The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has announced the launch of the NITDA Blockchain Scholarship 2022 Scheme aimed at training 30,000 Nigerians in blockchain technology, for developing career skill sets in emerging technologies.
The training which would be carried out in collaboration with Domineum Blockchain Solutions was announced by the director-general, NITDA, Mallam Kashifu Abdullahi, during the blockchain day of the ‘Digital Nigeria’ event recently in Abuja.
Abdullahi said the scholarship will help “accelerate blockchain adoption in Nigeria and make Nigeria a global player in the blockchain industry”. He called on Nigerians to take advantage of the scholarship to become “early solution providers in the Fourth Industrial Revolution”.
The scheme has Domineum Blockchain Solutions as the implementing partner and BSV Blockchain Academy as the course content provider.
Reacting to the announcement, the co-founder of Domineum, Mr. Mohammed Jega reiterated the organisation’s commitment to “delivering quality education and equipping participants with the skills to build real-life blockchain solutions”.
Similarly, the course coordinator and CTO of Domineum, Calistus Igwilo said: “Blockchain will power the next generation data. The courses are carefully designed to equip participants with the right skills to become professionals and help shape the future of the blockchain industry.”
The programme will be delivered through a hybrid mode (virtual and physical meetups) in all the states of the Federation. Outstanding teams in the project phase stand the opportunity to join an incubation programme in London while others will be exposed to the BSV Ecosystem where they can be involved with various projects.
Science Nigeria understands that the scholarship is open to all Nigerians willing to put in a minimum of 20 hours per week, have access to laptops or desktops, show commitment and determination and no prior programming experience is required.
A statement co-signed by the head, corporate affairs and external relations, NITDA, Mrs. Hadiza Umar and the co-founder, Domineum Blockchain Solutions, Mohammed Jega said the application opens from October 31 to November 28, 2022, while the course begins on December 1, 2022.
Interested applicants can apply via the link: https://bit.ly/nbbs2022
NITDA has embarked on several initiatives to upskill and reskill Nigerians, in line with the national agenda for a digital economy – a component of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS). The development of the NITDA Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP) is a strategic plan towards achieving the NDEPS.
To continue to provide massive employment opportunities through digital skills, NITDA said it has kick-started an ambitious project to train one million software developers in the country. Therefore, the NITDA Blockchain Scholarship (NBS) programme will enable participants gain new skills that will help them take their ventures to the next level. As blockchain technology is still in its infancy and heralds the Fourth Industrial Revolution, this is an opportunity for Africa to bridge the technology gap with other continents by becoming early adopters and professionals in the blockchain industry.
