Knowledge Seven

27/11/2024

I am thrilled to be in Abuja, the vibrant capital of Nigeria, to participate in the Going Global Africa 2024 conference, focusing on the critical theme of The Future of Education in the African Continent. This event, organised by the British Council of Nigeria in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education of Nigeria, runs from 26 to 28 November 2024.

This pan-African education conference will delve into vital topics, including both North-South and South-South partnerships. We will discuss Jobs of the Future for our youth, emphasising the importance of upskilling and reskilling the current workforce. Bridging the gap between education and industry is a priority, alongside addressing the persistent gender gap. As we advance, we must champion core skills such as leadership, entrepreneurship, and innovation, while fostering inclusion and ensuring no one is left behind. A key aspect of the conversation will be adapting curricula to incorporate local knowledge, tackle the real challenges, and nurture creativity and problem-solving skills.

I am particularly honoured to be a panelist in a session focused on how technology and innovation serve as powerful catalysts for modernising nations. The discussion will highlight how technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and the micro-credential system are important for developing the skilled technicians required in modern African economies, including Mauritius. Esteemed panelists from across Africa will enrich this dialogue with their insights and experiences.

23/10/2024

Ten years ago, Christina and I created ElectionsMauritius.com because we felt it was silly to go to the ballot box without knowing all the candidates and parties who are competing for our votes! Our website has been updated for the 2024 elections with all 903 candidates in the 21 constituencies of Mauritius and Rodrigues. Enjoy and do not hesitate to share with others: https://www.electionsmauritius.com/

Because it's silly to go to the ballot box without knowing all the candidates and parties who are competing for our votes!

28/03/2024

On Thursday 28 March 2024, I was invited to make a presentation on "Emerging Technologies for a Sustainable Future" with the important subtitle of "And how important young people are for Mauritius". This was during the National Science Week 2024 organised by the Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre at the Côte d'Or National Complex.

During my talk, I explained to a large group of young students of Grades 10-13 (Form IV to VI) what Vision 2030 is for Mauritius, how technology and innovation are important enablers to achieve this vision, how the country is facing major challenges (as is the rest of the world) and how, if we want to achieve a sustainable future, we need to have a critical mass of young professionals in green technologies and also in emerging technologies. I told the students that they are the "peopleware" of Mauritius and they are more important than hardware and/or software.

At the end, I also told them that while Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths are essential subjects, it is also important for them to develop their soft skills. Finally, I also told them to develop an artistic side in order to see further ahead...

A big thank you to the Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre for organising such an interesting event with a special mention for Dr Ellora Dhunnoo, Dr Aman Maulloo, Dr Bhamini Kamudu, Ms Natasha Nastali and Ms Tavishee Gujudhur.

05/12/2023

On Saturday 2 December, I gave a talk titled "Towards Smart Citizens and a Smart Mauritius with Artificial Intelligence" at the PGD Conference 2023 hosted by Publicis Global Delivery in Ébène.

I focused on the intersection between technology (including emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence), innovation and policy-making in order to create a Smart Mauritius. I highlighted the importance of generating a critical mass of smarter citizens and how Artificial Intelligence can be a formidable tool to help achieve this vision. Specifically, I discussed Generative AI and Large Language Models like ChatGPT, emphasising their applications in education and the workplace.

During the Q&A session, I addressed ways for the private sector to contribute to national long-term projects. We also discussed about how to properly use Generative AI in the classroom as well as effective methods to teach computer science and software engineering. Additionally, I engaged the audience with a quiz about the Internet, Google and Linux, even awarding a prize!

Special thanks to Vishwadev Bhundhoo, Ashmal Ramburn, Vikesh Joypaul, Yashin Soraballee and François Bredel from Publicis Global Delivery for having invited me to participate in this interesting event.

28/10/2023

For your information, from yesterday's Cabinet Papers:

"14. Cabinet has taken note of the report of the Mauritius Meteorological Services with regard to the Seasonal Outlook for Summer 2023-2024 for Mauritius and Rodrigues. The summer season in Mauritius, Rodrigues, Agalega and St Brandon would start from 01 November 2023 to 30 April 2024. The official cyclone season would be from 01 November 2023 to 15 May 2024.

The main forecasts for the Summer Season 2023-2024 were as follows -

(a) temperatures would be above the normal during summer 2023-2024;
(b) the onset of summer rain would be delayed and was expected to occur during the second fortnight of December 2023; and
(c) during January to March 2024, atmospheric conditions would become conducive to the occurrence of extreme weather events such as violent thunderstorms and heavy rainfall."

Take care.

16/09/2022

"For Tomorrow", a documentary by the UNDP Accelerator Lab Network has been released. It is the story of grassroots innovators striving to create a more sustainable future for all of us. It is about empowering communities. Is the world ready? Are YOU ready?

Narrated by actress Daisy Ridley [Star Wars], For Tomorrow — the Documentary tells the story of grassroots innovators who are fighting sustainability problem...

12/12/2021

A critical vulnerability in the open-source logging software Apache Log4j 2 is fueling a chaotic race in the cybersecurity world.

The Log4Shell vulnerability carries the highest severity rating and is one of the worst of 2021. Here's what to do about it.

17/11/2021

Is Zoom using too much CPU on your Linux computer? Here is an elegant solution. Put Zoom in a systemd cgroups and change the max CPU allocation to fit your needs.

Zoom in Systemd Cgroups on Linux. Change the max allocations to fit your workstation. - chill-zoom.sh

29/10/2021

Facebook, the company, is now known as Meta and has now started to build a new product, the Metaverse, a new virtual world based on virtual reality and other immersive hardware technologies and expects a billion of users in a few years...

Facebook on Thursday announced that it will change its company name to Meta, reflecting the company's growing ambitions beyond social media.

21/10/2021

For those of you who love understanding how technology works, here is an awesome explanation of the Sony PlayStation 3 Architecture.

An in-depth analysis that explains how this console works internally

23/03/2021

Even though there are newer replacements like htop, the venerable "top" command in Linux to show all running processes is still, well, top. It's very customisable too, especially its colours. Here's how. Enjoy.

The top command (or Linux top) can display system summary info. Here's how the types of system summary, order and size of top info can by custom configured.