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| I. T.
T. R. A. I. N. I.
N. G |
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IT
Is The Vehicle For National Productivity And Economy
- Varsity Don |
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The
role of Information and Communications Technology
in the overall development of any nation cannot
be overemphasized. And this seems to be the reason
why the calls now have been for both government
and the private sector to partner in making ICT
applications accessible by the citizenry and consequently
facilitate a paradigm shift to a knowledge economy.
But Ugandan-born James Katende, a professor of
Electrical Engineering, a specialist in Automatic
Controls and Industrial Robotics and Dean, College
of Science and Technology at the Covenant University
Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria told our reporter, FRANCA
ENEGBETA in an exclusive interview that rapid
ICT growth is dependent on two pillars- uninterrupted
electric power and modern school curriculum…
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In
the beginning
The university started in October, 2002
and one of the first programmes to start
in the university was the Computer Engineering.
It metamorphosed into the two departments
of Electrical and Information Engineering
running three programmes which are Electrical
and Electronics Engineering, Computer Science
and Information and Communication Technology.
At this same time, the Computer Science
ran the two programmes of the Management
and Information System (MIS) and of course
the Computer Science. |
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Though
it started together as a unit, the programme later
evolved into the two departments of IT Electrical
and Information Engineering and Computer and Information
Sciences.
Since 2002 till date, we have had IT giants like
New Horizons coming to partner with us in IT certification
training. Every student in the school of Science
and Technology must have at least two certifications
before graduation in a four years programme and
three certifications in five years programme because
IT skills now make the difference between a graduate
who is acquainted with the computer in terms of
job opportunity, job creation and being useful
to the society.
IT penetration
and Vision 2020
It is a good thing for us to be among the first
20 countries in world economy but with what we
have on ground now, I doubt if we can meet up
with that vision. The other countries that are
there have done lots of underground work and have
put lots of infrastructure on ground to achieve
that.
It's okay if we are trying to aim higher so that
in landing, we can at least get somewhere but
without this IT infrastructure which runs an economy,
we might have some problems and I think we are
lacking in this aspect.
IT, I believe will go a long way in achieving
this development because it is what drives an
economy. First and foremost, the education sector
must be revisited on a serious level and on a
general scale. Again, if these Infrastructures
are in place and we don't have electricity to
move this industry then IT cannot be driven to
realize Vision 2020.
We should see to it that every nook and cranny
of this country be provided with electricity.
Information Technology is vehicle for productivity,
it drives the economy.
On achieving sound ICT educational system A curriculum
must be right and useful and must be able to drive
ICT attributes. There is need for the National
Universities Commission (NUC) and all those concerned
to revisit the curriculum of Nigerian universities
with ICT in mind, laying the foundation right
from the primary to the tertiary institutions.
In faculty, I will say that most of the teachers
we have on ground now were not trained from an
ICT point of view so they know theory but no practical
knowledge to back it up. In facilities, teachers
need to get access to the Internet and use it
to teach the students. The moment we are able
to realize that we must not be importers of other
people's ideas then, we will make headway.
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We
should be able to make use of our own ideas
in creating software, hardware assembling
and all that. So if the curriculum is right,
faculty in order and enough facilities then,
there will be no problem.
Government
and local content development
There are two important aspects to Information
Technology which are the hardware and software.
Indians saw it in good time the importance
of software development. Local contents
in terms of software which drives IT applications
can be made here and can start small.
Now looking at the computer keyboard, you
will discover that the signs for Dollar
and Pound are there but the Naira is not
there. Do we really think that the knowledge
accessible to other |
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world
powers is not with Nigerians? Must we continue
to alienate ourselves from wisdom? Must these
world powers always be the way maker when we are
so blessed with untapped resources and human resources
that can actually develop local content to enable
us reach out. I think we should really go back
to IT skill acquisition though is costs money.
