South Africa’s Department of Higher Education and Training is set to sign a memorandum of understanding with Google on Monday aimed at advancing digital skills development and integrating artificial intelligence into the country’s education sector.
The signing ceremony will take place at Google’s Johannesburg offices in Bryanston and will be facilitated by Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister Mimmy Gondwe. It marks the fourth public-private partnership for student and youth skills development concluded by the deputy minister.
A central component of the agreement is the provision of 5,000 Google Career Certificate scholarships in fields including AI Essentials, cybersecurity and data analytics. The scholarships will target students, educators and IT staff at selected public universities, Technical and Vocational Education and Training colleges, and Community Education and Training colleges, with a particular focus on rural and township communities.
Google will also offer AI training for educators through programs including Generative AI for Educators, and will collaborate on a train-the-trainer model to enable broader skills dissemination across institutions.
The partnership will focus on curriculum development, with Google facilitating access to AI and technology curricula, co-creating localized content and supporting integration at the institutional level. Technology support measures include deploying ChromeOS Flex to revitalize existing hardware, providing strategic hardware advisory services and strengthening institutional IT capacity through advanced training.
The agreement also provides for collaboration on policy and governance, including the sharing of expertise on AI policy development and access to relevant Google AI tools for public institutions.
The signing ceremony will be attended by students, departmental officials and senior Google executives, and will feature demonstrations of Google’s AI programs.
