MTN Foundation, the corporate social
investment vehicle of Information and Communications Technology company
in Nigeria, MTN, has joined Oracle, a company that engineers hardware
and software, to work together in the cloud and in the data centre, to
give further ICT training to select MTNF scholars.
The collaboration will see two projects
come to fruition: a bursary funded by Oracle for one student to attend
the CERN openlab Summer School in Switzerland, and plans to train up to
2,000 MTNF scholars in database design and SQL and Java programming
skills.
“At MTN, we believe that education is
pivotal to the growth of any nation, which is why we are delighted with
this collaboration that will see Mufutau Akuruyejo, an MTN Foundation
scholar, leave for Switzerland to participate in the nine-week CERN
openlab programme.
“Akuruyejo will be the first Nigerian to
participate in this intensive programme, which would not have been
possible without Oracle’s support,” Corporate Service Executive, MTN
Nigeria, Akinwale Goodluck, said.
CERN openlab is a unique public-private
partnership between CERN and leading ICT companies. Its mission is to
accelerate the development of cutting-edge solutions to be used by the
worldwide LHC (large hadron collider) community.
“Our
highly competitive student programme is a cornerstone of CERN openlab,
with the students bringing new ideas and invigorating our
collaboration,” the Head of CERN openlab, Di Meglio, said, adding, “This
year, we received over 1,500 applications from all over the globe and
have selected students of the highest possible calibre. We’re very
excited to be welcoming them to CERN very soon.”
The MTNF Science and Technology
Scholarship Scheme has afforded hundreds of brilliant but indigent
students the opportunity to acquire qualitative tertiary education. The
programme is expected to encourage Nigerian students to take interest in
science and technology-related courses for the ultimate benefit of the
country.
The second initiative focuses on teaching
database design and SQL and Java programming skills to MTN Foundation
Scholars, using Oracle Academy curriculum and hosted online learning
materials. Students will be taught by two Oracle Academy trained faculty
from the Ajayi Crowther University and Aived International who have
attended and passed the formal Oracle Academy faculty training courses.
Commenting on the Oracle Academy
programme, Goodluck said it would help to further boost the ICT skills
in beneficiaries and avail them of valuable opportunities after
completing the database design and SQL and Java programming courses.
The Country Managing Director, Oracle
Nigeria, Adebayo Sanni, was quoted as saying that, “With the rapid
adoption of technology in Nigeria, it is imperative that students are
equipped with the right skills to take advantage of career and
entrepreneurial opportunities.
“We support the country’s efforts to
undertake a digital transformation to help secure its place as a leader
in the global economy. We are delighted to offer Mufutau Akuruyejo the
opportunity to attend CERN openlab’s unique summer programme for
students. When public and private organisations collaborate, we have the
opportunity to effect innovative change and create new opportunities,”
he added.
The MTNF Scholarship Scheme covers
tuition, books and pocket allowance. It is renewable provided recipients
maintain a minimum of 3.5 Cumulative Grade Point Average in their
course of study and an overall 2.5 CGPA. In 2012, the scholarship was
extended to visually impaired students in public tertiary schools across
the country who meet the requirements.
“Corporate social responsibility is at
the core of MTN’s organisational philosophy and in a few months, the
Foundation will be celebrating giant strides it has made in the past
decade,” Goodluck added.
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