MTN South Sudan Launches Early Talent Development Program in Partnership with Three Universities
In a ceremony held at the Pyramid Hotel, MTN officially launched its Early Talent Development Program in collaboration with the University of Juba, Dr John Garang Memorial University of Science & Technology, and Rumbek University. The initiative was showcased through a signing ceremony, creating a new partnership between MTN and the three universities. Vice Chancellors of the universities signed the Memorandum of Understanding.
“This is the beginning of a long friendship between UoJ and MTN”, said the Vice Chancellor of the University of Juba, Prof. Robert Mayom. “We are excited to sign this memorandum to provide our students with growth and development opportunities.” The Director of Corporate Affairs the National Communications Authority Dr Margaret Labanya termed the MoU’s signing crucial to the initiative, stating the importance of this program in fulfilling innovation and inclusion gaps. “We still have a gap to bridge on capacity building, and this program is one step towards ensuring our students become good innovators. We don’t expect the gap between boys and girls or chance to get to this height to separate further; both contributions are equally important.” “Today we launch the Early Talent Development Program, an integrated framework for engaging and creating opportunities for female students and students living with disabilities from local universities. This program is ideally targeting students taking courses in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, commonly referred to as STEM”, the program’s objective is to enhance learning and practical workplace orientation and build the pipeline of experienced leadership and critical skills demands, essential for business sustainability.
Dr Napoleon Adok, Director General of the NCA praised the initiative as a well-timed intervention, especially for many graduates who are at present going through difficult times with unemployment. In an event, he stated, “Our universities are throwing out unemployed graduates on the streets. The MTN partnership represents a big chance to do that.”
But Adok also expressed apprehensions over the status of some educational institutions in South Sudan, noting, “I am still ashamed that some of our universities are all offline. With the success of programs like this, it will be imperative to bridge this digital gap.
During the launch, Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology Gabriel Chang Changson published his gratitude towards MTN for their work to establish human capital in South Sudan. “This is a very beneficial initiative for the people of South Sudan. We must have more offerings for our students like this. It is these works that will create a future for this country.
To sum up, the Early Talent Development Program, directed at grooming future talent with an emphasis on diversity and inclusion will prove to be a ground-breaking step for South Sudan in supporting investments towards employment criteria and commercial sustainability. For MTN, the partnership envisages deeper collaboration with these institutions to ensure that students can enter the modern workplace ready for action.