One of Covenant University's drives is the one
of development entrepreneur. In the old days,
people were trained to work for the government
and all that but the moment we insist that people
be innovators and come up with their own ideas,
the better for us.
We should not rely on the government; they should
just provide the infrastructure and an enabling
and conducive environment for us to work. Let
there be power supply, let projects be funded
and encouraged and let's see in the next few years
if there won't be a boom.
Assessing CPN
and IT education in Nigeria
I think CPN is doing its job within the limitations
we have on ground and I cannot fault the effort
they are putting in place. Just like other regulators,
they have their own platform on which they operate.
I think they have to come up with more guidelines
on how to inculcate IT in the entire curriculum,
not just computer science or in higher institutions
but right from the primary school; children should
be encouraged to have content for learning.
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Omatek
is trying now; they are marketing a mini
laptop with educational content for children.
These are things that should be regulated
by CPN.
I came in contact with
the computer when I was still in secondary
school in my country Uganda. It is not really
a government institution but private people
trying to make a difference.
But generally IT in Nigeria
is still very limited. ATM machine came
to this country after it has penetrated
other smaller African countries. There are
still people in work environment that have
no IT knowledge.
Public primary school
pupils are not even considered in the matter
which is quite disheartening. But one thing
with this country is this, once they start,
things take momentum.
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Things
will move faster if electricity supply is guaranteed.
It is limiting the rate at which ICT is growing.
The truth is that we still have a long way to
go. Our students here are advantageous in this
aspect because we have 24/7 supply of electricity.
So we insist they all must have the awareness
of ICT and this has helped them to function well
in the labour market.
On missing Nigerian
communication satellite
The first day they launched the satellite, I learnt
that they gave it the life span of six years and
I know that in most developed countries, the life
span of any satellite is put to 15 to 20 years.
The moment I read that, I wondered how we can
launch something that has cost us so much money
and going to be invested into by people and we
are giving it a lifespan of six years.
I think that from the onset, someone somewhere
let us down by not insisting on what is right.
There are two possibilities, it is either the
money we had then was not enough for the project
or someone took us for a ride. What do you mean
by a satellite parking up in orbit in less than
two years of its launch? I am sure that they had
the problem of packing up coming right from day
one.
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To most of the people
involved, I don't think it was news. For me, it is not that
anything went wrong; it was time for it to go to where satellites
go.
In terminology, we call it graveyard, that is where unneeded
satellite drift to in a certain point in space. When the power
of the satellite is out, it can no longer be maneuvered other
than to let it drift to the graveyard of satellite.
Someone must go back and check what happened at inception.
It was more than an accident. It was doomed to fail from inception.
Did you tell the people investing in this project that it
was going to be up there for six years? And if yes, what was
their response? Certainly Nigerian factor has played itself
out.
The Nigerian factor that hinders and cripples almost everything
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in this country certainly
has come to play here. We have knowledgeable people and some people
even go there for training. If we don't know, what stops us from
asking the right questions? You don't just sit in a joint discussing
what you don't know and at the end of the day you are given a paper
and you append your signature on it.
We make a lot of oil yet, it does not show in this country. It
is not as if Nigerians don't know what they want but they are paying
extra attention to make sure they get every thing from Nigeria without
Nigeria getting from them. We should know that ICT and science are
dynamic; let people with dynamic mind be involved in these projects-
the youths- who are tomorrow's leaders.
Nothing seems to work in Nigeria and it all boils down to the Nigerian
factor. Take for example NITEL. MTN, CELTEL and other telecoms operators
came and used NITEL infrastructure and they made billions. NITEL
on its own could not pay salary but those people who made use of
their facilities were declaring profits. You can't tell me that
with the number of years they have spent in the market they don't
have personnel to perform.
Let's look around us before we start looking into the case of a
missing satellite. Six years lifespan satellite! When you were investing
such a huge amount of money, you knew that people are going to be
dependent on its efficiency. We should ask ourselves questions because
someone already knew that it was going to last the number of years
it had. Someone certainly took us for a ride.
