By Lebone RodahMosima
The Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and Google South Africa signed a two-year agreement in Johannesburg on Monday, which will roll out an initial 10,000 scholarships as part of a national AI and digital skills initiative.
The memorandum of understanding, signed by DHET deputy minister Dr Mimmy Gondwe and Google South Africa Country Director Kabelo Makwane, is the DHET’s fourth public-private partnership focused on student and youth skills development.
“I’m very excited to see this MoU with Google come to fruition,” said Gondwe.
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She said the agreement would boost digital skills development across universities, TVETs and CET colleges through Google Career Certificates, Generative AI for Educators, a train-the-trainer model and other AI programmes, with a focus on employability, self-employment and entrepreneurship.
Said Makwane: “AI has moved from theory to everyday reality.”
He said digital technology was already a major catalyst for South Africa, and that Google tools contributed R118 billion to the economy in 2023, while AI was set to add another R172 billion by creating new skills and unlocking growth opportunities.
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The agreement will also cover curriculum and product support, device support through ChromeOS Flex, and collaboration on AI policy and governance in public institutions. The MoU will run for two years.
