Samsung officially kicked off its academic programs at its new Engineering Academy in the Addis Ababa Institute of Technology (AAiT) with the first class of 60 students drawn from AAiT, Capital reported.

The opening of the academy came following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ethiopian government 18 months ago to promote growth in technology, innovation, and transformation, while creating job opportunities, according to Robert Ngeru, Managing Director of Samsung East Africa.

“We understood we are selling a lot more products in Ethiopia, as well as Africa. Looking at growing in Ethiopia means actually having engineers who can support the products we sell,” he said. “If we sell mobile phones, fridges and TVs but they cannot be serviced or supported, it is not helpful to the end user,” he said.

Samsung is providing the trainings at its academy free of charge, according to Ngeru.

Dr. Admasu Tsegaye, President of Addis Ababa University said the opening of the will help in transforming the University.

“We are working hard to improve our graduate programs and until we build our own capacity, we are forming consortium with foreign investors in order to run our graduate programs efficiently and effectively,” he said.

Samsung's Addis Ababa academy at the AAiT is the fourth of its kind in Africa. Samsung also have Engineering Academyies in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.

Source: Capital