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Why
we believe in ICT
ICT is a big engine in driving development and our mission
is to first and foremost make sure we develop the capacity
for not only utilization of ICT but also generating ICT products.
Right from onset, we have put in place departments
to meet up with these needs. Due to our facilities, we are
going to have people vast in computer not from a user end
point of view but from a developer end point of view. You
do good advertising when you have a good knowledge of the
ICT.
We are set to make all graduates from this
university asset in the work environment. Information Technology
should be seen |
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as being important as
living itself. It should be made part of our lives. ICT contribution
to national development cannot be overlooked and we are working
to make sure that in our own way, we help actualize Vision 20:2020.
When we started the issue of ICT certification, most
students didn't really buy the idea though things are changing because
they are now giving it a right attitude.
We had to make it optional in that once you fail,
you will not be promoted. This has helped check their excesses and
gotten their attention. They are all sitting up now. |
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New
Horizons In Acquisition Deal
…Signs Content Agreement With Career Academy.com |
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New Horizons Worldwide,
Inc. has reported that it has completed the acquisition of
certain assets of Technology Training and Services Corporation
and has entered into an exclusive content agreement with Career
Academy.com Inc.
The premier computer training institute purchased, for a
combination of cash and an earn-out opportunity, certain equipment
previously used by TTSC to provide e-Learning to New Horizons
centers, and a library of secure, web-based course exercises
for use with the delivery of computer training in New Horizons
centers known as Knowledge Anytime Labs On Demand (“KNOWLEDGE
ANYTIME LOD”).
New Horizons also entered into a license agreement with an
affiliate of TTSC that gives New Horizons the exclusive right
to create future |
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KNOWLEDGE ANYTIME LOD.
KNOWLEDGE ANYTIME LOD offer an advantage to New Horizons centers
due to their substantial cost and performance advantages over existing
alternative classroom-based exercises.
TTSC's fifteen employees joined New Horizons as of December 1,
2008.
Meanwhile, New Horizons has entered into an exclusive content agreement
with CA for their library of video based learning content used in
the New Horizons Mentored Learning classroom (“Mentored Learning”).
New Horizons has developed new standards for future Mentored Learning
content that will provide a more intuitive and interactive experience
for students as compared to currently available video based learning.
CA is currently the premier supplier of video based content to the
New Horizons network.
New Horizons intends to deploy a new proprietary Learning Management
System (“NHLMS”) in the first quarter of 2009, which
will include both existing CA course titles, and new courses created
by CA to meet new standards, available exclusively via the NHLMS.
President and Chief Executive Officer of New Horizons, Mark A.
Miller stated, “We are extremely pleased to announce both
of these strategic initiatives as we finalize our planning for 2009.”
“Taking these two steps, working closely with long standing
partners to the New Horizons network, enables us to take better
advantage of next generation content and technological advances
seamlessly and exclusively. We expect that this new exclusive offering
will enable our centers to gain market share in 2009 and beyond.”
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| TTEST
Delivers Over 2.2 Million Tests |
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ATTEST, the testing and
certification arm of the Global Learning Solutions major Aptech
Limited, has successfully delivered over 2.2 million tests globally.
In a short span of 4+ years, ATTEST has created a niche for itself
in the emerging testing and certification field in India and abroad.
Uday Kulkarni, Executive Vice President Training & Assessment
Solutions, Aptech Ltd said: “We have delivered more than 2.2
million online exams through our network of Attest Authorized Test
Centers (AATC). We attribute our success to our clients from diverse
fields, who have trusted us repeatedly to service their varied requirements.”
The services offered by ATTEST include Question Bank Development
and Management, Application Processing, Online Test/Survey Delivery,
Certification and Cash Flow Management. It caters to a wide range
of needs including Entrance and Certification Exams, Semester-end
Exams, Recruitment and Promotion Assessments, Aptitude Tests, Surveys
and Pre & Post Training Evaluations.
