Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology (DIT) has received US $16m from the World Bank (WB) for construction of regional flagship Information and Communication Technology (ICT) centre.
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ICT center
The facility’s main task will include practical training in cyber security, one of the East African Community (EAC) agenda. According to DIT Principal Professor Prekisedis Ndomba, the centre will have the capacity to accommodate 2,000 full- time students annually and 1,500 students for short courses.
Professor Ndomba noted that the cyber security- related curriculum for the centre will be prepared and approved by stakeholders from EAC member states and other countries in the Horn of Africa, particularly Ethiopia, to attract more students from across the continent and encourage innovation.
“The world is heading towards the internet sphere and everything should be available on-line, the more the world struggles to achieve this target the more the cyber crimes. We cannot fully switch in to internet arena without first setting proper means to protect our on-line materials,” said Professor Ndomba.
ICT experts
The project is set to be completed and begin operation in the 2021 academic year. The professor added that the centre will also put much efforts in all industrialization issues, and gave assurance that ICT experts from the US-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have already promised to share their expertise with the centre’s students and trainers.
“The Britton Woods institution has already released 30 per cent of the money, with the support continuation subjected to the centre’s performance. An increase in girls’ recruitment in ICT related studies and employability of female graduates are among of the criteria to be considered by the global bank,” said Professor Ndomba.
