Kaduna state ICT Hub (KADICT Hub), in partnership with the state ministry of education, has instituted an annual Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and creativity festival.
The co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Hub, Engr Yusuf Bashir, who spoke during a telephone interview with journalists, said the annual festival was instituted to spur innovation in students and the general public,
“We have also formed strategic partnerships with all the major higher institutions in Kaduna State to transform innovative ideas into products or companies. The STEM and Creativity Festival, together with the Hackathons are organized for talented youths to peak their interest in ICT,” Bashir said.
The ICT expert pointed out that the ‘Campus Blockchain Hackathon’, which their Hub organised sometimes in 2019, was an initiative of the Nigerian Blockchain Alliance (NBA), a sub-division of Cryptography Development Initiative in Nigeria (CDIN).
“The reason why the KADICT Hub organised a Campus Blockchain Hackathon was to spur innovation by exceptionally-gifted youths and talented Nigerian students in the Blockchain space,” he explained.
The hackathon, Bashir said, was organised to engage the academic community on the importance of Blockchain Technology, its relevant use cases, and more specific, its adoption for enterprising solutions.
“We are very active in the Blockchain ecosystem globally. For example our platform provides training and online job placement services for the cryptocurrency sector.
“Our world is undergoing a massive technological transformation. Blockchain is a major technological invention of the last decade that creates unprecedented opportunities to re-think the way the world operates and interacts.”
While speaking further during the interview, Bashir, noted that KADICT Hub was established because of the need to institute a culture of innovation through Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
He said by training and utilising their trained students to implement various ICT projects, they promote local content.
“For instance, in our first year, I brought in many experts from the United States and other parts of the world to impart lucrative ICT skills in our youths here in Kaduna. But now, the training is all done by the trainers, we trained locally.”
He disclosed that KADICT Hub had trained over 10,000 Kaduna state residents in the last three years, adding that their Hub also secured funding to train one million persons over the next four years, while providing online jobs for no fewer than 100,000 residents.
Bashir, who is also the co-founder of Africa Blockchain Lab, further explained that their KADICT Hub has automated the vehicle registration process for the Kaduna state government, and is working towards generating more revenue for the state government.
“The Kaduna State Government has done an excellent job in providing the enabling environment for the ICT sector to thrive. For example, the state government has waived the Right of Way charges (RoW). So, this will significantly lower the cost of data in Kaduna State, therefore leading to more residents having access to innovations in the fields of science and technology.”
