
He pointed out that the number of students pursuing IT and other related courses at the University has significantly increased in recent years.
