South Africa: KwaZulu-Natal’s plans to become an Innovation and Technology Hub will be raised a notch higher on Thursday, 20 October 2022, when the Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube launches the Mobile Digital Analytics Skills Labs, which will be rolled out across the province.
The launch, to be held at Orient Heights Primary School in Pietermaritzburg, is part of the broader Connected Smart Province Project, being driven by Premier Dube-Ncube.
The main objective of the project is to expose school children from an early age and youth to the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies so that they can have the skill set and entrepreneurial acumen to be part of the $6 trillion dollar digital economy.
Through the Mobile Digital Analytics Skills Lab, the lack of infrastructure will become a thing of the past, and young people in underprivileged and remote areas will be afforded the same learning opportunities as those in affluent areas.
“KwaZulu-Natal has intelligent, innovative and highly talented people. Therefore, as the provincial government, we want to create an environment where innovation is nurtured and supported by providing the relevant Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies. During the launch, we will also have the school2school Digital Economy Career Expo, where attendees will be taken through Multimedia, Space technology, cryptocurrency, broadband, cloud learner management and career opportunities in 4IR,” said Premier Dube-Ncube.
The pillars of the Connected Smart Province are:
1. Broadband Connectivity,
2. 4IR Skills Development,
3. Innovation Incubation,
4. Technology Production,
5. Commercialisation of Innovation,
6. Solving social issues with Smart business processes and technology.