IBM Offers Varsities Innovative ICT Software

A delegation from the International Business Machines (IBM), West Africa Ltd, led by the Company's Engineer and Chief Scientist, Dr. Uyi Stewart, on Tuesday, 22 September, 2015, visited the Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Julius A. Okojie, OON, with an offer to introduce an innovative software technology that would use the three core Nigerian languages for teaching and learning in the education sector, especially the universities. In his speech, Dr. Stewart said that the company initiated the meeting to explore an opportunity whereby the technology could be used to support Nigerian universities, stressing that IBM wished to Strengthen its engagement in Nigeria, having already established its presence in some other African countries. He told the Executive Secretary that IBM was one of the oldest and well respected ICT companies in the world, with a rich history of innovations spanning over 104 years and spreading across 170 countries. The Team Leader disclosed that the proposal, as envisaged, would give the user a personalised education, particularly in the universities and would also bring education to the doorsteps of ordinary Nigerians. He further stated that the IBM team was more interested in deploying the technology to reposition some core Nigerian languages that were gradually dying and would pick a few universities from different geographical regions for the pilot project. To encourage the universities, Dr. Stewart said that his company was planning a competition, where the ones that could digitise the three core Nigerian languages and build an acoustic module for these languages would win some fantastic prizes. He emphasised that the whole idea was to make learning easy, available and accessible to the grassroots people, adding that the programme, which was billed to kick off in 2016, would impact lives. Responding, Professor Okojie said that the Commission was always willing and ready to partner with any organisation or group that would add value to the development of the NUS. He told the delegation that education in Nigeria required a platform where learning would be made easy for students since some students learn fast, while others are not so fast.On the proposal, the NUC Scribe noted that Nigerian universities needed an improved learningsystem, whereby students could utilise the social media, internet and other electronic media devices to learn even at play. He added that teachers at the basic education level and some lecturers needed to be exposed to several trainings that would help them improve on the usage of the envisaged software applications so as to be in a better position to impart knowledge to the students. The Executive Secretary noted that it would be necessary to include some other features such as a Mass Literacy Programme in the project, so that the rural people targeted by the company could be reached and carried along. With the current trend in technology, he said, both the educated and uneducated made use of electronic devices such as the telephone. The software in the local languages would, therefore, help the other target users learn with ease. In the delegation was the Company's Government Relations Executive, Ms. Judy Melifonwu.