Official Summit Report Cape Town, South Africa 5 7 October 2012

www.africanbrains.net/ia

Innovation Africa Summit took place between Friday 5th and Sunday 7th October 2012
At the Westin Hotel, Cape Town, the morning of Friday 5th October saw Intel showcase their Sponsors of Tomorrow campaign to the attending ministerial delegation after which transfers took officials & partners to the University of the Western Cape (UWC) for a special day of keynote speeches and a tour of the facilities. A cocktail & buffet reception was hosted on the Friday evening back at the Westin to provide an opportunity for delegates to network. During the proceedings Mr Walid Tahabsem, CEO of Integrated Technology Group, made a speech announcing a $50m fund being made available for education management information systems EMIS. The mornings of both Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th featured keynote presentations from African ministers of education, ICT and science & technology, thought leaders, innovators and educationalists. Both afternoons comprised of over 600 pre-scheduled roundtable meetings with government ministries, universities, South African FETs and provincial departments of education. Exhibition space and meeting areas for companies to present their leading technologies and innovations were also utilised during these times. The purpose of all these meetings was to establish greater public private partnerships in education, science & research in sub-Saharan Africa. A brief summary of each of the presentations featured at UWC on Friday 5th and at the Westin on both the mornings of Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th follow:

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Opening day at the University of the Western Cape (UWC)

The opening day of the 2012 summit was held at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) who also partnered in the summit organisation to ensure the participation of South Africa's leading universities. The purpose of opening day at UWC was for partners and government officials to see the world-class development of a university such as UWC in South Africa and how it is now a leader especially in sciences and mathematics - with the hosting of institutes for biotechnology and nanotechnology as well as being one of the lead collaborators in the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project now agreed to go ahead in the Northern Cape. The Day at UWC was hosted by Rector & Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Brian O'Connell. Prof. O'Connell welcomed ministers and Hemisphere locational bias in tertiary education, scientific research and new patents. The digital revolution is now the opportunity for Africa so long as the necessary investment is made into the infrastructure of electricity supply, satellite and broadband technologies. The revolution is possible but it needs local African digital content, enabled by legacy systems, the financial markets, hosting platforms, mobile technologies and the backbone of tertiary education.

delegates with a passionate and engaging speech in the new Life Sciences faculty at the UWC. The ViceChancellor gave a background into the development of human knowledge and the great intellectual leaps of humankind from classical antiquity, through the Renaissance, agricultural and industrial revolutions to the modern digital age and the opportunity that now faces Africa. Prof. O'Connell made it clear how there is a Northern

Opening day at the University of the Western Cape (UWC)

UWC is a fundamental part of that backbone in South Africa with centres of excellence for: South African National Bioinformatics Institute (SANBI) Nanotechnology Innovation Centres Biolabels Unit South African Institute for Advanced Material Chemistry (SAIAMC) Institute for Microbial Biotechnology & Metagenomics (IMBM) Institute for Water Studies - UNESCO Centre for Groundwater Studies South African herbal Science & Medicine Institute (SASHMI) SensorLab: Biosensors Group DST/NRF Research Chair in Astrophysics

UWC is a clear demonstration of a world-class tertiary education institution and is driven ultimately by a committed management, staff and student population. AfricanBrains is grateful for their partnership in organising the Innovation Africa Summit and our thanks go out to Prof. O'Connell and his team.

Friday 5th October 2012 University of the Western Cape Partners Day Sponsored by HP
By clicking on any of the links on the following pages, you will be able to download the presentation/speech given during Innovation Africa
Prof Brian OConnell Rector & ViceChancellor, University of the Western Cape whether they are societal, technical, scientific or commercial. The big question is how we channel and harness innovation to address the major challenges we face as a nation in South Africa. One of the major challenges South Africa faces is social inequity and it is clear that to be successful in addressing this will involve the social appropriation of ICT for local benefit whether people have high levels of formal education or not. If we need reminding of the hunger for this we need look no further than the adoption of cell phone technology in Africa. To address this our e-Skills Institute has established hubs at local universities in six provinces of South Africa to coordinate efforts, creating new applications more relevant to, more engaged with and more owned by local actors. We are very encouraged by the response, which now involves more than 50 organisations.

