Samsung, LP strike innovation partnership

Ntsoaki Motaung

Electronics giant, Samsung and Lerotholi Polytechnic (LP) have announced a partnership to establish a Samsung innovation campus (SIC) within LP.

The partners recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) towards the SIC.

Rector Professor, Tlali Sepiriti, signed on behalf of LP while the Chief Executive Officer, BS Hong inked for Samsung during an event held at Avani Lesotho on Wednesday.

The agreement is under Samsung’s part of the corporate social investment programme aimed at boosting skills development in the technology sector through the establishment of the Samsung innovation campus (SIC).

SIC provides various technology-aligned courses to selected students in institutions of higher learning. 

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Prof Sepiriti said the initiative would help to increase students’ chances of employability after completing school as well as becoming technological entrepreneurs.

“This opportunity is not only for our students but also for our lecturers to learn from the industry, which is better placed to do so than the private sector itself through giants like Samsung,” Prof Sepiriti said.

“This programme touches on many terrains, it will also go a long way towards increasing the competitiveness of our students and enhancing their academic aptitude as this is an opportunity that in fact awards excellence and hard work of top achievers in their respective programs of study across all five schools of the Polytechnic.”

On his part, Hong indicated that SIC aimed to provide an opportunity to deserving, previously disadvantaged youth to gain skills in coding and programming, artificial intelligence and the internet of things.

“The programme is designed to have educational themes that combine future core technology capabilities with soft skills and job preparation. We are driven by bringing about positive social change and building a better world for all, not just through our products and services, but also by creating opportunities for learning and growth.

“It is our sincere hope that this partnership will help to unleash the infinite potential of the youth in this institution by harnessing resources and expertise,” he said.

According to LP, only 30 of its top-performing students will be selected to benefit from the initiative across its five schools.

“This is also to encourage and instil a culture of hard work where good performance is awarded through exposure to such opportunities. The programme is also designed to contribute towards creating work-ready employable students and to empower them as future technological entrepreneurs,” an LP statement reads.