02 September 2014
As part of its
dedication to addressing the skills gap and furthering higher education in
South Africa, Jasco has once again committed to support postgraduate research
at Telkom’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Broadband Networks and Applications,
established in the Department of Electrical Engineering and the Department of
Computer Science at the University of Cape Town (UCT) since March 1997. The CoE
is an interdisciplinary Centre for research into advanced networking systems,
specialising in broadband networks and applications. It is part of the
nationwide Telkom CoE initiative, aimed at imparting knowledge and developing
skills in science, engineering and technology.
“As one of the
industry partners, Jasco has committed resources towards ensuring that students
in the telecoms engineering sector receive not only the education they need,
but also the exposure, opportunities and experience required to contribute
positively toward the economy. Jasco has been a supporter of Telkom’s CoE for
the past eight years, helping to fund skills development in broadband
technologies and telecommunications engineering, and we are now looking at
expanding the scope of our involvement. This is essential in ensuring South
Africa can compete on a global scale in an increasingly connected world, and
also retain our local expertise” says Ben Steyn, Executive Head of Sales at
Jasco ICT.
While skills
development is key, skills retention is another critical challenge in South
Africa. By partnering with significant industry players, Telkom’s CoE helps
students to gain real world experience and exposure, and gives them the
opportunity to be employed by these players once their studies are complete. In
addition, CoE students are given the prospect to present a paper at the
prestigious annual Southern Africa Telecommunication Networks and Applications
Conference (SATNAC). This helps to showcase their skills, keep them up to date
on the latest trends and technological innovations, and offers excellent
networking opportunities.
“Jasco’s
contribution and collaboration in our research program has had an enormous
positive impact on the CoE at UCT. It has allowed us to establish a
postgraduate exchange programme with international collaborative partners, and
enabled more researchers and postgraduate students to present the findings of
their research at highly reputable international conferences and fora. This has
helped UCT to become the number one research institution in Africa. In
addition, their support has enabled us to establish financial and
administrative positions to help us effectively manage research activities.
These functions are all crucial in assisting us to meet the communication
challenges of South Africa today and in the future.” says Neco Ventura, Head of
the CoE for Broadband Networks at the University of Cape Town.
The collaboration
of industry and academia is essential in ensuring that skills developed at
university level are relevant to the market and its needs. Telkom’s CoE has
developed solid relationships with its industry partners, including Jasco, and
is well positioned to meet the challenges ahead concerning the Internet of the
future and how to enable future communication networks. The CoE saw three PhD
and seven Masters graduates in 2013, with an equal number of both expected to
complete their research in 2014.