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Tech Meet & Greet

In observance of our first onsite meeting with our partners who attended our online courses offered during the heat of the pandemic we organized a Tech Meet and Greet on September 11, 2020, at Smart Liberia. During the event participants and panelists had the chance to explore topics like:

  • Utilizing Tech During COVID-19: eLearning Approaches
  • Tech response to the pandemic
  • Opportunities in Liberia’s growing Tech industry
  • Tech startup in Liberia: advice for the aspiring tech enthusiast

Participants were given the chance to ask questions, make comments and share their online learning experience. A formal congratulations message was given to those who participated in iHub’s virtual learning program, while they sat in the crowd wearing their iHub printed t-shirts.

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Virtual Learning Program

The rapid spread of COVID-19 led to the closure of educational institutions all over the world. Such closure accelerated the development concept of the online learning environments within those institutions so that learning would not be disrupted. High schools and universities were closed worldwide and forced the introduction of remote learning. The coronavirus pandemic tested the readiness of institutions and trainers to deal with a crisis that required online and remote measures.
The COVID-19 pandemic pushed schools, higher education institutions, and training providers online to ensure that effective learning continues. While technology can facilitate seamless migration of face-to-face learning to a virtual platform, accessibility to quality digital content is crucial, especially during the movement control, but the delay for higher learning instructions to implement remote systems led to depriving students and professionals to explore new knowledge. The rising need to provide a learning environment for students during this pandemic pushed Innovations Hub Liberia to design and implement our Virtual Learning Program. Launched on the 17th of April and climaxed on the 4th of August 2020, Innovations Hub Liberia Virtual Learning Program trained and certificated 208 participants across 5 cohorts. From an initial 4 courses in the root cohort to 15 available courses across the rest of the program’s lifespan. These courses were offered for as low as $500 Liberian Dollars and as high as $1,000 Liberian Dollars.
Since the program was designed to enable distance learning during the period of social distancing; we considered the high cost of the internet and the limited access to electricity, and tailored the training straightly for impact-driven with a specific topic focus to account for the time and resource. The program was taught using Zoom with 24/7 support on WhatsApp. Each of the five program cohorts lasted for a duration of 2 intensive weeks.