Second day of the symposium dedicated to cybersecurity. The event is jointly organized by Al Akhawayn University and Carnegie Mellon University Africa (CMU Africa). Around a hundred experts in the field came to discuss Africa’s digital challenges.
The Ambassador of Rwanda to Morocco, Shakilla K. Umutoni, was present during this closing day, for the launch of the Digital Innovation Laboratory. The latest addition from Al Akhawayn University joins the Upanzi network which already has three members: CMU Africa, the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) and the University of Botswana. These laboratories collaborate around the technologies that the African continent needs. “This symposium is the result of collaboration between several universities across the continent. CMU Africa started in Kigali, Rwanda, but we see this collaboration growing and strengthening across the continent,” says Shakilla K .Umutoni. For the diplomat, this type of collaboration is essential “since we are aware today of the risks relating to cybersecurity which cannot be managed by a single country”. In the future, she hopes that other universities will join the network to strengthen collaboration with government, academia, civil society and all stakeholders in the field “to ensure that Africa becomes a leader in creation of solutions in cybersecurity and digital transformation.
Towards Moroccan-Moroccan or African-African solutions…
An observation shared by Dr Houda Chakiri, professor at the University of Al Akhawayn, and organizer of the symposium. “This laboratory will serve as a platform to collaborate with other Moroccan universities in order to develop innovative ideas on digital identity in Africa,” explains the professor. The goal is to use these new technologies in big data, the cloud, edge computing and artificial intelligence. This addition to the university based in Ifrane will make it possible to develop skills in research, “but also innovation in themes which mainly serve our country. This will also make it possible to develop Moroccan-Moroccan, African-African solutions, instead of importing solutions developed abroad and also having our sovereignty over the technology we use,” adds the organizer.
A master’s degree in cybersecurity in fall 2025
The direction that Al Akhawayn is undertaking is totally “aligned with the strategy of the Moroccan government in all matters relating to digitalization, digital identity, and cybersecurity,” the dean of the School of Science and Engineering tells us, Salah El Majeed also announces the creation of a master’s degree in cybersecurity in the fall of 2025. “There are so many ISOs, standards and policies that must be written, understood, etc. So this master’s degree will target a large number of sectors which can help move towards a more secure future, as soon as possible”, explains Salah El Majeed.
Launch of the Hackathon on digital identity in North Africa
On the program for this last day, a mini-hackathon on cybersecurity where students invested in laboratories to develop cybersecurity solutions. And the launch of the Hackathon on digital identity in North Africa where the participating countries for North Africa will be Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Sudan and Mauritania. This competition will last five months. “Participants will have online courses on digital identity, while developing their ideas and, subsequently, the winning innovative ideas will be awarded at Al Akhawayn University in April,” explains Dr Houda Chakiri. The five winning teams will be able to participate in the African competition which will be held in Ethiopia in May.
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