Microsoft announces that Lillian Barnard, Director of Public Sector will assume a new role as South Africa Managing Director.
Lillian Barnard we know has been very active in fostering the women at Microsoft community. DigiGirlz, and other coding initiatives that empower women and girls in technology.
At AfricaCom 2017 we had the opportunity to hear her talk about Microsoft’s Digital transformation being critical to businesses in Africa.
As Microsoft South Africa Public Sector Director, she has helped in shaping the countries digital transformation journey. With programs that include digital skills developement and digital transformation of businesses.
New South Africa Managing Director
Microsoft says “During her tenure at Microsoft, Barnard has pulled together a strong Public Sector team that has delivered innovative digital solutions and helped digitally transform the South African Government. She has also been pivotal in re-igniting the South African chapter of Women At Microsoft and spurring a culture that embraces gender equality in the workplace. Her development and impact as a leader, as a spokesperson, as technologist and as a seller within Microsoft have positioned her as an ideal successor capable of leading Microsoft South Africa into its next exciting chapter“.
Lillian will take over from Zoaib Hoosen who has been at the post for about 5 years.
“Succeeding someone who has led with such distinction is an honour” she shares. “Zoaib has ensured that I will be taking over an extraordinary organisation. The business truly is in a strong position as a result of his commitment over the last five years. I am planning to continue to drive this growth as we move forward“.
Microsoft 4Afrika’s Skills #Interns4Afrika Internship Africa initiative offers you a way to build work experience in a thriving environment.
Do you live in Accra, Ghana? Get to be a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Technical Support, Sales or Marketing intern. Microsoft’s Intern4Afrika initiative is offering a unique experience with a dynamic and agile technology organization.
The intern will get the opportunity to work for 6 months with a Microsoft partner organization on real projects. Get to collaborate and skill up on the job with the help of colleagues. You can also get to be hired by the firm depending on your performance and if you are interested in being hired after the internship program.
All the best to you as you apply. If you do get in, come back and share the experience with us? Also kindly report any broken links so we can fix them. Thank you.
Microsoft 4Afrika’s Skills #Interns4Afrika Internship Africa initiative offers you a way to build work experience in a thriving environment.
Do you live in Nigeria? Get to be a Dynamics 365 Technical Support, Sales or Marketing intern. Microsoft’s Intern4Afrika initiative will offer the intern a unique experience with a dynamic and agile technology organization. The intern will get the opportunity to work for 6 months with a Microsoft partner organization on real projects. Get to collaborate and learn from your colleagues. You can also get to be hired by the firm depending on your performance and if you are interested in being hired after the internship program.
For more question about the Interns4Afrika program, check out the program FAQ’s
Kindly click on links below to apply on the Microsoft 4Afrika Interns4Afrika FUZU page. Sign up and fill away. All the best.
All the best to you as you apply. If you do get in, come back and share the experience with us? Also kindly report any broken links so we can fix them. Thank you.
Ghanaian Teacher, Richard Owura Kwadwo Hottish Akoto Appiah, one of ten Change-Makers who inspired Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella in 2018
10 Change-Makers that inspired Satya Nadella in 2018
Satya nadella has named Richard ‘Owura Kwadwo Hottish’ Akoto as part of individuals and teams who inspired him in 2018.
The CEO of Microsoft shared this in a post titled 10 change-makers who inspired me in 2018. He shared “that these change makers are solving some of the world’s most pressing challenges, often overcoming odds“.
Here’s an excerpt of what the Microsoft CEO shared about the Change-Makers
“As I reflect on the year, I want to celebrate 10 people and teams who inspired me in 2018. With their ambition to think big and take action and also with their commitment to never lose sight of those whose lives they are trying to better. From a Ghanaian teacher who taught his students Word on a chalkboard, to a young entrepreneur in Paris who is reimagining recycling. To a Microsoft team in the United States working to improve outcomes in the foster-care system. These change-makers’ stories made me pause and reflect on the incredible opportunity each of us has to impact and spark change in our organizations, our local communities and the world.”
Richard’s post that went viral
Satya Nadella goes on to say that “to me, Richard exemplifies the dedication and creativity of so many great teachers who go above and beyond each day for their students“.
Satya recapped Richards story by saying; When Richard Appiah Akoto was preparing his students in rural Ghana for a national IT exam earlier this year, he refused to let a lack of working computers get in the way. In remarkably accurate detail, Richard drew the [Microsoft] Word user interface on his classroom chalkboard so his students could learn how to use it. His illustrations went viral, and our teams rallied to support him, providing the school with a computer lab.
Richard Owura Kwadwo Hottish Akoto Appiah speaks at E2 2018 in Singapore.
Satya Nadella concludes that each of these change-makers show us how one individual or team driven by passion and ingenuity can empower others and have meaningful impact in the world.
3 Kenyan and Ugandan projects receive Microsoft and National Geographic AI for Earth Innovation Grant to support research and scientific discovery with AI technologies.
Microsoft announces new recipients of its AI for Earth Innovation award. A joint $1.2M grant program offered by Microsoft and National Geographic to 11 grantees. AI for Earth is designed to advance the use of Artificial Intelligence in scientific exploration and research to help solve critical environmental challenges.
Out of more than 200 applications received, 3 projects from Africa were included in the 11 chosen projects to recieve funding. These are led by changemakers; Ketty Adoch, Torsten Bondo and Stephanie Dolrenry. They will receive financial support, access to Microsoft cloud and AI tools, inclusion in the National Geographic Explorer community and affiliation with National Geographic Labs.
The Microsoft and National Geographic AI for Earth Innovation Grant winners will use these resources to support their projects and better protect the planet.
Microsoft shares that the new grant offering will support research and scientific discovery with AI technologies to advance agriculture, biodiversity conservation, climate change and water.
Below are profiles of the winning grant projects;
Ketty Adoch Geographical information systems specialist from Uganda. Her AI for Earth Innovation Grant project will detect, quantify and monitor land cover change in the area surrounding Lake Albert and Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda’s largest and oldest national park.
Stephanie Dolrenry Director of Wildlife Guardians, based in Washington, D.C. Her team will use the AI for Earth Innovation Grant to help support the Lion Identification Network of Collaborators, an AI-assisted collaborative database for lion identification and interorganizational research.
Torsten Bondo Business development manager and senior remote sensing engineer at DHI GRAS in Denmark. With the AI for Earth Innovation Grant, his team aims to use machine learning and satellites to support irrigation development and improve crop water efficiency in Uganda together with the Ugandan geo-information company Geo Gecko. The goal is to contribute to food security, poverty alleviation and economic growth.
Previous beneficiaries of the Microsoft AI for Earth grant are Peace Parks Foundation, South Africa, International Center for tropical Agriculture, Kenya, I.T.Grapes, Tunisia, Energyrathon Consulting Ltd, Nigeria, etc.
How Microsoft and National Geographic AI for Earth Innovation Grantee is detecting land cover changes in Uganda.
“Ketty Adoch is working to address competition between preserving iconic species and mining natural resources in the same area. A huge advocate for applying technology tools to geographic data, she will use supervised classification and machine learning on satellite images to detect changes in the shape or size of land cover types, like shadows from changing tree cover. She’ll conduct these analyses both historically and, once promising algorithms have been developed, on an ongoing basis for the coming decade. The key outcomes — algorithms and maps to document the findings — will enable researchers, conservationists and technologists to monitor land cover change in the area, see the impact of oil activities and support conservation efforts going forward.”
