Africa-Press – Mauritius. Organised by Polytechnics Mauritius Ltd (PML), the third edition of the IT Capstone Showcase Day was launched, on 27 October 2023, at the Ebène Campus, to celebrate the hands-on accomplishments of final year Diploma students in the IT and Emerging Technologies Cluster. Around eighty cutting-edge projects were displayed on that occasion.
The Minister of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation, Mr Darsanand Balgobin; the Chief Executive Officer of PML, Mr Yamal Matabudul; the Founder/Director of Digital Twin Services, Mr Johan Venkatasawmy; captains of the IT industry and entrepreneurs; and other personalities were present at the launch.
In his address, Minister Balgobin hailed the culmination of hard work of PML students and instructors in fostering technological innovation. He, however, asserted that technology adoption should be done with utmost care and responsibility, taking ethical practices, data protection and cybersecurity into consideration.
“We need to ensure that the technology we create serves humanity and fosters an inclusive, equitable and sustainable future,” Mr Balgobin underlined.
“The acquisition of problem-solving, critical thinking and adaptability skills,” he affirmed, “is critical to survive and thrive in the digital age.
” On this note, he urged the IT students to enhance as well as maximise on their creativity, skills and knowledge, in a bid to spearhead the country’s progress.
Moreover, Minister Balgobin dwelt on Government’s commitment in assisting educational institutions in the creation of ‘cyberpreneurs’ to surmount modern challenges through technology usage.
He, nonetheless, stressed the parallel role of industrial leaders in offering internships and mentorships to students. “These opportunities,” he added, “will allow students to gain real world experience by integrating them into the labour market.
Mr Balgobin pointed out that, according to the Future of Jobs 2023 Report of the World Economic Forum, technology adoption such as big data, cloud computing, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital commerce, was a key enabler of business transformation, and above 75% of businesses worldwide were seeking to harness these digital technologies in the next five years.
In the same vein, the Information Technology Minister indicated that the Mauritius Emerging Technologies Council had been established to empower businesses and all sectors of the economy into technology deployment.
Mr Matabudul, for his part, shared that more than 1,200 of 3,688 PML students were currently enrolled in nine IT programmes. He further unveiled that the first few cohorts of IT were 100% placed in jobs and out of 178 IT students, 81 were already in employment.
Deploring the stigmas attached to vocational education, the CEO firmly stated that skills were the main currency in this 21st century. Hence, developing the competence of learners is at the core of PML.
Speaking about the concept ‘thinking doers’, Mr Matabudul held that PML focused on building a career portfolio rather than a career path for students, creating a conducive environment for enthusiastic, practical and resilient learning.
In his remarks, Mr Venkatasawmy stipulated that the industry 4.0 was characterised by four key pillars namely AI, big data, Internet of Things and cloud computing. He, therefore, remarked that, heading towards digital transformation without a strong partnership with academy was arduous.
“Young graduates should not only be technologically versatile but they should also demonstrate passion in whatever they are undertaking, and be empowered in diverse subskills,” Mr Venkatasawmy averred.
“The exhibited projects such as AI based talent acquisition tool, Eco food packaging, AI in education for students, evidence management systems using blockchain and hospital for hotels,” he cited, “are in line with the requisites of the industry 4.0.
” The event concluded with a prize giving ceremony to celebrate the winning projects.
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