Tanzania, Italian stakeholders explore tech and innovation ties

DAR ES SALAAM: OFFICIALS from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology have met with stakeholders from Italy to discuss ways of strengthening cooperation between the two countries in the education sector, particularly in technology, skills development and innovation.

Speaking during the meeting, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Professor Carolyne Nombo, said Tanzania had continued to benefit from its cooperation with Italy through trade, scholarships and programmes aimed at strengthening professional capacity.

She said that, in the education sector, the partnership had facilitated the implementation of the second phase of the TELMS Programme (TELMS II), which seeks to strengthen the capacity of educational and technical training institutions in technology and expand employment opportunities.

She named the institutions benefiting from the programme as Arusha Technical College (ATC), Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology (DIT), Mbeya University of Science and Technology (MUST) and the Karume Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) in Zanzibar.

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Prof Nombo further said that cooperation between the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology and Italian universities was expected to further strengthen science, technology and innovation, while facilitating the transformation of research findings and innovations into marketable products and services.

She said agreements for the project are expected to be signed soon, stressing that its implementation would contribute to strengthening the capacity of educational institutions, promoting innovation and supporting the achievement of Tanzania’s National Development Vision 2050.