IDG News Service —
The government of the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius has contacted the faculty of computing and information technology (CIT) at Uganda's Makerere University about the possibility of recruiting 300 IT experts.
Vincent Baryamureeba, the dean of CIT faculty at Makerere, said the 300 will not leave for Mauritius at once, but about 50 will be off by the end of June.
Makerere University has taken the lead in producing top IT graduates and sending its staff lecturers on to master's and Ph.D. programs. Currently, the faculty includes 15 lecturers with doctorates, the highest number in sub-Saharan Africa. Baryamureeba estimates that number will increase to 30 by the end of the year.
Mauritius is a middle-income, diversified economy with growing industrial, financial and tourist sectors. Formerly built on sugar, tourism, textiles and apparel, and financial services, the economy is now expanding into fish processing, ICT, and hospitality and property development. The country has attracted more than 32,000 offshore entities, many aimed at commerce in India, South Africa and China. Investment in the banking sector alone has reached more than US$1 billion, and it is this sector that demands IT expertise.
Meanwhile, the CIT faculty will hold an annual career/recruitment week, aimed at meeting Uganda's IT education and employment needs, for some 1,000 IT graduates from June 16-20. During these five days, companies will have the opportunity to identify top IT talent.
"With an anticipation of more than 30 participants/exhibitors from the public and private sectors, the CIT Career/Recruitment Week 2008 is an essential forum where potential employers can meet and interact with students to share, discuss and explore the opportunities available to the next generation of employees," a press statement from CIT reads.
Students, in turn, will be able to network with prospective employers, learn more about companies, create professional awareness and participate in workshops designed to develop skills for the job market.
