MARIA SHAANIKATHE embassy of Finland this morning launched a satellite campus at Unam to enable students to get a Finnish master’s degree while in Namibia.
Finland’s Southern Africa Innovation Support (SAIS) signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Commission on Research Science and Technology (NCRST) this morning in Windhoek.
Finnish ambassador to Namibia Pirkko-Liisa Kyöstilä said the campus, through the University of Turku in Finland, will serve as a knowledge and expertise hub to enable students to get a Finnish masters’ degree in Namibia.
The first program at the satellite campus is software engineering, which is very trendy and futuristic, Kyöstilä noted.
“The call for applications is already open, so I encourage all the interested youth to apply swiftly” she added.
She said SAIS is one of their programmes that aims to strengthen the operation and connectivity of local and regional innovation ecosystems in five African countries, including Namibia.
“We are ranking well in international comparison when it comes to innovation ecosystems,” Kyöstilä said. She added that Finland wants to support innovations.
Kyöstilä added that innovations play a crucial role in empowering people to lift them out of poverty and equipping them to be fully participating citizens.
NCRST acting chief executive officer Enid Keramen said the agreement is to strengthen the cooperation between the NCRST and the Finnish embassy in the area of science, technology and innovation in line with their national development plans.
Keramen said NCRST, which is mandated to coordinate research, science, technology and innovation, has entered into a five year partnership with other institutions, including the SAIS programme, a regional initiative set up in 2011 by the ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland with support from the Southern African Development Community.
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