Telkom Foundation, BCX and Alibaba Cloud Partner with Wits to expand digital skills
- Wits University
The programme will provide approximately 165 third-year Computer Science students at Wits with access to AI-powered development tools.
The Telkom Foundation, in partnership with BCX, Alibaba Cloud and the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), has launched the Qoder Programme, creating new opportunities for young South Africans to develop the skills and experience needed to participate meaningfully in an increasingly AI-enabled digital economy.
The programme will provide approximately 165 third-year Computer Science students at Wits with access to AI-powered development tools as part of their academic projects, giving them practical exposure to emerging technologies while working on real-world software challenges.
For the Telkom Foundation, the initiative is about more than access to technology – it is about creating opportunities for young people to build confidence, capabilities and pathways into the digital economy.
“At the Telkom Foundation, we believe that access to opportunity begins with access to the right tools, knowledge and experiences,” said Maanda Rashaka, Senior Manager: Corporate Social Investment at the Telkom Foundation. “The Qoder Programme is an important step in equipping young South Africans with the digital skills required to thrive in a rapidly evolving technology landscape. By partnering with BCX, Alibaba Cloud and Wits University, we are helping students not only engage with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, but also use them responsibly and creatively to solve real-world challenges.”
The programme also reflects the importance of ensuring that education evolves alongside the technologies transforming the world of work.
“Artificial intelligence is fundamentally changing the way software is developed, researched and applied across every industry,” said Professor Richard Klein, Head of the School of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics at Wits University. “It is important that our curriculum evolves alongside these global developments. Through the Qoder Programme, our students gain access to technologies that enhance their learning experience and better prepare them for the realities of modern software engineering.”
For BCX, the initiative connects industry and academia by bringing practical technology expertise into the learning environment. This helps students build skills that are relevant to the evolving needs of the sector while gaining greater exposure to how emerging technologies are applied in real-world environments.
As the Telkom Group’s technology solutions business, BCX supports the development of future technology talent through its experience across cloud, cybersecurity, data and AI. Its role in the Qoder Programme reinforces the Group’s broader ambition to use technology, skills development and partnerships to enable inclusive digital growth.
Alibaba Cloud brings the Qoder platform into the partnership, giving students practical access to AI-assisted development tools and emerging software engineering workflows as part of their academic learning.
Together, the Telkom Foundation, BCX, Alibaba Cloud and Wits University are expanding access to future-focused skills and creating stronger pathways between education, technology and opportunity.
As AI continues to reshape industries and the world of work, the Qoder Programme is helping equip young South Africans not only to participate in the digital future, but to help shape it.