Cisco, Interswitch Donate Enterprise-Grade Technology Devices to UNILAG
Cisco and Interswitch have donated enterprise-grade technology devices to the University of Lagos (UNILAG) as part of a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative aimed at reviving the CISCO Academy.
Chris Oyeoku Okafor 
In a strategic move to enhance technological education and hands-on learning, two leading technology firms, Cisco and Interswitch, have donated enterprise-grade technology devices to the University of Lagos (UNILAG).
The donation, presented on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, included three switches, two servers, one Cisco firewall device, and one F5 device. It was handed over by a delegation led by the Sales Manager at Interswitch, Mr. Oluwafemi Atere, and was received by the Vice-Chancellor of UNILAG, Professor Folasade Ogunsola, OON, FAS, alongside key university officials.
Mr. Atere highlighted that the initiative is part of the companies' corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts, aimed at reviving the CISCO Academy, initially established in 2008. He noted that the donated devices would facilitate practical training for students and lecturers, bridging the skills gap and equipping them for career opportunities in the evolving tech industry.
“The objective of donating the equipment is to foster hands-on training for students and lecturers at the Academy, thereby creating a pipeline of skilled and capable hands who can take up the many opportunities that abound in the tech space,” Atere stated.
Expressing her appreciation, Professor Ogunsola acknowledged the significance of the donation in advancing UNILAG’s commitment to innovation and technology-driven education. She emphasized the university's dedication to fostering strong industry-academic collaborations to equip students with real-world problem-solving skills.
“You have come at the right time. With some measure of autonomy that the CCMAS gives us to determine our curriculum, here at the University of Lagos, we are determined to have robust partnerships with industry and, by so doing, prepare our students for the real world. We also invite problem-ideas from the industry so that our faculty and students can begin to chew on it, thereby doing research that matters,” she remarked.
Also present at the donation event were Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics and Research), Professor Bola Oboh; Registrar, Mrs. Abosede Wickliffe; and Director of the Adetokunbo Babatunde Sofoluwe Centre for Information Technology and Systems (ABS-CITS), Professor Hakeem Amuda.
The collaboration between Cisco, Interswitch, and UNILAG underscores a growing commitment to strengthening digital education and innovation in Nigeria’s higher institutions. With this development, UNILAG is poised to further integrate cutting-edge technology into its academic framework, equipping students with the necessary skills to thrive in the tech industry.
