A total of 4,500 students in Oyo, Rivers and Kano states are expected to participate in a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) training being organised by TechQuest STEM Academy in partnership with IHS Towers.
The training is part of an initiative called Mission – T programme developed with the objective of improving ICT education and empowerment in selected and communities across Nigeria. Also benefiting from the training are 60 educators from 45 schools as the students.
In a statement BusinessDay received, TechQuest says the Mission – T programme has been strategically designed to align with IHS Towers’s four sustainability pillars namely – ethics, people, environment and education.
“We believe that by empowering our communities and promoting ICT education, we are creating sustainable opportunities for competitiveness and improved ICT awareness in a digitally-driven world,” said Cima Sholotan, IHS Nigeria corporate social responsibility senior manager.
The programme will be implemented by the TechQuest STEM Academy, a non-profit STEM education provider, which currently supports over 11,000 young people across 12 states in Nigeria. IHS Nigeria will help fund the design, development, and delivery of a practical based ICT curriculum that includes textbooks, workbooks, academic videos, an interactive portal and a mobile app to assist teachers and Mission – T ambassadors in the delivery of STEM education.
According to the director and co-founder of the TechQuest STEM Academy, Charles Emembolu, “We believe that the Mission – T program aligns with the fourth United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG4) by focusing on merging locally designed STEM content and toolkits with government engagement. This is made possible through the support of firms such as IHS Nigeria.”
He added, “This collaboration contributes to closing the gap in terms of digital skills shortage and supports TechQuest’s overall mission to help one million Africans become digitally literate. Developing countries like Nigeria have a huge part to play and we are delighted to provide that support.”
