A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by UNZA and SOZ in July 2024. The MoU sets out the joint ambitions as well as the extent and form in which they lead to mutual effort obligations. The emphasis in the coming years will be on innovations in the curriculum. In this context, the courses 'Applied Artificial Intelligence' and 'IoT and Security' have previously been given. SOZ will not only contribute to the development and possibly (temporarily) lecturing of the theoretical subjects, but will also be actively involved in the design of the supporting labs. The duration of the MoU is 5 years.

During the visit that Chris Hendriks paid to Zambia in April 2024 on behalf of SOZ, he gave a workshop on the application of Artificial Intelligence. The emphasis was on applications that are not only important for Zambia but also require local expertise. AI can, for instance, be a valuable tool in agriculture; diseases in plants can be detected by AI supported systems.

As part of the CiTA project, SOZ tries to contribute to the innovation of the curriculum at various levels of education. Currently, the focus is on the university level. Developments such as the introduction of Artificial Intelligence and, in conjunction with that, the introduction of intelligent devices, are going to have their impact on Zambian industry like everywhere else. And although Zambian industry is unlikely to play a significant role in the development and production of such equipment any time soon, choices regarding procurement will have to be made in the future by the students currently attending higher education.

After two corona years, it was possible to visit Zambia again. Incidentally, the effect of the corona epidemic in rural Zambia turned out to be not too bad. As far as you can judge as an outsider, of course.

This year and next year the focus within the CiTA project will be the introduction and further implementation in the curriculum of the integration of computers in equipment and industrial processes. The curriculum innovation will take place within three universities: the University of Nairobi (department of Electronic Engineering), the University of Zambia (department of Electronic Engineering and departments in application areas) and the Kapassa Makassa University in the north of Zambia (department of Science and ICT in Education).

This year and next year the focus within the CiTA project will be the introduction and further implementation in the curriculum of the integration of computers in equipment and industrial processes. The curriculum innovation will take place within three universities: the University of Nairobi (department of Electronic Engineering), the University of Zambia (department of Electronic Engineering and departments in application areas) and the Kapassa Makassa University in the north of Zambia (department of Science and ICT in Education).

The shortage of water became more and more of a problem. Due to the growing population with, in relation to that, the growth of the primary and secondary school and the clinic, the existing water supply had become insufficient. Therefore, a project has been carried out in which the people themselves have built a new water system.

The objective of the CiTA project is to give pupils and student an opportunity to get in touch with technique and engineering. And when we say engineering these days we mean electrical and mechanical devices controlled by (simple) computers. These devices can vary from all kind of sensors to simple mechanical devices like moving robot arms. That sounds like a substantial investment but prices in this area have dropped tremendously during the last few years: since computers are usually already available in Secondary Schools, a complete laboratory set for two students can be made available for between 50 and 100 euro (between 60 and 120 dollar). And most of the students are really eager to experiment with this equipment. However, some guidance and support will always be needed at this level, even for the most motivated students and even when detailed handouts are available. And this is just the problem in many Secondary Schools. Staff is often not familiar with the topic and, if they are, there is a good chance they leave to industry. That is to a large extend why the recent introduction at two schools did not have the success that was hoped for.

About a year ago the girls dormitory has been completed. Well over thirty girls that live far from school – a two hours walk from home to school is not uncommon – make use of it now. With the supervision the school offers, the dormitory does not only offer accommodation but it is also a substitute for ‘home’. It goes without saying that as well the girls themselves as their parents and the school are very enthusiastic about the new facilities.