Tekedia thinks every African nation needs a microelectronics training and research institute (MTRI). Below are some of the reasons, culled from a proposal developed by Fasmicro, our parent company to some selected governments:
- Utilizing international and local collaborative networks to develop a microelectronics training and research institute that will offer world-class training and research opportunities to spectra of African university community and the SMEs. MTRI will provide platforms to help SME to adopt and diffuse the emerging technologies in Africa through consultation, training and infrastructure support. Our proposal is designed to be multi-mode with educational and research components. We envision bringing products to the market within 5th year of operation to sustain organic growth after any grant fund has been exhausted. This is a requirement for any African school, ability to survive post-grant graduation.
- Entrepreneurship will form a key component of our graduates’ education. Our qualified graduates, with their new ideas and innovations fostered in the university research environment will form the foundation for new startup companies and stimulate further research and development in Africa’s private sector. MTRI will work hard to see that we help establish many start-up firms via our graduates. Taking our products to the market is one element of this proposal and that will influence our training philosophy.
- MTRI will provide the tools, technologies and services that make microelectronics research and development possible in select universities across Africa and this will improve our knowledge base in this area. This proposal will create value for both the participating institutions and Africa.
- Faculty members and graduate students will depend on MTRI’s services to design, manufacture and test microsystems concepts for future applications in industrial sectors for products and services in microelectronics, MEMS, optoelectronics/photonics, microfluidics and embedded software.
- MTRI will enable many researchers who would not normally be able to participate in the microsystems research area if the infrastructure does not exist. MTRI is structured for quality, relevance, and practical impacts in Africa’s academic and industrial spheres.
- Providing researchers with access to technical support, targeted training and networking opportunities to accelerate research efforts while decreasing time to graduation
- Availability of world-class training facility and environment will undoubtedly enrich the quality of training, learning and research. This proposal is designed to have immediate impacts and mature to sole sustainability within two years of any grant period. The program managers are composed of practicing experts who have the capacity to ensure fast start-up and implementation.
- The proposal is designed to have optimal balance between curricula reform, staff development and upgrades in facilities with positive impacts on the quality of S&T (science and technology) teaching and learning, the quality of S&T research, the relevance of the trainings and research to the labor market and enrollment of more female students in S&T based programs.
- We will utilize video teleconferencing to enable us tap a large pool of our alumni and other experts across the globe in our programs. They will lead labs and lectures at their foreign locations in real time through this technology.