Matching Resources with Resourcefulness - The Role of ICT in Africa
Interview with Dr Cheick Diarra, Chairman for Africa at Microsoft
 As the chairman for Africa at Microsoft, Dr Cheick Diarra is responsible for the company’s commercial and citizenship activities on the continent — of which education initiatives are a critical part. Since taking on the role in 2006, Dr Diarra has travelled throughout Africa talking to students, youth groups, teachers, universities, government leaders, Ministries of Education and the private sector about the role of ICT in enhancing the effectiveness of education in Africa. eLearning Africa cordially welcomes Dr Diarra as a keynote speaker in the plenary session on Thursday, 18:00 – 19:30.
eLA: In your discussions with communities across Africa, what are the main obstacles when it comes to expanding educational opportunities via ICT?
Dr Diarra: The main challenge can be summed up with one word: access. When I talk about access I mean both physical access —electricity, Internet connectivity, the affordability of hardware, — as well as access to knowledge, which encompasses basic literacy, localised language content, policy and technology training.
Enhancing education through ICT can’t be achieved simply by dropping off computers in schools. You have to consider the relevance of ICT to national curriculums or whether sufficient skills trainings are available for teachers. For me, the key is matching resources to resourcefulness.
eLA: How does Microsoft work help to provide ICT access to academic institutions in Africa?
Dr Diarra: My team and I are responsible for understanding the needs of African teachers, students and parents. Based on their feedback, we forge partnerships with governments, schools, content providers, academic researchers and development organisations to make sure we’re addressing the diverse needs of primary versus secondary school students ranging to rural versus urban school districts.
Let me give you a good example of all of these communities coming together. Microsoft is involved in the e-Schools initiative, a flagship project for the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). This seeks to connect more than 600,000 African schools through a satellite network that continually distributes updated educational content. Schools receive a computer lab, software, teacher training, networking and connectivity, as well as maintenance giving them full support for the integration of ICT into learning.
The project is one of the largest to have been developed as a public private partnership and has been earmarked to receive European Union funding. E-Schools bring together Microsoft, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Intersat Africa with Newskies, Learnthings, Cisco, Intel, Smartboard, Computainer, Fujitsu-Siemens Computers, Mecer, Lexmark, UTI, MRCSA, Mindset, Multichoice Africa, WorldSpace and HNR technologies.
Dr Cheick Diarra
Dr Cheick Diarra works to ensure that Microsoft continues to be a trusted partner in the future of Africa. As a leading technology company, established in Africa in 1992, Microsoft recognises that it can, and should, make a substantial contribution towards enhancing Africa’s capacity for development. ICT is not a panacea for conflict resolution, disease or governance — but technology in all its forms does have tremendous potential to connect communities, markets and nations.
Dr Diarra was born in Mali, educated in France and the US, and was a professor at Howard University. For many years he worked for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), where he oversaw missions to Jupiter, Venus, the poles of the Sun and Mars. He also started an organisation that helps young women in Africa pursue an education in the sciences, before Microsoft founder Bill Gates invited him to take up his current role.
eLA: How do you ensure that teachers are prepared for these shifts in the way they teach?
Dr Diarra: I have met some incredibly smart and dedicated teachers, but more often than not, the toughest challenge they face is integrating technology into the classroom. Not enough professional development training is available to help them use ICT to deliver maximum benefit to their students. Furthermore, curriculum and training providers don’t have a clear set of recognised guidelines on what constitutes ICT professional development for teachers.
To make sure that these teachers have a clear pathway for ICT success in the classroom, we’re working with UNESCO and the technology community to set up the ICT Competency Framework for Teachers. This framework has three pillars: a clear Policy; the Competency Standards Modules (a matrix of skill sets for teachers); and the Implementation Guidelines (a detailed syllabus of specific skills for teachers to use in their lessons).
eLA: What are you hoping we can teach the youth of Africa via ICT?
Dr Diarra: In order to compete in today’s global knowledge economy, teachers need to give students the ability to think flexibly, apply different approaches to solve complex problems creatively and work effectively as part of a team or independently. I can see that we are at the very cusp of a transformation here in Africa. We are witnessing how investment, development, and of course, technology, are helping to improve education and ultimately harness Africa’s most abundant resource – human capital.
eLA: Dr Diarra, thank you very much for your time.
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