ATTEST offers testing & certification services in English as
well as Hindi, thus reaching across to a wide section of the society.
ATTEST's clients include Multinationals, Government Organizations,
Service Companies in verticals such as Insurance, BFSI and top-notch
Educational Institutions among others.
“The collaborative approach, scientific design, robust delivery
and the geographical spread has helped ATTEST solve customer needs.
Our clients are assured that their Intellectual Property is adequately
protected with ATTEST.
For this we have brought all our business processes like Designing,
Developing, Deploying and Processing of Computer based assessments
under the scope of the ISMS (Implementation of Security Management
Systems),” says Mr. Kulkarni.
ATTEST was awarded the ISO 27001 Certification by British Standards
Institutions (BSI) for Information Security Management System 2006.
Aptech is a Learning Solutions company with two main streams of
businesses Individual training and Corporate Learning Services.
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| NIIT,
Adobe To Launch Web & Multimedia Curriculum For Schools In India |
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| NIIT, leading Global
Talent Development Corporation, together with Adobe, announced the
launch of- first ever state-of-art NIIT e-GURU Web & Multimedia
curriculum for school children, based on world-class Adobe Creative
Suite of Products.
The newly launched curriculum will cover the
Adobe Creative Suite Master Collection, which will include- Photoshop,
Illustrator, Flash, Premiere, Encore, Soundbooth, AfterEffects,
Fireworks, Dreamweaver.
The primary objective of introducing such a
curriculum is to provide a comprehensive web & multimedia curriculum,
based on the widely used professional software from Adobe. This
will give students aspiring for a career in domains like website
designing, video editing and sound editing an early access to professional
creative tools.
NIIT and Adobe will work together to bring
the benefit of multimedia learning to all the stake holders in the
schools segment, viz. students, teachers, school management, government,
and administrators.
According to Mr. L Balasubramanian, President,
School Learning Solutions, NIIT, “The NIIT e-GURU Web &
Multimedia curriculum for school children, based on Adobe Creative
Suite of Products, will offer a perfect blend of multimedia applications,
web technology, communication technology and also soft skills for
the students who are aspiring to be world class multimedia professionals.”
“We are confident that the NIIT- Adobe
alliance for the school learning space will help combine NIIT's
strong pedagogy with Adobe's expertise in the Web & Multimedia
realm, to offer enhanced value to schools.” added Mr. Balasubramanian.
With the advent of web 2.0 technologies and
the advancement in digital photography and video- citizens of the
future are increasingly going to interact with the world community
through multimedia interfaces on websites like Youtube, Facebook.
This makes acquiring skills in multimedia and web 2.0 technologies
all the more necessary.
NIIT e-GURU Web & Multimedia curriculum
will be the first multimedia and life-skills module offered to school
students covering the latest multimedia, web and communication technologies.
The course curriculum and content is designed
as per international standards. The Project Based Learning module
of the curriculum inculcates freedom of thought and action which
develops proactive thinking and decision making in each and every
student
“Adobe and NIIT have partnered together to deliver a full
fledged web and multimedia program based upon Adobe Creative Suite
products for schools across India.
NIIT e-GURU Web & Multimedia curriculum,
is an unique program that takes care of all the requirements of
the schools by providing them with technology, content, teaching
& learning materials, consultancy, training and support to integrate
cutting edge multimedia education in the school. This would make
teaching digital media skills easier and more exciting than ever”,
says Sandeep Mehrotra, Director-Sales at Adobe India.
It may be recalled that NIIT had entered into
a strategic global alliance with Adobe in October 2007 to create
talent pool for Design, Web, Mobile and Interactive Media for professionals.
With the current alliance in the School Learning space, NIIT is
now well poised to address the demands of Web & Multimedia opportunities
both in the school segment and in the professional domain. |
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