By Our Correspondent
The Vice-Chancellor, Sokoto State University, Prof. Bashir Garba, has said that the institution is ready to provide all the information and communication technology (ICT) facilities and support required for the establishment of a Cisco Networking Academy in the university.
Speaking at a one-day interactive session between the centre and Cisco Partnership Programme on Monday, June 20, 2022, at the Conference Room of Inuwa Abdulkadir Library, he said his management would carefully study the memorandum of understanding (MoU) to be signed between the university and the company and come up with other areas that the university needs partnership with the company.
Prof. Garba, who was represented by the university Librarian, Dr. Ibrahim Muhammad Maidamma Furfuri, pledged that the university would continue to remain a hub of entrepreneurship development, providing transferable skills to its students for them to become self-reliant and useful to the society, not those trooping into the already saturated labour market looking for jobs that are not available.
In a press release, the Public Relations Officer of the university, Malam Zayyanu Shehu, said the VC expressed his appreciation to Cisco’s Regional Manager for the north-west zone, Mr. Olarinde Onaolapo, for finding his institution eligible for the collaboration.
In her speech, the Director, Entrepreneurship Development Centre of the university, Dr. Aliyah Adamu Ahmad, disclosed that arrangements are underway for the establishment of the academy in the institution.
She noted that the academy is a global information technology and cybersecurity education group, designed specifically to partner with institutions around the world to empower all kinds of people with career opportunities and skills needed for them to sail smoothly in the 21st century.
Dr. Aliyah said the centre is fully committed and prepared to equip the students of the university with all the required skills that would develop them to be employers of labour, through its series of skill acquisition programmes, rather than relying on the government for white-collar jobs.
In his address, Cisco’s Regional Manager for the north-west zone, Mr. Olarinde Onaolapo, said the academy is the company’s largest and longest-running corporate social responsibility education programme, aimed at powering an inclusive future for students and teachers around the globe.
The manager also noted that the academy has transformed the lives of several learners, educators, and communities through the power of technology, education, and career opportunities
He called for the signing of an MoU between the two organisations which, according to him, would bring many benefits to both parties.
Mr. Onaolapo pointed out that the Cisco certification has global recognition due to its sustainability, accessibility, and affordability.
He further stated that they do not put barriers to other professionals intending to join the profession.
The manager also expressed his satisfaction with the quantity and quality of the ICT facilities he saw on the ground.
