Throughout the year, we offer opportunities for schools to visit and have a 'mini open day' experience with our staff at MRC Unit The Gambia. On Friday 7th May 2017, 60 students and their teachers from Nusrat Senior Secondary School in Bundung, visited MRCG to gain meaningful experience in Information Technology.

Jointly coordinated by Communications and the Information Technology (IT) Department, the goal of the ICT Club was to better understand how technology is used in The Gambia, its potential to solve meaningful problems in the community and how its development can impact Gambian youths.

On arrival, the group was welcomed by Caroline Potin-Sambou, Content Producer and Engagement Officer who gave the group a brief overview of The Unit and our community engagement activities.The group then watched The Unit video for a wider understanding of our research areas in The Gambia and beyond. This was followed by a question and answer session. The students were then taken to the IT department where Joseph Osatuyi, Network Manager, explained briefly the various fields of Computer Science namely theory, hardware, networking, graphics, programming languages, software engineering, systems and artificial intelligence (AI).  He also dwelt on the types of support being provided by the IT department to the Unit in general and the complimentary role being played by the Data Management Department.  Finally, he talked about the network architecture of the Unit and the type of computer security put in place to safely guide users and their data.

The students also visited the Client support maintenance room where Sheriffo Jarju, Computer Client Support Assistant, spoke about how the maintenance of IT equipment is carried out at MRCG. He also spoke about the importance of Preventive Maintenance in prolonging the life of equipment, decreasing and optimising downtime so as to get more hours out the equipment. This results in increased efficiency and reduced costs he said in conclusion.

The students and teachers were grateful for the opportunity to visit The Unit as it provided them with a stimulating educational experience.