ICT varsity: A country’s tall dream
The Minister of Communications, Mr. Adebayo Shittu, was upbeat about the ICT University as he was all smiles when he took hold of a three-volume report from Professor Julius Okojie, former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), who is the chairman of the 31-member committee charged to draw up modalities for establishing the […]
The Minister of Communications, Mr. Adebayo Shittu, was upbeat about the ICT University as he was all smiles when he took hold of a three-volume report from Professor Julius Okojie, former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), who is the chairman of the 31-member committee charged to draw up modalities for establishing the ICT University in Abuja.
With the report submitted, Shittu said the ICT University was a done deal. He pledged that the report would be implemented.
The minister said in about three weeks’ time, the Federal Government would come out with a memorandum to ensure that the university commenced operation by September as planned, and that the university would be a legacy and that he hoped posterity would judge right everyone that participated in its planning.
The minister said: “The university will be funded by a PPP arrangement. The Federal Government will only provide the infrastructure.
“In doing this, emphasis would be placed on financing and entrepreneurship when selecting those that would partner with government on the establishment.’’
He said the university, which would be the first of its kind in Africa, was expected to create thousands of jobs across Nigeria.
The ministry, he said, was already sourcing for the vice chancellor while the lecturers would be sourced mostly from India, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, South Korea and other countries.
Earlier, Prof. Julius Okojie, Chairman of the Planning and Implementation Committee, said the university would have six campuses with three colleges (faculties).
He said these colleges would consist of Information Technology, Applied Technology and Society, and Security Technology.
Okojie further advocated for the establishment of an ICT Museum where students would learn about the history of ICT development in the country.
The Federal Government had on June 1, inaugurated an implementation committee to facilitate the establishment of the proposed Information Communication Technology (ICT) University of Nigeria.
Elaborating on the planned ICT University at a programme at the University of Ibadan last weekend, the minister said, “We already have the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) which is for short term training programmes in six locations across the country: Abuja, Lagos, Enugu, Kano, Asaba and Yola, and we will transform this institute into the ICT University of Nigeria. “I am happy to report that this project is receiving a global boost and endorsement. The committee set up has been working round the clock on the realisation of this objective, and has indeed submitted its final report on Tuesday July 18, 2017. A vice chancellor and other senior officials would soon be appointed.
He said a recent World Bank report revealed that ICT was transforming the world of work, creating new job opportunities and making labour markets more innovative, inclusive and global. He said ICT was influencing employment both as an industry that created jobs and as a tool that empowered workers to access new forms of jobs in new and more flexible ways. He added that the ICT sector alone contributed N500bn to the economy in 2014 and created about 2.5 million jobs in 10 years. He said the statistics also showed that the sector attracted about $30bn of foreign investment from 2003 to 2014.
He also promised that the government would provide the much needed infrastructure and favourable policies that would create the enabling environment for young people to innovate unhindered in the various start-ups and innovative centres across the country.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, has commended Hewlett Packard (HP) Nigeria for being on the forefront among international organisations to take the initiative of collaborating with the Federal Government in the establishment of the ICT University of Nigeria (UICT).
He stated this when Hewlett HP Nigeria came to seek for areas they could collaborate with the ministry in the development of UICT.
Shittu challenged HP Nigeria to prepare to adopt one of the campuses, focus on a specialised area and develop it to a smart campus for business interest. He added that his vision to establish UICT was predicated on his findings that most Nigerian ICT-related graduates lacked skills, and with the availability of infrastructure at the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI), among others.
The minister urged HP to develop a business model, creating areas of entrepreneurship which would ensure that graduates of the ICT University became self-employed. He advised them to send in their proposals for consideration.
Earlier, the MD, Hewlett Packard (HP) Nigeria, Chukwuma Okpaka, said their visit was to intimate the minister on their willingness to collaborate on ICT capacity development and rollout, with special interest in the proposed establishment of the ICT University of Nigeria.
He said his organisation was ready to venture into content and ICT infrastructure road-map development for the regional institutions, coupled with smart campus roadmap development, rollout, and support; with special discount to the ministry on purchases of Hewlett Packard Products and Services.