Eight varsities get Intel’s assistance on ICT

ICT

Eight universities have been engaged intraining assistance on Information andCommunication Technology from an ICT giant, Intel Corporation, as part of efforts toboost ICT education in the nation’s tertiary institutions.

A two-week training, which ended last week in Akure, Ondo State, culminated in the exhibition of projects designed by faculty staff and students drawn from the universities.

The institutions are the Ahmadu BelloUniversity, Zaria; Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State; Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State; Ekiti State University, Ekiti State; Federal University of Technology Akure; Federal University of Science and Technology Owerri, Imo State and the University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Kwara State.

At the end of the workshop tagged “Inspiring Innovation through Hands on Intel Galileo Board”, 80 participants displayed 19 projects executed with the use of the board.

The projects include Domestic Energy Supply Manager, Vehicle Tracking System, Air Pollution and Fire outbreak alarm, Bird Attack Reduction For Rice Farmers, and Save my Car anti-car theft and alarm system.

A member of the Intel Education Service Corps, Wolf Witt, said the company was committed to contributing to engineering and technology development in Nigeria.

Witt said, “Engineering is the process of applying science to create technology that solves real problems and thereby makes our lives better.”

The firm’s Corporate Affairs Manager, Mr. Babatunde Akinola, who applauded the participants’ enthusiasm during the training, urged them to be innovative by exploring the opportunities and potential in the Intel Galileo Board.

“Galileo is a platform for you to express yourself. It can spur you to being creative and innovative. There are many resources on our platform that you can use,” he said.

The FUTA Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Adebiyi Daramola, represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics), Prof. Adedayo Fasakin, commended the company for the gesture, stressing that the training would contribute positively to the growth of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product.

The training, Daramola added, had further placed the participants on a better platform than their colleagues across Africa.

The Training Coordinator at FUTA, Dr. Kayode Alese, said the workshop would broaden the participants’ horizon.

Alese said, “What we have learnt from you in the last two weeks cannot be quantified. Building on what we have learnt from you is one of the quickest ways Nigeria can have technology independence and experience development.”