This last week has been full of events in Paris and one of these was the Mobile Learning Week hosted by UNESCO.
Let’s start by what is the Mobile Learning Week? a.k.a -> #MLW.
This is a yearly conference in which all the actors on mobile learning are invited to present their ideas regarding ways of teaching and sharing content through mobile devices. The objective is to share how affordable and widespread mobile technologies can advance Education for All goals.
MLW 2014 explores how mobile technologies can help teachers work more effectively in different contexts. Also, in light of the urgency of the global teacher crisis, UNESCO wants to better understand how mobile technology can help prepare new teachers and provide professional development to working teachers.
While I was there, I took a look around the different exhibitors and discovered very innovative ideas that companies have for sharing knowledge through mobile devices. For instance, there was a creator of shared content platform through mobile phones. Basically his technology is supposed to let professors share their created content in a common platform with students; and make it available through mobile phones. In this business model, mobile phones are delivered to students for free as this project is developed in rural regions of Africa.
SAP was a sponsor for this year’s MLW as part of our desire to be present in the Learning and Education Community. We had an SAP University Alliances stand to show SAP’s deep involvement on the education field. This is because part of SAP University Alliances' mission is also to inspire students into learning and acquiring technology knowledge.
At SAP, mobility has become one of the 5 strategic pillars for future development; therefore it was important for us to be present during the MLW and show how do we do to enhance mobile technology learning. This is why Mr. Frederic Massé (Vice President EMEA Government Relations @ SAP) was present for giving a conference with the title “Developing the Future workforce for the ICT sector”.
During this conference Mr. Massé talked about the different projects SAP France has developed for promoting and facilitating technology learning to students of all different backgrounds and resources. For example; simplon.co; Academy Cube, Web Academy, skills for Africa and ICT Academy, are just some of SAP’s efforts for encouraging technology learning.
Among these options; SAP University Alliances participates actively with Academy Cube which is SAP’s effort to address the ICT skills shortage. Academy Cube is an alliance between industry, academia and public bodies which aims to bridge the gap between youth unemployment and the ICT skills shortage in Europe. Launched at CeBIT 2013 and supported by the European Commission, the Academy Cube is an online platform on which interested young STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) graduates can attend Internet-based eLearning courses.
Another interesting example that was addressed by Mr. Massé was Skills for Africa. This program is aimed at developing ICT skills to create a rich talent pool in Africa for the entire SAP ecosystem, beginning in South Africa, Angola, Nigeria, Kenya, Senegal and followed by other countries such as Ivory Coast and Mauritius. The training, targeting 100 under-privileged students per year, will comprise a mix of classroom and e-Learning without requiring Internet access, and students will receive printed course material and a USB which is valid for the duration of the course.
Finally, this event at UNESCO was a very enriching experience and a great opportunity for SAP to show how we work in pro of technology education.
