India Namibia Centre of Excellence inaugurated
State-of-the-art IT centre
INCEIT provides programmes that are industry-focused and centred on software development, big data analytics, e-governance and cyber security.
The India Namibia Centre of Excellence in Information Technology (INCEIT) was officially inaugurated this week at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST).The centre was inaugurated by deputy prime minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, India's external affairs minister, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Namibia's minister of higher education, Dr Itah Kandjii-Murangi and Dr Erold Naomab, NUST vice chancellor.
Jaishankar said the centre has been offering courses since November 2019, and 275 professionals, including government officials from various ministries, students, teachers and researchers, have participated so far.
"I am happy to note that a student from this centre has won the trophy for the first position at the sixth Namibia cyber-security competition," he added.
Top of the line
The centre is outfitted with cutting-edge IT infrastructure. It has two fully functional training labs with modern facilities such as desktop computers, laptops, printers, software, an interactive white board, video conferencing, a television, a projection system, and a student feedback response system to improve the learning environment.
The centre is also home to the CDAC Param supercomputer with high-performance computing (HPC) applications. The facility will advance current high-performance computing research. The supercomputer has been named Param !Arub.
The word "!Arub" means cheetah in the Khoekhoegowab language – Namibia is the cheetah capital of the world.
The word ‘Param’ means ‘ultimate’ in the Indian Hindi language. Together, the name ‘Param !Arub’ translates to ‘ultimate cheetah’.
Bringing out the best
INCEIT provides council-approved certificate programmes at NQF Level 7, as well as the most up-to-date courseware, for the training of teachers, students, government officials, and working professionals.
Nandi-Ndaitwah stated that the centre aims to develop industry-oriented programmes and to conduct research to address shortages of computing skills in cyber security, big data analysis, and e-governance.
"I am confident that through this innovative partnership, INCEIT will promote inclusive development, strengthen capacity, and build the skills needed to reach the social and economic objectives that are set out in our vision 2030," she said.