Uchechukwu Nnaike
Considering the advances in technology
and how technology will shape the world in 2044 and beyond, MTN Nigeria
recently organised the ‘mPulse Planet’ in Lagos, to prepare students for
the future.
The event with the theme ‘Nigeria, the
Future in 2044’ hosted about 5,000 children from nine-15 years to tech
hub with various indoor, outdoor and video games, as well as a ‘Tech
Town’ with sections for driverless cars, AR game, product design, world
of robotics, VR/AR technology, among others.
Explaining the rationale behind the
event, the Chief Operating Officer, MTN Nigeria, Mr. Mazan Mroue said
the company segmented its customers and discovered that children between
the ages of nine and 14 are interested in technology, online gaming and
education so it decided to package these things together in the mPulse
platform.
He said one year after creating the
platform the company has seen its impact; it helps to expose the teens
to the latest technologies and education materials.
According to him, the children are at
the age where they are yet to decide about their future careers so it is
important to expose them to the maximum number of technologies and
platforms through MTN, where they take decisions on how they want to be
in future.
Though the event held in Lagos alone, he
said the mPulse platform is available online to all Nigerians. “All
Nigerian children ages nine -14, irrespective of where they are; they
are also allowed to access the platform online and leverage all the
freebies and all the offers available for them. Today is just a physical
interaction with all those different platforms. However there is a plan
to replicate the same and extend it nationwide.”
Mroue added that the teens are already
exposed to technology and are already connected “so we need to give them
attention and extra offers that will make life easier and enable them
to make the right choice when they grow up and enter the university. And
meeting them early is an opportunity for us and the country on how we
can train our people to take the right decision.”
The General Manager, Consumer Marketing,
MTN Nigeria, Mr. Oluwole Rawa said mPulse is not a tariff plan, but a
proposition and platform that was launched last year, where students can
go online and access contents around games, education and other
contents that would make them to start thinking about entrepreneurship.
“They can see different contents about
children doing new things successfully, which are things we don’t get
from our kids because we are so focused on education, which is good, but
games and entrepreneurship are things that you can do.
He stated that the company decided to
organise the physical event for the children to see some of the future
technologies and feel them. “Some children have never experienced things
like product development, where they develop things with 3D and print
them out for them to see physically; robotics, AR/VR. Some children have
never experienced these apart from what they see on the internet, so we
bring those things to life. It is a day of fun for the children. Even
those that are not very tech-inclined, there is a whole lot for them to
do.”
Rawa said this year’s event was expanded
because of the feedback and level of participation last year, adding
that 5,000 people registered one week. So there is a possibility of
further expanding it.
“From the theme, how will the future
look like in 2044, we are already seeing the signs; we are going to see
cars that are not being driven by human beings; robots that will be
doing most of the things that we are doing. This is an opportunity for
these children to experience these things. It is a free event so you
don’t have to come from a rich home to attend, so we give everyone the
opportunity to participate. It is about the future so they can
experience virtual reality and see how the future will be like in 20 to
30 years.”
Also speaking, the Chief Marketing
Officer, MTN Nigeria, Rahul De said: “After last year’s launch, we have
continued to improve on mPulse in accordance with the ever-evolving
interests of young Nigerians aged nine-15.
“One of the factors that came to the
fore was the need to usher them into the future. This summer event is a
way of introducing our future (Nigerian youths) to the future by
stimulating their minds and intellect.
“We wanted an avenue to spur their creativity and get them to think beyond what they see and experience at the moment.”
Sharing her excitement and experience at
the mPulse Planet, Cynthia Arinze, a 12-year-old, who came with her
parents and nine-year-old cousin, Amaka Wright said: “Everything here
has been unbelievable.”
In 2018, MTN Nigeria launched the
exciting proposition, mPulse to equip young Nigerians between ages nine
and 15 with the resources they need to maximize their potential and be
all they want to be.
The mPulse package comes with a voice
plan and a fun, educative website, which hosts a wide variety of courses
and study aids to help children from primary one to senior secondary
three excel. The portal also provides a bouquet of single and
multiplayer games, as well as life skills videos. From computer
programming, fashion design, medicine and blogging to engineering,
writing, data science and motivational speaking, among others, there is
something for every interest.
The proposition also has parental
control feature that allows a parent/guardian to safeguard the child’s
internet access from harmful content.
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