Hon. Dina Pule Minister of Communications, South Africa Innovation is at the centre of successful change in addressing major issues,

Mr Luc Rukingama Director, UNESCO Office, Zimbabwe Keynote Address There is some cause for concern in countries or regions that are losing a significant proportion of their highly skilled personnel to more developed countries, commonly known as brain drain. It is upon this background that UNESCO has partnered with HP for the Brain Gain Initiative (BGI). The partnership creates a sustainable university e-infrastructure for science, bringing together higher education institutions and research centres in Africa and the Arab States region and allowing them to pursue innovative education projects. A growing proportion of scientific research is focusing on data and can be conducted from anywhere, enabling or even calling for distant cooperation. The current partners to this initiative UNESCO, HP and the higher education

institutions themselves are fully committed to ensuring the BGI will deliver a durable, valuable asset.

Mr Martin Rist Education Business Manager, HP, Middle East & Africa HP social innovation education programs create powerful learning experiences that give pioneering minds the skills and inspiration to shape a better world:HP Catalyst Initiative Building a global network of educators and thought leaders in STEM(+) education. HP LIFE Learning Initiative for Entrepreneurs Enabling entrepreneurs through

innovative e-skills training. HP Education Cloud(s) Creating the next generation of cloudbased education solutions. Social Innovation Relay Developed in collaboration with the Junior Achievement awards, encouraging students to find business solutions on social challenges. 20,000 students from 13 countries participated. 2012 winners from South Africa! EmulaRmp Team from Sandton View high school: Solar-charged lamp to combat electricity shortages, made from recycled materials, affordable and safe for low income communities.

Saturday 6th October 2012

Mr Donald Grant Minister of Education, Government of the Western Cape Yesterday was World Teachers Day a day where across the world we recognised and celebrated the important role our teachers play in providing quality education at all levels. We believe that e-Education is primarily about learning and teaching, and it is the e in e-Education that supplements and enhances teaching and learning experiences in the classroom. Investing in education is the best investment one can make in this country. Contributions from the private sector and civil society to the improvement of education outcomes are invaluable not only to us as Government, but also to the learners themselves. Hon. Prof. Hlengiwe Mkhize Deputy Minister of Economic Development, South Africa These dialogues have been an eyeopener as they have shown us partnerships between policy makers, manufacturers of ICT and managers which can fast track our developmental goals. This Innovation Africa Summit is significant as it provides impetus for us to find the best ideas, solutions and models for science, ICT, research and development.

We think that ICT should influence all policies at a national level and should become part of the national psyche. We see it as a ladder to help us achieve our ideals.
Within our departments all our policies should be directed towards a common goal especially through the use of ICT. We have learnt hard lessons that fragmented approaches towards service delivery do not give us the outcomes we desire and I think that ICT is a good vehicle to help us talk to each other as we develop and implement our policies.

Hon. Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi Minister of Education & Skills Development, Botswana Botswana has always been able to provide infrastructure and develop processes and procedures but we have not always been able to provide quality with regards to adaptability. This is critical specifically in ICT and the provision of fully qualified personnel for the workplace. Botswana is heavily dependent on the export of its diamonds, in fact over 75 per cent of our revenues are from this

natural resource. The world recession has had a negative impact on these revenues and so it is more important than ever that we diversify our economy and this is something we have been doing intensively. We would like to now create more of a balance in our education system, changing from a purely academic focus to allow vocational skills to also be taught. If we are going to create more employment within Botswana it is critical we teach more vocational skills. Hon. Senator David Coltart Minister of Education, Sport, Arts & Culture, Zimbabwe Zimbabwe recognizes that vocationalisation in the education system will ensure the realisation of inert talents in terms of skills acquisition. Our vision is of a united, well-educated, patriotic, balanced, competitive, self-reliant Zimbabwean with unhu/ubuntu.

In Zimbabwe, vocational and technical education has become a vital mode of education delivery from primary to tertiary institutions. The intention is to come up with an education system that mitigates poverty through enhancement of employment creation. A well designed technical and vocational education will indeed be education for employment. Nonetheless, the high cost involved in its implementation demands that Government and other stakeholders pull resources together to fund its effective operation and bridge the disconnect between education and employment.

