IHS, LSI Train Nigerian Teachers in STEM, Space Tech Education

Emma Okonji

IHS Towers, a telecoms infrastructure provider, in collaboration with Limitless Space Institute (LSI) of the United States of America, has trained ten Nigerian secondary teachers selected from public schools across the country on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), with insight in space technology.

Showcasing the teachers yesterday during a global educators’ programme organised jointly by IHS and LSI in Lagos, Executive Director at LSI, Kaci Heinz, said over 200 teachers applied for the training programme, but ten were shortlisted from different public schools across Nigeria to join other ten teachers shortlisted from Brazil to attend the 12 months training session through its Global Educators Programme.

According to her, the selected teachers from Nigeria had six months training in Houston, Texas in the USA, and they will train for the remaining six months in Nigeria, which will run till December 2024.

Her words: “Limitless Space Institute is based in Houston, Texas in the United States of America and we are focused on training secondary school teachers across the globe in STEM education, from the perspective of space technology education and we are collaborating with IHS Nigeria to train Nigerian teachers, that will in turn impact the knowledge in their students who are interested in building their educational careers around STEM education.

“We are excited to be in Nigeria to train Nigerian teachers in STEM education to enhance technology education in schools.”

Chief Corporate Services Officer at IHS, Dapo Otunla, said education remained one of the pillars in the sustainability programme of IHS, hence the desire to collaborate with LSI of USA to train Nigerian teachers on SETEM and space technology education that will impact such knowledge in their students.

“The initiative is to train teachers on STEM and the teachers will extend such knowledge to the students that they teach. As a telecoms services infrastructure provider, which started in Nigeria in 2001, IHS has been involved in education programme that is focused on technology innovation, and has built technology innovation hub in Alimosho in Lagos State and ICT facilities in Ogbomosho in Oyo State, as well as in Zaria, among other states in Nigeria,” Otunla said.     

CEO of IHS Nigeria, Mr. Mohamed Darwish, commended the teachers for their zeal to further enhance their knowledge in STEM education and pledged the continued support of IHS Nigeria in ensuring that more teachers and students are trained in STEM education and space technology education.

One of the teachers and a beneficiary of the training programme, Maranatha Haa, who is a Chemistry teacher from Federal Government College, Jos, Plateau State, expressed gratitude to IHS and LSI for the collaboration to train Nigerian teachers on STEM and space technology education.

According to her, the teachers have been exposed to knowledge that will be further transferred to students. He called on the federal government to introduce space technology in Nigerian school curriculum, to further enhance the knowledge of students in space technology.

Another beneficiary, Olayinka Adeosun, who is a teacher from Ilupeju Junior Grammar School in Lagos, said the training, which is ongoing, would motivate students’ interest in STEM and space technology education, through the teachers that have been trained.