16 interns graduate from Interswitch academy

By Benjamin Omoike, Lagos

Sixteen interns have graduated from the Interswitch Developer Academy in Lagos.

The interns were drawn from various tertiary institutions across Nigeria.

As part of its commitment to promote the study of science, technology, engineering and Mathematics in Nigeria, Interswitch recruited a number of software engineers to participate in the six-month internship programme which held at the company’s headquarters.

According to Interswitch, the vision draws inspiration from the renaissance that Nigeria has witnessed in its entertainment sector which has witnessed a great boom in recent years owing to the enterprising spirit of Nigerians and with very little dependence on government intervention.

The academy which took the form of an internship programme began in December 2018.

“These fresh graduates from the Interswitch internship programme were selected through a careful process after a widespread call was made for newly graduated software engineers to apply. 

“The six-month intensive training was focused on teaching the graduates basic engineering theories as well as real-life applications. The first three months in the academy took place in a classroom where the interns learned the theoretical application of software engineering. The last three months were spent gaining hands-on work experience in engineering and software development.

“Some of the interns will be retained as Interswitch staff, while the others will be prepped to join the wider Nigeria workforce,” the firm stated.

Speaking at the brief ceremony to herald the conclusion of their training, Babafemi Ogungbamila, Interswitch’s Chief Information Officer (technology), said it was really an amazing experience with the interns, noting that their commitment, readiness to learn and determination eventually paid off.

“It is amazing seeing young people show passion about science, technology, engineering and Mathematics. We had about 16 graduates interested in software engineering and coding.

Today, science, technology, engineering and Mathematics is the way forward. During their short time with us, I saw people ready to change the narrative. These are the next generation of problem solvers in our society. I hope these six months will positively affect their future and career pursuits,” he said.