GE partners African Leadership University to empower African professionals with valuable digital skills

This paradigm shift in industrial thinking will allow African companies to leapfrog competition and establish the continent as an industrial powerhouse

PORT LOUIS, Mauritius, October 25, 2017/ -- The African Leadership University (ALU) (www.ALUeducation.com) and GE Africa (http://APO.af/j82LQU) announced today the launch of the ALU Africa Industrial Internet Program (http://APO.af/dQMC51). Powered by GE, the program combines the best of GE’s technical expertise with ALU’s unique learning model in a 12-month professional training program that merges the essential business and technical skills necessary for African professionals to succeed in a digital industrial environment. The program which begins in January 2018, reemphasizes GE’s position as the world’s premier digital industrial company.

In an increasingly connected industrial ecosystem, a staggering amount of data is being generated every moment. Commonly termed ‘Industrial Internet’, it involves connecting software, industrial applications and intelligent analytics to businesses, enabling unprecedented gains in productivity and innovation from these massive datasets. Leveraged effectively, this paradigm shift in industrial thinking will allow African companies to leapfrog competition and establish the continent as an industrial powerhouse. However, this requires a new generation of talent with a strong technical foundation in big-data analytics, machine learning and web application development, as well as the business acumen to translate technological improvements into business results.

The AIIP employs a blended learning model to participants with a mix of online learning and periodic 3-5 day in-person intensives to be held at the GE Africa Innovation Centre in Johannesburg. This approach provides flexibility to participants enabling them to learn from industry experts, and at the same time, immediately apply what they learn in the program in their daily jobs. The program includes hands-on training on artificial intelligence and machine learning with ALU’s unique entrepreneurial leadership program to prepare professionals for leadership roles entrepreneurial, technology driven work environments.

Participants will work with best-in-class technology including GE’s pioneer platform for the Industrial Internet - Predix to build applications that can solve complex problems for industrial companies. Participants will be taught by industry practitioners who bring in years of experience in their fields.

Reinstating GE’s commitment to Africa, Roti Balogun, Director, Learning & Development, GE Africa said, “It’s an exciting period for us to take the lead in building digital industrial capabilities on the continent with this game-changing program. Our focus on the key recommendations from the World Economic Forum on the Future of Work, and this great partnership with the ALU, will no doubt continue to strengthen education systems with closer ties to industry across Africa. We remain committed to developing the next generation of leaders in this transformative digital age”.

Commenting on the launch of the program, ALU Founder and CEO, Fred Swaniker stated “We are delighted to partner with GE to offer a program that holistically prepares current and future professionals to harness the full potential of artificial intelligence in building their businesses, creating jobs and transforming lives. GE’s commitment to innovation and technology transfer in Africa resonates with ALU’s vision to harness technology and innovation to leapfrog Africa’s economic transformation.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of GE.



Media Contact:
ALU
Godfrey Chesang
GChesang@ALUeducation.com

GE
Yewande Thorpe
Yewande.Thorpe@GE.com

About ALU:
ALU (www.ALUeducation.com) is pioneering a fresh approach to higher education in the 21st century; offering accredited undergraduate, postgraduate and executive education programmes in a unique and imaginative way. By integrating students’ learning with the real world, empowering students to take ownership of their own learning, equipping each student to think entrepreneurially, and employing the most engaging and inspiring teaching methods, ALU is pioneering a new take on higher education and leadership development.

ALU develops skills in its graduates to ensure they will remain relevant even as the world changes. It also develops its students intellectually, provides them with work experience, and develops their “whole” being. ALU is opening campuses around Africa that will ultimately train 3 million entrepreneurial, ethical leaders for Africa and the world by 2060. Although based in Africa, ALU welcomes students from all around the world to its campuses. One campus is currently open on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius (http://APO.af/7T2zSs) (known as the African Leadership College) and a second one is in Rwanda (http://APO.af/7T2zSs). ALU was founded in 2013 by renowned Ghanaian educationist Fred Swaniker (http://APO.af/ZsDcjQ).

About GE:
GE (NYSE: GE) (www.GE.com) is the world’s Digital Industrial Company, transforming industry with software-defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive. GE is organized around a global exchange of knowledge, the "GE Store," through which each business shares and accesses the same technology, markets, structure and intellect. Each invention further fuels innovation and application across our industrial sectors. With people, services, technology and scale, GE delivers better outcomes for customers by speaking the language of industry. www.GE.com.

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GE