Connecting the University of Port Harcourt to the world’s information
database to tap from best practices in Information and Communication
Technology, as well as providing opportunities that would enable the
Institution to be enlisted among 26 other active institutions in the six
countries across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), are among benefits listed by
a technical team from Google, an Internet Search Engine working in the
Sub-Saharan Africa project in an interactive session with the University
Management, Staff and Students last Thursday at the Senate Chambers.
The Team, led by its Technical Programme Manager, Ego Obi, also listed
other benefits to include access to grants, technical consultancy,
better Internet system through enhanced wireless fibre and expansion of
infrastructure, sponsorship of Faculty Outreach Programmes in a
collaborative Semester training, as well as Student Google Ambassador
Programme – all sponsored by the global ICT giant .
Speaking during an interactive session with Principal Officers, the
Technical Programme Manager said Google would offer three years free
Internet access with initial bandwidth of 25 megabits per second (mbps),
adding that when access and usage of the Google facilities shoot up,
there is the possibility of getting more bandwidth from 25 mbps.
According to her, the initiative is targeted at providing the
University with a Campus-wide network infrastructure that would enhance
access, relevance and sustainability to end users, regretting that lack
of access to cloud computing services had grossly hindered the capacity
of most Universities in sub-Saharan Africa to compete favourably with
their counterparts in other parts of the world. “The proposed facility
would reduce barriers to search queries on the Google network. We will
provide grants to cover connecting the University to point of presence;
conduct technical audit to determine what you have on ground and help to
design and address the technical training needs of schedule officers
for enhanced service delivery”, she disclosed.
“When fully operational, the proposed facility would enhance the
capacity of the University to effectively communicate internally and
externally, achieve improved collaboration for staff and students, and
correspondingly result in enhanced institutional reputation and improved
ranking”, Obi explained. She also disclosed that a lot of Internet
traffic would be driven to the University’s website, thus drawing
attention to its activities and improving collaborative research efforts
with Scholars outside Nigeria.
“Already, some institutions in Nigeria are benefitting from this
facility but UNIPORT would get the highest bandwidth and through our
monitoring system, we will track the number of users of our facilities
and possibly add more bandwidth to assist in documenting research and
facilitate teaching and learning”, Obi said, disclosing that the ISP
also runs internship programmes for institutions in the SSA Countries,
in which beneficiaries have access to any of Google’s offices
worldwide.
Responding to the three-member Team that included Nmachi Jidenma,
Programme Coordinator and Yomi Oyesiku, Technical Programme Manager,
Vice-Chancellor, Professor Joseph Ajienka, who was represented by Deputy
Vice-Chancellor (Administration), Professor Ethelbert Nduka, thanked
Google for the proposed partnership aimed at boosting efficient
Information and Communication Technology delivery capacity of the
University. “We understand the importance of ICT to the overall
development of any serious and well-meaning institution which is why we
have a functional Centre here in our University”, the Vice-Chancellor
said, promising the Team that Management would give serious
consideration to the proposal.
Also present at the event were Deputy Vice-Chancellors Academic and
Research and Development, Professors Bernard Effiuvwevwere and Bene
Willie-Abbey; University Librarian, Dr Obiageli Nwodo; Bursar, Mr. Mark
Roman; Dean, Faculty of Science and Director, ICTC, Professors
Eronmosele Abumere, and Elijah Iyagba, amongst others dignitaries.
