South Africa's Department of Higher Education and Training is set to sign a memorandum of understanding with Google on Monday aimed at advancing digital skills development and integrating artificial intelligence into the country's education sector.
The signing ceremony will take place at Google's Johannesburg office in Bryanston and will be officiated by Mimmi Gondwe, Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training. This marks the fourth public-private partnership for student and youth skills development concluded by the Deputy Minister.
A central component of the agreement is the provision of 5,000 Google Career Certificate scholarships in areas including AI essentials, cybersecurity and data analytics. The scholarships will target students, teachers and IT staff in selected public universities, technical and vocational education and training colleges and community education and training colleges, with a particular focus on rural and township communities.
Google will also provide AI training for teachers through programs including Generative AI for Teachers, and collaborate on a train-the-trainer model to enable broader skill dissemination across institutions.
The partnership will focus on curriculum development, with Google facilitating access to AI and technology curriculum, co-creating localized content and supporting integration at the institutional level. Technology support measures include deploying ChromeOS Flex to refurbish existing hardware, providing strategic hardware advisory services, and strengthening institutional IT capacity through advanced training.
The agreement also provides for cooperation on policy and governance, including sharing expertise on AI policy development and access to relevant Google AI tools for public institutions.
The signing ceremony will be attended by students, departmental officers and senior Google executives and will showcase Google's AI programs.