Strathmore University’s @iLabAfrica launched the Software Development Centre with the goal of training students and professionals on software development skills which can be used locally or exported to global firms. The training will be provided by leading Hungarian University – Óbuda, with an aim to match worldwide software development standards.

The Director @iLabAfrica – Strathmore University, Dr. Joseph Sevilla, said that he is proud to be part of its realization, “This is a very important day because it marks the actual preliminary of activities of a project that we started discussing some years back, that of establishing a software development centre in collaboration with Óbuda University, ACPM and BCK. We look forward to our students gaining software skills that will enable them compete at a global level.”

In addressing the question of alleviating the skillset of Kenyans to meet the demands of Hungarian companies, H.E. Zsolt Mészáros – Hungarian Ambassador, commented, “The enduring goal of this training is to actually tap on the pool of talents of youthful Kenyans who are brilliant in IT and use that in Hungary and Europe at large where there is a shortage of software developers.”

Speaking during the event, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Planning and Development, Dr. Edward Mungai reiterated Dr. Sevilla’s sentiments, “The collaboration between academia, industry, and the government is one of the many we adore to see. As Strathmore University, we are contented about this collaboration and to finally see its realization.

Prof. Ervin Rácz, Deputy Head of Power Systems Department – Óbuda University said, “As Óbuda, this collaboration is in the heart of what we do and it is a great step towards making enormous impact in academia. Academic organizations and institutions are critical when it comes to developing skills. We have to be innovative and do things differently because customer needs and wants are constantly shifting and institutions are unremittingly providing us with views on doing things differently.”

The CEO, ACPM IT Consulting Ltd., Marton Miklos, acknowledged the existence of good ties between Kenya and Hungary as being instrumental towards the creation of good working partnerships between institutions from both countries. “If we want to make a difference in the software development world, we need to encourage young people to invest in academics as well as the business world,” said Mr. Miklos.

The CEO – BCK Kenya Ltd., Pat Muthui’s speech touched on a number of things, ranging from understanding what the competitive advantages are to exporting quality skillset that will attract foreign currency. “Bridging the skill gap by providing training and exposure in software development is the best way to ensure that it is fully incorporated as a service. We are dedicated to ensuring that the quality of our output meets international standards.”

The launch can be termed as timely looking at the current decade where the universe of software development is nearly seeing a progression of fervour with remarkable changes and patterns occurring in innovation advancements.

This article was written by Daniel Ofisi.