We will support ICT to prepare students for global opportunities - IAUE VC, Prof. Onuchuku

The Vice Chancellor of the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education (IAUE) Prof. Onuchuku Okechuku has said that they will support ICT to prepare students for global opportunities, Myschoolnews report.

The transformation of brick-and-mortar economic activities by digital technologies into what is now called a digital economy has become a global trend.

This is even as the World Economic Forum has forecasted that 70% of the global economy would be anchored on digital technology. This has changed the nature of economic activities as more people work, study, and transact businesses online.

To catch up with this global trend, the management of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education said it would continue to support advancement in Information and Communication Technology at the institution to prepare the students for global opportunities.

The Acting Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor Okechuku Onuchuku, disclosed this when the national president of Nigeria Computer Society, and his team who were at the university for the first annual international conference of the Department of Computer Science, paid a courtesy visit to him on Thursday, 24 August 2023.

With the theme: “Computing and Technological Advancement”, Prof. Onuchuku observed that technology had become a key component of production and development all over the world.

Noting that the world had become a global village, the Vice-Chancellor said hosting and attending conferences was one of the ways academics learn, as he affirmed that IAUE would not be left behind.

He explained that the introduction of computer-based examination for General Study courses at the institution aimed to familiarise the students with basic computer knowledge, while reaffirming his commitment to making them understand life's realities.

“I will support whatever will make our students understand the realities of life”, he said.

Earlier, the President of Nigeria Computer Society and keynote speaker, Professor Adesina Sodiya, noted that Information and Communication Technology has impacted every sector of the global economy, hence the need for educational institutions to focus more on it.

He commended the Vice-Chancellor for recognising professionalism through the appointment of professionals into positions in the ICT centre, describing it as exemplary and worthy of emulation by other institutions where those from non-IT-related fields head such offices.

Prof Sodiya appreciated the VC and the university management for their support to the Computer Science Department and for promoting the growth of ICT at the institution.

He noted that the conference had a good representation of the IT industry in Nigeria and assured that the society would support the vice-chancellor in his aspirations to move the university forward.

Prof. Sodiya is of the Department of Computer Science, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. 

The first lead paper, titled “Grassroots Digital Economy Implementation for Sustainable Development in Nigeria” was presented by Professor Wilson Nwankwo, Dean, Faculty of Computing, Delta State University of Science and Technology.

In the same vein, Professor Thipendra Singh of the School of Computer Science, Engineering and Technology at Bennett University, Greater Noida, India, spoke on “Artificial Intelligence, Society 5.0 and Sustainability” in the second lead paper presentation.