Hon. Philipo Augustino Mulugo Deputy Minister of Education and Vocational Training, Tanzania

Colleges and funded by the Canadian International Development Agency. Since TVET systems have a big role in developing skills for vocation there is need to review, upgrade and remodel them to keep them relevant and responsive to the needs of school leavers, industry and the community at large. Mr Horst Weinert Managing Director, Festo Didactic There is a gap in what education is producing in South Africa and what industry needs. We are producing tremendous amounts of students going to universities and also the universities of technology but a very small number going into the technical vocational colleges. This pyramid is completely the wrong way round for what industry needs and we need to change this. In South Africa

we have fitters, welders, electricians and technicians earning more than engineers do. Supplying that information to students before they make career choices is critical if we are to encourage them to gain skills that can be used in industry. Industry needs people with high skills because with that comes high employability. We need people who can fix and maintain the machines of industry not just people who can put pen to paper. We also do not simply need people to be trained; we need their competency to be tested. A great way to do this is for students to enter the World Skills Competition which will give students and educators an opportunity to see some of the most talented in the world execute their skills. I hope we will see you there.

Education in Tanzania is composed of the general education system and the TVET system which covers the training of craftsmen, technicians and engineers. We have now instigated the Education for Employment (EFE) project which is to ensure that education and training meets employment needs. The EFE project has been achieved in collaboration with the Association of Canadian Community

Hon. David Mabumba MP Deputy Minister of Education, Zambia We agree with the African Unions Second Decade of Education for Africa (2006-2015): Draft Plan of Action in recognising that education is a critical sector whose performance directly affects and determines the quality and scale of Africas developmental agenda. It forms the basis for developing science, technology and innovation which are catalysts for harnessing resources, industrialisation, and for participation in the global knowledge economy. ICT is a critical tool in giving students the skills to adapt to constant technological innovations. To facilitate this Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA) has laid fibre-optic infrastructure for the Zambia Research and Education Network (ZAMREN) to link all universities, colleges and

Initiative, is a comprehensive strategy for the integration of ICT across the entire education sector. With local expertise and international support, TECH/NA! ensures all educational institutions are able to efficiently utilise ICT to meet their overall educational objectives. research institutions. Schools will also later be connected. We need to Integrate ICT into the education curriculum at all levels. To this effect, Government has reformed the curriculum and created technical and academic pathways. In summary, Governments need to investment in ICT integration and avoid the project approach to enhance sustainability. Mr Johan van Wyk Deputy Director, Head of IT, Ministry of Education, Namibia

TECH/NA!, Namibias ICTs in Education

TECH/NA! is a true collaboration amongst many stakeholders who have coordinated their resources and efforts to ensure Namibias ICT revolution occurs by way of a comprehensive and sustainable deployment. It is our intention that by the year 2030 the ICT sector will be the most important economic sector in Namibia.

Prof. Crispus Kiamba Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research, Kenya Kenya, Africa and indeed the developing world cannot afford to be caught napping by the increasingly flattening world, increasingly networked world, rapidly globalizing world and, more particularly, the increasingly knowledge-based world. Most of Africa is scientifically lagging but things are changing as some parts become increasingly competitive eg. South Africas Square Kilometre Array Project (space science) or Kenyas living labs (ICT).

A nation that harnesses science, technology and innovation to foster national prosperity and global competitiveness for wealth creation will achieve a high quality of life for all its people. Mainstreaming the application of science, technology and innovation in all sectors and processes of the economy will ensure Kenya benefits from acquisition and utilisation of available capacities and capabilities to achieve its 2030 Vision programme. Dr Sibongile Mtshali Director of Education, Swaziland

Swaziland has partnered with the private sector to equip schools with computer equipment with the aim of introducing e-learning and giving basic IT literacy skills to children.

The Ministry of Education and Training sees ICT as vitally important to the education sector in Swaziland. Our vision is to transform education and training through the provision of ICT infrastructure and solutions in both the delivery and management of education.

However, the high cost of internet access and connectivity issues still need to be addressed in order to make ICT more widely available. This would include to non-formal sectors such as Open and Distance Learning (ODL) and non-formal and adult education, to promote lifelong learning in Swaziland.

