Wednesday, February 11, 2015 Global IT firms offer 100 internships to Kenyans

 
President Uhuru Kenyatta meets and greets University of Nairobi students when he launched Presidential Digitalent Programme at the university on February 10, 2105. PHOTO | BILLY MUTAI   


By DOREEN WAINAINAH
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In Summary

• The Presidential Digital Talent Programme launched Tuesday will see 100 graduate trainees get offers for internships and mentorship this year by international as well as local technology companies.
• The initiative is aimed at helping to push towards an e-government that delivers public services online.
• It will be run under the Information Communications and Technology ministry through the ICT Authority.

Global and Kenyan IT firms have pledged to offer hundreds of internship slots annually aimed at providing on-the-job training for fresh graduates.

The Presidential Digital Talent Programme launched Tuesday will see 100 graduate trainees get offers for internships and mentorship this year by international as well as local technology companies.

“The programme is a private–public partnership and will offer internships for 100 talented graduates from across the country,” said Muchemi Wambugu, the chairman of the digital talent programme.

The initiative is aimed at helping to push towards an e-government that delivers public services online. It will be run under the Information Communications and Technology ministry through the ICT Authority.

The authority is working in partnership with IT firms including Cisco, Microsoft, CIO East Africa, Bamba Group, Google, Huawei, Safaricom and the University of Nairobi among others.


President Uhuru Kenyatta presents an award to one of the 100 Presidential Digitalent Programme trainee at University of Nairobi on February 10, 2105. PHOTO | BILLY MUTAI

As he officially launched the programme, President Uhuru Kenyatta said he expects the programme to grow next year, setting a target of 400 internship slots.

According to Mr Wambugu, who is also a partner at PwC, the programme will also constitute a stipend for the students who will be given a laptop and a mentor.

The internships will offer participants an opportunity to understand government services, and provide them with a chance to contribute towards improving service delivery.

In addition, the initiative is expected to promote the government’s ICT Master plan in line with Kenya’s Vision 2030.

The government has been automating its services with the latest being the online application of and payments for driving licences as well as online payment for passport application.

This article first appeared in The Business Daily.