Samsung, JKUAT unveils plan to provide affordable laptops for varsity students

By STANDARD REPORTER

Samsung Electronics East Africa has teamed up with Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) to provide affordable laptops for university students.

The move by the regional Consumer Electronics firm is in a bid to promote e-learning in universities.

The programme will see all the JKUAT students acquire genuine laptops from Samsung at subsidised prices.  Samsung Electronics East Africa Robert Ngeru said the deal would enable the university students to keep with the rapidly evolving technology landscape while at the same time providing them with efficient tools to nurture the talents while enriching their ICT skills.

“Our interest in providing educational solutions arises from the fact that this continent is gripped by poverty, underdevelopment, and unemployment and infrastructure challenges,” he said during the signing of the deal at the JKUAT graduation pavilion. Ngeru said as a responsible corporate citizen, the firm seeks to address these challenges by implementing effective and sustainable initiatives that would play a key role empowering our utilized youthful talent.

JKUAT Vice Chancellor, Prof Mabel Imbuga, noted that as the home of technology among universities in the region, the varsity committed to nurturing innovators while embracing technology to aid and enhance research in learning institutions.

According to data from the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), the Internet penetration in the country went up by 4.3 per cent to 41.1 per cent in second quarter of the 2012/2013 financial year.

This is a clear indicator that the country is quickly becoming a more converged and ICT based economy.