Sunday 7th October 2012

Firoz Y Patel Deputy Director General System Planning, South Africa Historically there has been a lack of access to education for blacks in South Africa but in recent times there has been increased access to schools and universities. However work still needs to be done to increase the quality of education. To address this, the government in 2009 implemented the Integration of Higher Education and Training policy to improve quality. critical for high quality work; an inclusive economy; labour absorption; rural development; the reduction of inequalities and a more diversified and knowledge intensive economy. Hon. Makabelo Mosothoane Minister of Education & Training, Lesotho

The Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) through the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) and the Examinations Council of Lesotho (ECOL) has embarked on the process of overhauling the whole curriculum and assessment for basic education by developing a curriculum and assessment policy in Lesotho.
The new arrangement has reduced the number of subjects from twelve to four units per grade and is organised around learning areas, curriculum aspects, and core competencies.

At the district level the new Educational Management Information System (EMIS) is also expected to play an important role in supporting the whole process of decentralised planning. Under this process of decentralisation the MoET would retain responsibility for overall policy, teacher training, curriculum development and the monitoring of policy but the districts would take responsibility for their own operational plans. We believe this new approach is critical if we are to meet our 2015 Millennium Development Goals.

Mr Alan Curry Director sub-Saharan Africa, British Council It is estimated that by 2050 Africa will account for 29 per cent of all people aged 15 to 24. It is vital these young people have the skills the market will be looking for tomorrow. The focus must be on expanding tertiary and university education, public private partnerships and using technology to innovate and expand education beyond familiar walls. The British Council operates Digital in Schools in 16 countries across Sub-

Saharan Africa helping to improve ICT use in teaching practice, helping teachers hone their English skills and providing content to help students compete in a global environment. Six of the 16 are established under The Badiliko Project, a new global partnership between Microsoft and the British Council. This has established almost 90 digital hubs across Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Ghana and Nigeria. The current generation must realise they are living in the ICT revolution and we need to guide them on how to leverage ICT.

The provision of Education Management Information System (EMIS) Africa will create a unified comprehensive tool to provide relevant data to assist in decision-making. The cycle starts with data collection, processing, analysis and reporting and is then fed back into the system.
There are many challenges facing the African education system and I believe the best way to address these is for policy makers to have the correct data so they can make informed decisions. This will help policy makers solve problems before they happen rather than after.

Mr Walid Tahabsem CEO, Integrated Technology Group EMIS AFRICA

There was a time when I would have to try and convince people that ICT was an important component of education but I think we can all agree that it is now an accepted fact.

Mr Simon Lee Information and Technology Manager, Independent Schools Association of Southern Africa (ISASA)

ISASA is a voluntary association which provides professional and collegial services to registered independent schools. We have just under 698 schools, 657 in South Africa and 41 outside South Africa; these are in Angola, Botswana, Swaziland, Namibia and Zimbabwe. The South African education sector is made up of public schools and

independent schools (more commonly known as private schools). There has been a rapid growth in independent schools in recent years including non-profit, established traditional private schools, chains of forprofit high and mid-fee schools and chains of mid and low-fee schools. This growth is being fuelled by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and investors from India and Britain. There are many opportunities for investment in these independents schools from external organisations. Partnerships can be forged with independent associations like ISASA or a chain of schools or with an individual school.

have solutions to support what you are trying to do. We have solutions for school systems, higher education institutions and how they manage their campuses and student excellence and how to track performance.

Orfhlaith Ni Chorcora Senior Director, Business Development, Oracle, Africa & Middle East
The main aim of Oracle is to simplify IT systems with strategies to eliminate complexity allowing customers to concentrate on driving their business. Right across the education sector we

Oracle engineers software and hardware to work together and we can also provide applications, databases and storage. We take on the complexities so you dont have to.

