Some of the Indian Technical & Economic Cooperation (ITEC) beneficiaries shared their experiences about courses they pursued in India during the 2023-24 academic year at the Indian High Commission in Freetown.
Five ITEC beneficiaries, while sharing their experiences, overwhelmingly elaborated on how the ITEC Programme has changed their skills, perceptions, careers and lives in a positive way.
Ramy Tommy, Head of Investigation at CDIID and  Dauda Solomon Conteh , of the Audit & Admin Department of the Sierra Leone Police, who  pursued a course in Modern Techniques and Psychological Methods of Investigation  at the National Forensic Sciences University of  Gandhinagar, Gujarat, mentioned that during the training they learned how to utilize  advanced technology, such as Polygraph and other equipments, which would help them in modern-day crime investigation and police-related inquiries.
Dauda Jiba ,who is an Electrical Engineer at EDSA and completed a ‘Testing, Operation, Maintenance and Protection of EHV Substations and Lines’ course at REC Institute of Power Management & Training at New Delhi, disclosed how the REC Institute of Power Management & Training opened his eyes to the vast world of Electrical Engineering and the need to continually learn as India relies heavily on technology in this field.
He added that the training was modern and comprehensive, covering topics such as system protection against faults, various types of transformers furthering that visits were paid to different substations to understand how electricity is transmitted between 400 KV substations to 200 KV substations.
Amara S. Janneh, who is employed as Public Sector Auditor at Audit Service Sierra Leone, in sharing his experience, intimated that the course on ‘Receipt and Compliance Audit’ at the International Center for Information System & Audit in Delhi, made him realize that institutional corporations, network and the time-bound nature of conducting audits limit abilities to handle receipts, expenditures and audits effectively.
He said in India, the use of Information Technology, Applications and Data Analytics helps to enhance work efficiency, reduce time consumption, and improve work flow.
On his part, Aruna Bangura, a Trade Monitor, pursued an ‘International Training Programme on Standardization and Conformity Assessment’ at the National Institute of Training for Standardization (BIS) at Noida, Utter, Pradesh. He mentioned that the course helped him to learn how to use technology to create confidence in buyers, both online and in person, by ensuring that the products they require meet their requirements.
All the ITEC beneficiaries expressed delight in sharing their experiences about the warm reception and comfortable stay in India adding how their visits to various Institutes, historical monuments and introduction to India’s rich culture, food delicacies etc were impressive and highly memorable.
On the occasion, Neeraj Kumar Saini, Cd’A in the  Indian High Commission in Freetown informed that the Indian Technical & Economic Cooperation (ITEC) is a Government of India’s flagship programme instituted on September 15, 1964, and has been a vehicle to share India’s vast and unique experience of growth and development through capacity building and training in a wide and diverse spectrum of skills.
He furthered that ITEC programme has created visible and growing awareness about the competence of India as provider of technical knowledge and expertise as well as training opportunities, and much more.
It must be noted that India offers 50 ITEC slots every year to Sierra Leoneans for short, medium and long-term capacity building programmes. Selected ITEC beneficiaries are provided to and fro air-tickets boarding and lodging by the Government of India to pursue these courses in India.
In addition to 50 ITEC slots, India also provides 15 full ICCR scholarships to Sierra Leone for under-graduate, post-graduate and Phd. courses in India.
Sierra Leone is also one of the beneficiaries of scholarships under India’s e-Vidya Bharati or tele-education programme for online under-graduate and post-graduate courses being offered by various reputable Universities in India.
So far, more than 400 students from Sierra Leone have enrolled/pursuing/completed various courses. For such students, a Learning Centre at Fourah Bay College, consisting of a Computer Lab & Multimedia Room has been established by the Government of India.
