Uganda Institute of ICT, partners with Chinese consortium to boost TVET programs – The Kampala Report

The Uganda Institute of Information and Communications Technology (UICT) has partnered with a Chinese consortium, an alliance of TVET institutions in China. The partnership seeks to strengthen Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in the country.

The consortium consists of Hunan Polytechnic of Environment and Biology, Weinan Vocational & Technical College, and Hunan Railway Professional Technology College, among other TVET institutions. This collaboration is facilitated by the China-Africa Vocational Education Alliance, a non-profit organization established in May 2021.

Dean Munene, the Chairperson of the UICT Governing Council, said that partnerships are essential to strengthening TVET through technological exchanges.

He emphasized the importance of TVET in the changing employment landscape worldwide.

Fred Kitoogo, the UICT principal, says the partnership is focused on supporting the development of a curriculum based on emerging technologies across all TVET programs, as well as student and faculty exchanges to enable hands-on experiences.

According to Kitoogo, the collaboration will also consider specialized training tailored for specific job needs in both the private sector and government.

“These partnerships are very important; one partnership helps to bring on others. Collaboratively, they improve our visibility as an institution, as a country, and as an economy, because the breadth of the beneficiaries of these collaborations is not just the students but also the entire citizenry. This contributes to socioeconomic development,” he stated.

Gu Yiman, the Vice Principal of Hunan Railway Professional Technology College in China, said that the new partnership is an addition to the already existing programs the consortium institutions have with different countries, especially in Africa.

According to Yiman, working with the Africa-China technical and vocational alliance, Chinese language training has been extended to students from over 40 countries.

The Alliance, initiated by Zibo Vocational Institute and CIIC International Education Technology (Beijing) Co Ltd., under the guidance of the Shandong Provincial Education Department in China and the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA), aims to integrate government, institutions, enterprises, and research in TVET.

It serves as a platform for TVET exchanges between China and Africa, exploring new models for overseas cooperative education and cultivating localized technical talents for Chinese enterprises in Africa.