Telecoms giant MTN has teamed up with Central University of Technology (CUT) in the Free State to advance socio-economic development through innovation, research and engagements with communities.
Felix Mokoena, MTN enterprise business manager, said as part of their memorandum of understanding, both parties intend to implement solutions in three phases.
Phase one will be exploratory, looking at all feasible upgrades of technology and infrastructure currently being deployed on the two university campuses.
“Phase two will focus on enhancements of used cases, as CUT already has used cases which could be enhanced by MTN’s ability to provide bandwidth and potential private network,” said Mokoena.
“Lastly, phase three will bring about co-creation with a focus on potential co-creation of industry-specific solutions such as, but not limited to, AI [artificial intelligence] offerings, SMART campuses, virtual reality, and extended reality centres.”
Mokoena added that the university has shown that when it comes to innovation, it has ensured that whatever the intellectual property, the whole world knows about this.
And what better way to accelerate this vision through a partnering with MTN.
Dr Sally Dzingwa, the acting vice-chancellor and principal, said: “We intend to reinforce our relevance among our partners and to enhance the profile of CUT as a leading university of technology, not only in the region, but in Africa.
“This collaboration includes creating 5G and LTE technology solutions, and enabling innovation and enhancements at our Bloemfontein and Welkom campuses.
Dzingwa added that they will also consider feasible technology and infrastructure upgrades and potentially co-create industry-specific solutions from there.
“Our current model with technological advancements will move us closer to our vision of 2030, to become a leading university of technology in Africa.”
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