MTC has funded the appointment of an information communication technology (ICT) professor at the Polytechnic of Namibia to spearhead the identification of opportunities for growth in information and communication technology and associated areas. After an extensive search within and outside the borders of Namibia, Professor Hippolyte Muyingi was identified as the most suitable candidate to drive the ICT research and development agenda at the Polytechnic of Namibia. MTC and the Polytechnic of Namibia have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) according to which MTC will fund the endowed chair as a full-time position at the Polytechnic for a period of five years. The endowed chair has been designated as professor in the School of Information Technology. Professor Muyingi's main areas of responsibility are to support teaching, research and services, and focus on ICT in education and development. He is also now the advisor in ICT to the Namibia Business Innovation Centre (NBIC).
The NBIC will be a one-stop-shop for business incubation, consultancies, startups and anchor companies, research and technology transfer. According to MTC's Managing Director Miguel Geraldes, the funding of the ICT professorship is another demonstration of the company's commitment to building intellectual capital for the country. 'We at MTC believe that the return on our investment will propel Namibia into a country that will compare with the best in terms of ICT research and development. It is also our hope that the ICT research initiatives undertaken under the supervision of Professor Muyingi will be beneficial to the entire citizenry. ICT provides the platform to work faster and smarter and it is MTC's expectation that the ICT research conducted at the Polytechnic will be shared with our public service institutions for efficient service delivery,' said Geraldes. Tjama Tjivikua, Rector of the Polytechnic, said MTC's funding of the professorship is an indication of how far the country can go through collaborative efforts of this nature. In terms of the MoU between MTC and the Polytechnic, funding for the ICT professorship will be for a period of five years, which is renewable by mutual consent.
