First Group of the Cloudera Hadoop Boot Camp Certification
GZU Vice Chancellor Prof R.J Zvobgo poses for a photo with some of the trainers and participants of the Boot Camp
21 April 2017, Harare – Great Zimbabwe University (GZU) in partnership with the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development recently co-hosted a “Cloudera Hadoop Certification Boot Camp” in Harare.
The training was organised with Information Communication Technology (ICT) experts in mind and is the first of its kind to be held in Southern Africa as, in the past, ICT experts from the African continent would access such a service only in India.
The Boot Camp, which was advertised only for a short time, still managed to attract 54 students who were split into two training sessions.
Each course was six days long and was facilitated by seasoned experts with more than 20 years of experience including Sai Kumar Pilla from India and Dr Panaishe Chaurunga, who boasts vast experience acquired in the United Kingdom and France.
GZU realised the need for the course in the Zimbabwean ICT sector and engaged stakeholders including Econet Wireless, TelOne, Powertel and other government institutions.
Prince Sibanda, an ICT expert from GZU who is also the co-coordinator of the Boot Camp, said being skills-based and very dynamic, ICT is a profession which constantly needs further training.
He said there was a dire need for ICT experts to learn about Cloudera Hadoop Certification and contribute to the development of the country as the course is very significant in the analysis of large amounts of data.
The initiative by GZU to improve the nation’s ICT knowhow dovetails with the STEM initiative which aims to improve technological systems in the country.
Regai Kanongota, a database administrator with Econet Wireless said the course had come in handy as his job entails processing data daily in order to analyse performance of the network.
He highlighted that the system currently being used had limitations on processing large volumes of data, with the Boot Camp offering something more appealing.
The two Boot Camp sessions ended with participants being awarded certificates of attendance at a closing ceremony officiated by GZU Vice Chancellor Professor Rungano Jonas Zvobgo who promised that the university will continue to ensure that people are given a chance to acquire critical skills.education
