On 18 August 2022, 42 Young Professionals of the first and second cohort of the Embedded and Mobile System (EMoS) Master’s Programme, graduated from the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST). The Master’s Programme has been established at the Centre of Excellence for ICT in East Africa (CENIT@EA) through Digital Skills for an Innovative East African Industry (dSkills@EA) project.
The graduation ceremony was graced by representatives from the Tanzanian government, academia, as well as representatives from GIZ (Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit), University of Oldenburg and IUCEA (Inter-University Council for East Africa) who are the implementing partners for dSkills@EA. Four years after its inception, the EMoS Programme has gained traction and is widely recognized within the East African Community region as a top-notch programme for digital skills.
During their studies, the students from six EAC Partner States developed innovations to address some of societies’ and industry's most pressing problems such as digital healthcare provision, human-wildlife conflict management, and online-based infant incubators at a low-cost.
Graduates included six Burundians, four Kenyans, eight Rwandans, two South Sudanese, six Ugandans and sixteen Tanzanians. Of those, 31% were female graduates.
Prof. Emmanuel Luoga, the vice chancellor of NM-AIST, spoke at the graduation ceremony and thanked the German government for its support to the CENIT@EA and students through its collaboration with the EAC and other project implementers, including IUCEA, DAAD, UOL, EASTECO, EABC, and EACO.
“I would like to acknowledge the contribution of our stakeholders, The Germany federal government to our institution and to the Centre of Excellence for ICT in East Africa and its contribution in producing excellent graduates.”
Currently, CENIT@EA is welcoming applications for the fifth cohort of students for the coming academic year to further accelerate digital transformation of industries and society through academia and industry collaboration in East Africa.
About dSkills@EA 
Digital Skills for an Innovative East African Industry (dSkills@EA) Project is part of the technical development cooperation between the German Government under the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the East African Community (EAC) and the EAC Secretariat. The project has established the Centre of Excellence for ICT in East Africa (CENIT@EA) and is implemented by the Inter-University Council of East Africa (IUCEA) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), together with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the East African-German academic consortium led by the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST) and the University of Oldenburg (UOL) together with its partners the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), the University of Technology and Arts Byumba (UTAB), the University of Applied Sciences Mannheim and the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Further key partners include the East African Business Council (EABC), the East African Science and Technology Commission (EASTECO) and the East African Telecommunications Organization (EACO).