By USMAN ALIYU

The Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) on Monday began a five-day training on advanced digital appreciation programme for 100 staff members of the Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo.

DBI is funded by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

Declaring the workshop opened in Okada, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Lawrence Ezemonye, said the training was strategic to the institution’s plan to consolidate on its Smart campus regime.

The regime, he said, was gaining recognition, particularly with the recent Best Information Technology (IT) Academy and the Most Supportive Vice-Chancellor awards of the Huawei Academy, which were won by the school.

“Digital Bridge Institute’s commitment to transforming the digital space in the country’s tertiary institutions of which IUO is a beneficiary, is praiseworthy indeed.

“It is emblematic of the future direction of the higher education landscape where Artificial Intelligence, robotics, virtual reality and other innovations are gaining preeminence,” said the vice-chancellor.

Ezemonye expressed the preparedness of the school to run joint educational programmes with the institute in the areas of co-design, co-development and co-delivery of specialised IT-related courses both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

He applauded the institute as well as the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), which funded the programme, for their generosity and unflinching support.

Prof. Mohamed Jiya, the President/Chief Executive Officer of the institute, said the adaptive training was introduced and funded by the NCC to bridge the digital gap between graduates of various tertiary institutions and requirements by the employing industry, particularly in the ICT space.

Jiya, represented by Mr Osaretin Enagbare, said: “Oftentimes, we realise that there is this digital gap between fresh graduates from institutions and what is required by the industry. So NCC saw the need to bridge this gap and as such, DBI was saddled with the responsibility.

“As a result of this, the institute came up with an adaptive programme where participants would be equipped with practical skills in ICT and emerging trends in the ICT space.

“Of course, you will agree with me that ICT right now is fast growing and developing. Therefore, there is this need to keep us on our toes. There is this need to be found up to speed by these emerging technologies in the ICT space.

“That is why DBI comes in by equipping both teaching and non-teaching staff of various institutions on this ICT trend. It is done in such a way that knowledge can be cascaded from academic staff to the students.”

According to him, the training is more like killing two birds with a stone; it is training the trainers. We train the staff and they in return train the students.

“At the end of the day, they come out as graduates well-grounded in their various ICT space,” he explained.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that modules for the training cover Digital Skills, Cybersecurity and Emerging Technology (DSCET) as well as statistical analysis using the SPSS and Power BI. (NAN)

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