Press release 24.11.2020: Finnish Skills Development for Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) in South Africa

Press release 24.11.2020

Finnish Skills Development for Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) in South Africa

EduExcellence, a Finnish global education service provider, and Nokia South Africa powered innovation incubator Forge Academy have teamed up to drive Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) skills development in South Africa. The parties have agreed on a three-year contract.

The goal of the Nokia powered Forge Academy is to bridge the digital skills gap, reinvent future technology skills development and support innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem in South Africa.

In the first phase, Finnish action-oriented pedagogical models for skills development and industry collaboration will be leveraged to develop content and new teaching methods for South Africa. In the second phase, Nokia will setup a Future X 5G technology lab for innovation and piloting of new solutions. 5G is a part of fourth industrial revolution (4IR) technologies, like current Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and Internet of Things. In the third phase, the focus will be on incubation and start-up support in collaboration with industry partners.

“Thanks to EduExcellence bringing the latest educational models and technological skills from Finland, Forge Academy innovation incubator will become the cutting-edge technology centre and incubator in South Africa. Nokia has committed to bring the first end-to-end 5G Future X network to South Africa,” states Pat Wiehahn, Head of Strategic Relations and Transformation, Nokia South Africa.

“We are committed to bridging the digital skills gap related to the 4IR economy and empowering students and under-privileged talent to become successful business owners in 4IR,” says Arthur Wade Anderson, CEO of Forge Academy.

“We are delighted to partner with Nokia and Forge Academy to develop content and new learning models locally, which are based on Finnish excellence of educational practices and technology, and to drive 4IR skills development in South Africa,” says Tuija Pulkkinen, CEO of EduExcellence.

In picture: the music video shooting session of Indigo Stella in Newtown, Johannesburg. Image by Asko Mononen, background vector image by kjparteger/Freepik
In picture: the music video shooting session of Indigo Stella in Newtown, Johannesburg. Image by Asko Mononen, background vector image by kjparteger/Freepik

For more information, please contact:

Tuija Pulkkinen
CEO, EduExcellence
[email protected]
Tel +358 50 527 7258

 

About EduExcellence: EduExcellence is a global education service provider of three major Helsinki metropolitan-area universities of applied sciences in Finland: Haaga-Helia, Laurea and Metropolia. More information can be found at: EduExcellence

About Forge Academy: Forge Academy, located at The Gantry in Fourways, Johannesburg, will be launched on the 25th of November 2020, with Nokia support, to become the blue ribbon 4IR Academy in South Africa and Africa. More information on Forge Academy can be obtained from: [email protected]