Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI), has signed an MoU with a not-for-profit community-owned initiative, 10 Academy to implement the 4IR for All (4IR4A) project.
The 4IR for All project, led by 10 Academy, will be a coalition of African universities and TVET institutions, global industry, individual young Africans, and governmental agencies working together to reach its goals. 4IR4A will link higher African education institutions and create a platform to train and inspire all interested young Africans to get skills for the 4th IR, starting with data science and growing to include other fields including the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, bio-engineering, blockchain, quantum computing and others.
This is in line with the Government of Sierra Leone’s interventions in digital learning as a response to the COVID interruptions. Those e-learning initiatives have been rolled out to support remote learning in schools and universities as well as provide opportunities to upscale and prepare the current workforce to acquire the requisite skillsets for roles during and post-COVID. Other activities have included the launch of the first African Coursera Workforce Recovery Initiative which offered every Sierra Leonean the opportunity to learn and earn a certification in over 4000 courses across 400 specializations in in-demand and industry-ready skills. In November 2020, DSTI also launched the Digital Foundation for Public Service Program in partnership with EDACY which provided an opportunity for 250 employees in the public sector to acquire digital skills and mindsets.
The 4IR4A includes three key activities:
● Massively parallel training through higher educational institutions and community hubs, reaching motivated young Africans through guest talks, monthly trainings and access to specialized self-teaching content
● Customized training of academics and PhD students, enabling 4IR to be integrated into research work and for educational curricula to be updated
● Intensive training of the highest potential young people, leading directly to job placement in data science and other 4th IR careers.
The project will provide:
A curated and updated list of self-teaching resources, for students to learn from
Monthly teaching-learning challenges, each an end-to-end industry-style data science project, with as many as possible developed using real data, with tutors and support available to help learners progress
Monthly (or more) guest talks from industry
The next batch of training starts 12 July 2021 and previous batches saw 75% of trainees placed into work within 6 months, working for companies around the world. 40% of training spots are for women. No application fee, and you only pay it forward once you are getting paid. To apply and get more information, please access the link 10academy.org/train. Applications close 13 June 2021