NITDA, CU seal software deal

The agreement was aimed at providing a framework for collaboration between the school and the agency in area of research and development in Information Communication Technology sector and provide platform for training of software developers that graduated from the school. The Director General of NITDA, Mr. Peter Jack who signed on behalf of the agency […]

The agreement was aimed at providing a framework for collaboration between the school and the agency in area of research and development in Information Communication Technology sector and provide platform for training of software developers that graduated from the school.
The Director General of NITDA, Mr. Peter Jack who signed on behalf of the agency stated that the partnership with school would crystallize and snowball into software development in the country and provide the necessary spring board that would put the nation on the pedestal of leveraging on software for economic development.
He said the agreement was coming at the right time giving the fact that the agency has just completed its software development and testing laboratories in Lagos.
“A lot of efforts to promote local software in the country have been made. Our vision to digitalize the country along its comparative advantage peculiar to each region using IT as the driver would speed up our effort in digitally transformed Nigeria.
“The digital coast, Digital Sahara and belt are envisioned to develop the economic advantages of these areas using IT. And with the proximity of the Covenant University to Lagos state which hosts the innovation hub, I think the platform will provide a good ground for the students of the school to pass through the software incubation centre for more training and exposure to the market,” Jack stated.    
In his welcome remark, the Chancellor of the School, Dr. David Oyedepo stated that the partnership between the school and the industries became imperative in order to create research platform that would proffer solutions to mirage of problems facing the country.
He said the purpose of the Memorandum of Understanding with various industries would facilitate the development of collaborative and mutually beneficial activities such as enhancing capacity building and improving research in both parties establishment.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Charles K. Ayo maintained that the university decided to involve the industry because it is not ethical to launch some of the research centres without input from industries regulators.
He said the school centre for e-government and corporate governance has been working to provide acceptable software for e-voting in Nigeria adding that it has carried research on the project.
He stated that the quest of becoming one of the best 10 universities in the world necessitated the need to partner with various industries which would later get the county out of the world in research and development.