The Invotech Business Incubator and Enterprise Development Unit at DUT recently held a thought provoking seminar on E-Skills at the Ritson Campus.

A national initiative, e-Skills is geared towards developing a culture of technology and internet literacy in South Africa. This falls in line with the national drive by the Ministry of Information Technology and Communication (ITC) to utilise technology in the advancement of human life.

Professor Ahmed Bawa, DUT Vice Chancellor and Principal said he was delighted to have such a seminar hosted in the institution. “The world is not about getting data around but it is about getting the people around it. We need to start dialogue, speak on how to completely improve life and make things accessible to society. We have an amazing science community, we lack in innovation though. We need to think of strategic ways to inculcate ideas,” said Prof Bawa.

Speaking on the opportunities and challenges of the information society and economy Doctor Harold Wesso, Deputy Director General in e-Skills Institute emphasised the urgency to introduce and implement the E-Skills project in the country.

We are living in an age of technology, he said, where data, broadband and connectivity have become a universal language. While the rest of the world exploits and benefits from these avenues, South Africa struggles to keep up. “We have to position ourselves in the context of information society as we are struggling to keep up with the evolving world of technology,” said Dr Wesso.
Three steps have to be followed in order to meet government’s target to have an e-literate nation by 2030. These include getting the nation e-ready (which means introducing the e-skills initiative to average citizens and sparking interest), empowering thought leaders (government officials in ITC) to further drive the initiative and lastly training all citizens to utilise technology to their advantage.

Mymoena Sharif, the Chief Director of e-Skills, likens broadband to road infrastructure, saying it is the virtual space in which information moves. She said South Africa is sub divided into urban, rural and peri-urban areas. Because of the lack of resources in rural areas, many of the residents have to travel far distances to access the internet. With mobile technology becoming more advanced, the e-Skills training will enable all South Africans to access information on the internet and use the knowledge and facilities to empower themselves, be it in business, education or health.

Sharif said in order for this initiative to succeed “local authorities, FET Colleges, universities, civil society and other sectors need to be included.” DUT serves as a Hub for training and skills.

–Naledi Hlefane

Caption: L-R: Colin Thakur, Delene Heukelman, Dr Harold Wesso, Mymoena Sharif and Prof Oludayo Olugbara