IHS Nigeria, TechQuest partner to bring STEM training to 1000 teachers, students

IHS Nigeria, a mobile telecommunication infrastructure provider, has partnered with TechQuest STEM Academy to facilitate the training of 1000 teachers and students across Nigeria in July as part of its COVID-19 initiatives.

The training is a part of the Mission-T Program commissioned by IHS Nigeria in 2019. The program’s objective is to improve ICT education and empowerment in Nigerian schools and communities. The Mission-T Program is especially aimed at improving, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and help stimulate interest and participation of teachers and students in STEM fields across the country.

During the program in July, participants will be equipped with requisite knowledge and skills to develop projects that can improve human existence in a post-COVID-19 era leveraging digital tools like the internet, software, and computers. The teachers would also receive the relevant skills they need to deliver effective teaching over the internet.

“This initiative will increase the level of digital literacy and STEM capabilities which have been identified as essential skills needed to function in a rapidly changing technological age,” said Itoro Emembolu, director, TechQuest STEM Academy. “Programs such as the Mission-T initiative makes this possible through the far-sighted support of firms such as IHS Nigeria.”

TechQuest STEM Academy is a non-profit STEM organisation that has delivered STEM and digital literacy education to nearly 30,000 young people across 16 Nigeria states since 2015.

The Mission-T program has also offered to provide free internet data to the first 200 teachers and the first 500 students to sign up for the training as a response to the current challenges being experienced during the pandemic and alleviate identified barriers to attendance and learning during the free training period.

Students who participate in the program will have the opportunity to learn mobile app development, web development, and an introduction to Python Programming. Facilitators of the training will introduce teachers to practical Mission-T ICT curriculum, which includes textbooks, workbooks, academic videos, an interactive portal, and a mobile app to assist teachers in the delivery of STEM education to their students.