Dr Frank Boahene Education Director, Southern African Region, African Development Bank We have heard a lot in the last few days about the challenges this continent faces but we should not forget that amidst these challenges are opportunities. The first of these is the announcement of the building of the worlds largest telescope in South Africa - the SKA project. This is good news because it has implications for job creation, skills and economic growth and if you look at the downstream effect, Africa is expected to gain 30 billion dollars.

hydropower project. Not only will it be able to supply electricity to every African village for over a hundred years, it will supply so much power that it will be possible to export excess electricity to the Middle East and Europe. Some countries in Africa have created skill bases for the future but many have not. Now is the time to create jobs and teach skills so as to take advantage of these new opportunities. The African Development Bank (AfDB) is there for ministers of education, science or technology that require finance for their departments but they must advocate a proposal to their finance minister before approaching the AfDB for funding. We encourage you to use AfricanBrains as a partner to do this as they have the convening power to bring together government ministers, private sector, civil society and academia. We will be creating a committee to look into how best to take advantage of

these opportunities so when we invite you to join, please give it your best attention.

The African Union also has a planned initiative to construct trans-African corridors - rail and road - from South Africa to Cairo, Senegal to Kenya and from Nigeria to Algeria. This is also welcome news as it will open African markets and create opportunities. We also have the Inga Dam project on the river Congo - the worlds largest

would be running the world tomorrow are the nations that are investing in education and research today. If developing nations wish to be competitive and become an integral part of the developed league they should seriously consider strengthening their science, technology and innovation (STI) capacities. This event should therefore be used as a framework for open discussions regarding the further progress of science, technology and innovation for the benefit of humankind. George Mulamula Senior Advisor to Government of Tanzania The Ministry of Communication, Science & Technology is on the path to developing a technology-supported society that can be increasingly selfreliant, socially cohesive and equitable, involving fundamentally new ways of thinking, working and living.

It requires the building of new capacities, not only in the workforce but the entire population. We consider these capacities to be inevitably associated with the use of ICT, referred to as eskills. The Ministry is playing its role in this vision and laying out a coordinated strategic plan for e-Skills through an ICT and STI policy that will deliver Tanzanias vision 2025.

Moses Zungu Project Manager, Information, Communications and Technology, Swaziland Science is a common heritage and every nation must be involved in its development. The greatest safeguard for peace lies in assuring the benefits of science are made available to all people on an equal basis. The nations that are running the world today invested heavily in education and research yesterday and those that

Dr Harold Wesso Director General, ESkills Institute, Ministry of Communications, South Africa

economy so as to compete with the rest of the world in the future. To achieve this we are creating localised knowledge production hubs within individual provinces which will be overseen at a national level and funded through a variety of collaborations. Hon. Dr Julien Nimubona Minister of Higher Education & Scientific Research, Burundi In Burundi, the objective of science, technology and innovation is to contribute to the socio-economic development of Burundians but it must take into account their needs. In fact, a population educated therein is indeed a real motor of prosperity for the whole country. Burundi faces many challenges and is committed to promoting science, technology and innovation but to achieve this it requires support and collaboration. This support should take the form of investment. So join us in implementing the Burundi governments collaborative activities, projects and ICT solutions for education and employment.

In South Africa we have a bold vision and have recently published our National Development Plan. This outlines our intention that by 2030 ICT will underpin the development of a dynamic, connected, information society with a vibrant knowledge economy that is both inclusive and prosperous. Our intention is to create a knowledge

Hon. Chikumbutso Hiwa Deputy Minister of Education, Science & Technology, Malawi Malawi has developed a National Science and Technology policy and is integrating it into national development as a key priority area. This science and technology sector is governed by the National Science and Technology Policy of 2002 and the Science and Technology Act of 2003. The concept of science and technology as a tool for rapid socio-economic development cannot be overemphasized

and has aided industrialised countries to develop their economies. It is the wish of the government of Malawi to promote research, science and technology. Malawi is promoting the culture of research among its learners and scholars. We are committed to make this work as we know the benefits of investing in research, science and technology are great. Mr Richard Addey Regional Director Africa, SMART Technologies An example of an initiative related to education that SMART Technologies is involved in is the InGenious project. The project creates strategic partnerships between industry and education in order to explore innovative ways of increasing student interest and enrolment in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) related subjects. Its aim is to identify and share teaching practices developed by industry to

communicate the value of STEM and stimulate young peoples interest in it. The objective of this ingenious project is ultimately to create jobs and we would love to bring this to Africa.

296 Attendees Breakdown per Country

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