Smart Campus: Institute To Train Igbinedion Varsity Students, Staff

The Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) of the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) is to train 150 staff and students of Igbinedion University, Okada, on digital technology.

Prof. Mohammed Ajiya, the Chief Executive Officer of the institute, announced this on Wednesday in Okada, Edo, while delivering his keynote address at the 2022 ICT Week of the university.

The theme of the week is “Emerging Smart Campus Hub: Deployment of Disruptive Technology Platform”.

Ajiya noted that the training became necessary as smart campuses remained the future of Nigerian higher education.

“A smart campus uses several emerging and established technologies, including advanced networking infrastructure, cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence and others, to provide innovative ways of teaching, learning, administering and experiencing life on campus.

“I am delighted to know that Igbinedion University, Okada, is establishing new departments in this regard.

“In Nigeria, we are still some distance away from the complete smart campus experience, although some progress has been made.

“Several universities have already established full-scale technology hubs on their campuses.

“This trend is commendable and should be strongly encouraged,” he said.

The DBI boss explained that for Nigeria’s digital economy to thrive, every university must have a fully functional technology hub on campus that is comparable to the tech hubs off-campus.

This, he said, was recognised by the NCC, hence the establishment of the DBI with the main mandate of up-skilling human capacity in ICT across the country.

Other experts that spoke at the programme advised students to be creative and innovative in harnessing the opportunities in the ICT world.

They argued that technology, particularly ICT, would drive the 4th Industrial Revolution.

Earlier, Prof. Lawrence Ezemonye, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, said the event was to interrogate the nexus between the smart campus concept and the appropriate response required to transform the education landscape.

Smart campus, he said, was an emerging trend that allows educational institutions to combine smart technologies with physical infrastructure for improved services in the area of teaching, learning and general operations.

He noted, however, that the Igbinedion University had since institutionalised the blended system of lecture delivery.

Ezemonye asserted that the institution would soon digitalise its Entrepreneurship Studies (EPS) Centre and engage experts for Masterclass.