News
NITDA Opens Application for COHORT 3 of Professional Courses in Partnership with COURSERA
In line with the Agency’s drive to implement the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to create one million digital jobs in the Information Technology sector, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in partnership with Coursera calls for application from interested Nigerians to apply for the Cohort 3 of Coursera courses.
Recall that NITDA and Coursera on October 19, 2022 launched a partnership to help combat high rates of youth unemployment, which stood at 19.6% in 2021, with both parties intend to train 8000 Nigerian learners annually in a cohort of 4000 learners each for the total of 24,000 in 3 years.
Coursera provides NITDA’s selected learners with access to world-class educational contents from top universities and industry leaders – including Yale, Meta, Google, and IBM. Coursera will support the Nigerian government in improving the technical capabilities of the country’s youths and develop Information Technology talent. The collaboration is Coursera’s first government partnership in Nigeria.
Partnering with Coursera will give Nigerian learners access to Coursera’s Professional Certificates portfolio, which are designed to empower learners to gain the skills necessary to pass an industry certification exam or launch a career in a specific field, such as IT support within three months.
Coursera’s 32 Professional Certificates are explicitly designed to facilitate entry into high-growth careers, including Data Analytics (Google), Social Media Marketing (Meta), and Software Developer (IBM).
These roles are due to enhance an increasing share of the Nigerian labour market, which expects 3 million digital jobs to be created in the next four years.
Traction: A total of 8000 Learners have been graduated from Cohort 1 (4000) and Cohort 2 (4000) in the first year of the partnership. Beneficiaries range from students, Government workers, entrepreneurs and academics.
In the 2 Cohorts, there were 43,745 enrollments in different courses with learners completing 16,374 courses which indicates that each learner enrolled an average of five courses. The distribution of skills developed based on 3 domains are Computer science (31.83%), Business (35.73%) and Data Science (32.44%).
The feedback from learners with an average rating of 4.8/5.0 signifies Nigerians enthusiasm in digital up-skilling on the Coursera Platform. Additionally, a recent study by the Business Insider Africa has found that Sub-Saharan Africa has the world’s highest year-on-year average growth rate for people enrolling for professional courses, with Nigeria ranking third globally.
The Cohort 3 skills will focus on the 3 million Tech talent (3MTT) initiative of the Federal Ministry of communication, Innovation and Digital Economy as listed below;
- Software Development
- UI/UX Design
- Data Analysis & Visualisations
- Quality Assurance
- Product Management
- Data Science
- Animation
- AI / Machine Learning
- Cyber Security
- Game Development
- Cloud Computing
- Dev Ops
Interested Nigerians are invited to apply through the link below. Application Link: https://links.nitda.gov.ng/coursera2401, Applications start date: Wednesday, 24 January 2024, Programme Start Date: 10th February 2024.
News
Legit.ng, Shade of Life Foundation Partner to Advance Autism Awareness in Nigeria
Legit.ng recently joined forces with the Shade of Life Foundation to become a voice of autism, and drive advocacy for improved media support during Autism Awareness Month.
Conversations around media support exploration was led by Joseph Omotayo, head of Department for Human Interest Stories at Legit.ng, and Dr. Eziafakaku Nwokolo, founder and CEO of the Shade of Life Foundation,
This partnership is a response to the concerns raised by organizations like the Shade of Life Foundation about the level of support received from the media in discussing autism as a disability.
While other disabilities may receive attention, autism, with its critical developmental implications often lacks adequate representation in mainstream media.
Recognizing the importance of addressing these concerns, Legit.ng took proactive steps by integrating itself into the essence of autism awareness.
It facilitated a one-hour workshop with Dr. Nwokolo, the founder of the foundation, to deepen our understanding of autism, its various spectrums, and the language boundaries associated with it.
Other steps we took in advocating autism awareness in the media, can be seen in our attached press release.
Legit.ng believes that by amplifying the voices of autism and advocating for better media representation, we can contribute to creating a more inclusive and accepting society for all.
News
As Nigeria Struggle, Tanzania Turns off Power Plants Due to Excess Supply
While 85 per cent of Nigeria is in darkness, Tanzania, an African country has shut down five hydroelectric stations in a bid to reduce excess electricity in the national grid.
Kassim Majaliwa, prime minister, Tanzania, has said the main plant, Mwalimu Nyerere Hydroelectric Station, alone generated enough electricity to power major cities, including Dar es Salaam, the country’s commercial hub.
It is the first time Tanzania, which suffers chronic power shortages, has closed hydroelectric stations due to excess production.
“We have turned off all these stations because the demand is low and the electricity production is too much, we have no allocation now,” an official from state-run power company, Tanesco, said.
The 2,115MW Julius Nyerere Hydropower Dam is said to be almost filled with water following heavy rains that started early this year.
Meanwhile, while the country has an installed capacity of 1,938MW and the grid installed capacity of 1,899MW, Nigeria which has an installed capacity of 13,000MW is struggling to electrify 85 per cent of its electricity consumers.
News
President Tinubu Appoints Jim Ovia as Student Loan Fund Chairman
President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Jim Ovia, renowned banker and businessman, as the Chairman, Board of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.
Ovia’s appointment is contained in a State House statement titled, ‘President Tinubu appoints Jim Ovia as Chairman of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund,’ and issued on Friday by Ajuri Ngelale, special adviser to the President, Media & Publicity.
The statement noted that “Ovia is the founder of one of Nigeria’s leading banks and a respected business leader, with a surfeit of efforts and benefaction towards nurturing and empowering young Nigerians.
“He is an alumnus of Harvard Business School and holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Louisiana.”
The National Student Loan Programme is a pivotal intervention that seeks to guarantee sustainable higher education and functional skill development for all Nigerian students and youths.
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund, the implementing institution of this innovation, demands excellence and Nigerians of the finest professional ilk to guide and manage.
“The President believes Mr. Ovia will bring his immense wealth of experience and professional stature to this role to advance the all-important vision of ensuring that no Nigerian student suffers a capricious end to their pursuit of higher education over a lack of funds,” the statement partly read.
Ovia’s appointment will also ensure “that Nigerian youths, irrespective of who they are, have access to higher education and skills that will make them productive members of society and core contributors to the knowledge-based global economy of this century.”
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