Influencing Academia to Produce Quality ICT Talent ... · Safaricom/Academia Partnership Who is...
Transcript of Influencing Academia to Produce Quality ICT Talent ... · Safaricom/Academia Partnership Who is...
Safaricom/Academia Partnership
Who is Safaricom
Why Partner
Who do we partner with
Partnerships initiatives
Benefits to Industry/Academia
Challenges faced
Who is Safaricom? A Leading integrated communications company in Africa
Vision: Transforming lives
Kenya’s most admired brand, BES 86%
Leading in financial inclusion; Mpesa. 86,000 agents
Over 4000 staff
67% market share in Kenya
23.3 million subscribers
2014/2015 Net Income $320M
Over 600,000 shareholders
Concern
Consult
Convince
Collect/
Correct
Commit
SAFARICOM
Why Partner?
Goal
Establish Industry/Academia linkages with
Universities
Development of a local source of ready-to-
deploy graduates
Why? Strengthen our Talent Suppliers (University)
Cost on Re-training University graduates
Need for a talent pipeline for READY NOW staff!
Leverage on academia strengths e.g. Research,
Innovation
Supplied Graduates often don’t meet industry requirement
Who do we partner with?
Partnership Areas
Influencing of University Curriculums
Donation of Equipment and facilities
Safaricom Staff as Visiting Lecturers
Innovation hubs & Research
Mobile Applications Development
Mentorship Programmes
Career Fairs, Workshops and Conferences
Attachments
Graduate Discover Program
BSc. IT and Telecommunication
MSc. Telecommunication Innovation and
Development.
BSc. Telecommunications Engineering
Influencing of University Curriculums and Sponsorships
Equipment Donation
GSM Network lab to prepare students
with practical skills for application in
ICT Industry worth $1M
Computers to Universities and other
institutions
Mobile devices
Ilab Africa in Strathmore University for
development of develop local mobile
applications.
Testbed to enable developers test
their solutions.
TechAvenue @ TU-K Worth over $2M.
Incubation Cetres
Idea hub
Innovation Hubs (Research Labs)
Attachment Program and Educational Visits
Over 200 students attached annually
University staff attachment
International and local Educational
visits
Career fairs and guidance
Workshops and conferences
Safaricom staff as visiting lecturers
Excellence Awards
Safaricom Mentorship Programmes
Employees mentor students in the universities
Mentees are selected based on the guidelines agreed upon
between the institution and Safaricom.
Safaricom Women in Technology Program
A network for Women in Technology space
Advocating for more Girls to choose careers in ICT/Technology
Initiatives
• Kids go tech: “ Creativity in innovation”
• 47/47 Girls High School Outreach and Mentorship
• Campus Outreach –Supporting Female ICT/Engineering students
A Pipeline for future succession pool for Safaricom
Involves global view - attachment to other telecoms for best
practice – e.g. Vodacom -SA, Huawei Center - China, Vodafone -
Fiji , Nokia Siemens - Belgium .
Graduates Discover Program
Focusing on 5-16 years of age - Nurturing creativity and innovation in ICT
Safaricom Kidz-Go-Tech Program
Children making metal detectors. Used a resistor to confirm the presence of metal and programmed the lights to turn from green to red and the sound box to sound an alarm
“Ready now” ICT Engineers
Industry focused curriculums delivered
Research with Results - practical and real problems facing industry
Formalized sharing of knowledge and resources between Industry and
Academia
Joint Commercialization and marketing of products and services
Visibility of demand Vs supply of talents
Business continuity and succession
Cost Savings and Risk Sharings
Motivation for Industry/Academia Partnerships
Divergent Missions, Goals, Priorities
Conflicts of Interest e.g Intellectual Property Restrictions (IP)
Bureaucracies that hinders speed
Institutional Culture
Lack of Framework for Partnerships
Challenges