Equipment manufacturing giant, Dizengoff, has donated equipment worth 60,000 U.S. dollars to the University of Lagos, in an effort to boost entrepreneurship and innovation among students.
Mr Kai Wulff, Consultant to the organisation, who presented the equipment to the university, said that the equipment would be used to train students and provide solutions to Nigeria’s many problems.
“We are here to kick-start a fruitful and rewarding partnership with the university of Lagos because we are impressed with the level of entrepreneurial work going on here.
“What we have donated here are totally communication network equipment, components of communication network solutions,” he said.
Wulff said that the university’s efforts in entrepreneurship showed that many more innovations would start from there.
“That is why we took it upon ourselves to further enable the students by donating equipment worth 60,000 dollars.
“Basically, the equipment itself, the radio, the controllers, the trackers and the software can be taught and played with individually, but it can as well be a proof of concept that universities can design a network and test it out to the real world, if it works.
“We want to see how these equipment will be able to further enhance hands- on experience, especially in the area of communication and the technology,” he said.
The consultant said that the company would want to relate with the university deeper.
“With our software development capabilities, our integration capabilities, smart decision-making and cyber securities, we want to be part of it the (university),” he said.
He added that the company would want to be part of Nigeria’s curriculum.
According to him, it is a wrong judgement to describe Nigeria’s curriculum as outdated.
”Oftentimes, I hear people say the curriculum is outdated. I beg to be different because in the real sense of it, the industries should play their parts by going into these universities to seek ways of assisting in equipping these students with 21st century demands in their respective areas.
“Remember that these students are future professionals who will drive the economy tomorrow; so, it behooves on us to contribute actively to their development,” Wulff said.
The technology expert said that universities processed the knowledge and facilities needed in expanding the frontiers of national growth and development and, therefore, must be assisted since the industries would benefit from them.
“If I enable this Unilag for example, it will, in turn, enable many young Nigerians and sooner or later, the country’s economy will get lifted.
“Our engineers will be on hand round the clock to render the necessary services as we look forward to producing more engineers in the communication technology, while we later follow up with security technology, cyber security technology,” he said.
In his remarks, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, said that the partnership would further drive the innovation and entrepreneurial goal of the institution.
He described that donation as heart warming, saying that, with the various entrepreneurial activities going on in the university, the institution would soon be Africa’s hub for technological advancement.
The don added that the university was set to go into more collaboration with the organisation in the areas of research and development, cyber security and other relevant areas.
“I will say that this is another breakthrough as the gesture is in alignment with the vision we have, which I know, the students are going to benefit immensely from.
“The partnership will further push our dreams of making this university an entrepreneurial, innovation and technology hub on the continent, especially going by what our students are doing out there, both locally and internationally,” he said. (NAN).