The First Tanzania ICT Summit 2013: ‘ICT Skills of Tomorrow’
22/11/13
The first Tanzania ICT Summit was organised by the Irish Embassy in association with DIT, the Institute of Finance Management & the Tanzanian Commission for Science and Technology
Like most countries Tanzania is experiencing chronic ICT skills shortages. Producing sufficient numbers of graduates with appropriate technical skills to improve productivity and drive economic growth and innovation are key challenges.
The Embassy of Ireland, in association with the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT Ireland), the Institute of Finance Management (IFM) and the Tanzanian Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH), organised The First Tanzania ICT Summit 2013: ‘ICT Skills of Tomorrow’ which took place on the 19 - 20th November 2013 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
The event aimed to promote links between ICT sectors in Ireland and Tanzania and to share Ireland's experiences as a global ICT hub.
The Summit was officially opened by HE Fionnuala Gilsenan, Ambassador of Ireland to Tanzania. The overall purpose of the event was to promote ICT sector links between Ireland and Tanzania and to share Ireland's experiences as a global ICT hub. The event brought together leaders from government, industry and academia to discuss the ICT skills needs in Tanzania and how Tanzania can make itself ICT-ready for the future.
Leading figures in the Tanzanian ICT industry and from Irish and Tanzanian companies made presentations. One of these highlighted current Tanzanian cutting-edge research on cyber-security issues. In addition, the Summit featured a CoderDojo workshop involving primary and secondary students learning to program for fun as well as a workshop on Mobile Application Development.
An 'ICT Skills Needs Report for the Tanzanian ICT Industry', produced by DIT Ireland and IFM, was launched at the Summit. The key message from the report for education and training providers is that the ‘emphasis needs to shift from what students are expected to know to what they can do’ when they leave college. The requisite skills and competencies can only be developed through substantial engagement between education providers and industry in a partnership that ensures that education and training programmes are tailored to meet the needs of the ICT sector.
