Build an Edu-Tech Hub for 400 Students in Zimbabwe

Our 2018 cohort of Emerging Fellows from St Dominic’s Chishawasha are the 2nd group of students to benefit from your generous support that contributed to the successful setup of an Emergihub for 400 students at St Dominic's Chishawasha.

 Careers in Finance Panel Session

 Pictured below, our fellows had the opportunity to discuss careers in finance with Zimbabwean professionals from the World Bank, KPMG, and an Analyst from a leading US pension fund. Our fellows were exposed to different global finance careers through panelists describing their roles in their current position and what a typical day is like for them at work. An example was of a typical day for an infrastructure finance specialist at the World Bank working with governments around the world helping them raise finance for large infrastructure development projects in their respective countries. Importantly, the panelists explained to the students what it took for them to get from high school in Zimbabwe through to a high flying career in finance and professional services.

University Readiness Panel Session

Our fellows had the opportunity to learn about the initial steps towards getting ready for university and the tools and methods required to successfully creating their first university applications. The panelists that participated on the panel were students from Oxford University in the academic fields of Electrical Engineering, Biochemistry and Global Health Sciences.

Applying to Universities in The UK and South Africa

Our fellows had an intimate conversation with students from Universities in the UK and South Africa around preparing their applications as well as aligning their studies with career opportunities. The students learned about the scholarships, quality universities and importantly how to put their best foot forward in their essays.

 Distinguished Speaker Series

As we continue exposing our fellows to professionals in various careers through virtual panel session, we also ensure we provide platforms for our fellows to interact in person with professionals in Zimbabwe's diverse industries. We recently hosted our 2nd Edition of the Distinguished Guest Speaker Series a concept that we adopted which serves as part of our Emerging Fellows Program. The distinguished speaker series is a sequence of events that provide a platform for Professionals, Motivational Speakers, Executives and young upcoming Entrepreneurs across Zimbabwe's diverse industries to directly contribute to the professional development, and etiquette of secondary school students, the event saw over 130 students from four different schools in Harare attending, also professionals from technology and Finance companies participated in the event.

• Report with pictures (PDF)
  

Education innovation in Zimbabwe has been accompanied by an increased need to nurture youth talent and participation. Emergination Africa has been at the forefront of engaging students with technology to enhance learning and connectivity. With your continued support, we have been tirelessly working on contributing to the learning and education of students in Zimbabwe through our Emergihub.

In 2017 alone, the Emergihub hosted 8 panel sessions, which included career talks in finance, technology, and policy. Students video-called and connected (in real-time) with professionals from global organizations such as Nike, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Deloitte, and Salesforce. In addition, students held work-sessions on resume-development and college/university application with their mentors in the UK, Germany, USA, and South Africa.

Furthermore, the success of the Emergihub and the overall EA program has prompted interest among education stakeholders in Zimbabwe. Our Founder and Executive Director, Taku Machirori, had the opportunity to address key policymakers on the impact of our work. These key people included Professor Mavima, Honorable Minister of Secondary and Higher Education, Dr. Utete-Masango, the Permanent Secretary of Education, and Provincial Directors from all 10 provinces of Zimbabwe.

Ultimately, the goal of the Emergihub is to provide space for students to enhance their learning and career development through connecting with professionals and mentors globally. The Emergihub has provided a place for students to achieve this goal, and our hope with this project is to continue building similar spaces in all of Zimbabwe.