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ICT And The Future Of LASU: Imperatives For The Knowledge Society (Part 5) - By Chris Uwaje

Today, a national reconstruction is desirable, using education, science and technology conduit as a basis for incubating processes to resolve many contradictions in our society and developing a knowledge-based society, where fairness, accountability, transparent justice and equity are enthroned and merit abundantly rewarded.

There is need to evolve a society where machines and simple but logic systems are domesticated and efficiently put to work. We would require abundant courage and foresight to pull this off and get Nigeria where it rightly belongs the comity of first-class knowledge nations! This profile can no longer be wished in today's world, it must be earned and seen to be earned!

Conclusion And Recommendation
Modern education is now more or less centred on E-Commerce Management, Internet Education, Business English, Web Development, Entrepreneurship, Technical Writing and Communication, Telecommunications, Human Resources Management, Marketing Communications, Supervision and Management, Program and Project Management as backbone to all other traditional domains of education.

However, all these, may not be possible if the necessary technology tools such as the computer are not provided at the Tertiary levels of Education especially the Polytechnics. In order to improve technology development innovation and creativity in our universities, the followings are recommended:
The questions that many people are now asking are concerned with determining where this phenomenon will ultimately lead. Predictions range from so-called electronic “virtual communities,” in which individuals interact socially with like-minded Internet users around the world, to fully networked dwellings in which electronic devices and other appliances respond to the spoken commands of residents.

   

From Digital Colonies to Digital Empires
My prediction is that sooner or later, countries which are incapable of learning and/or understanding (or refuse to neither learn nor understand) the processes of ICT (or whatever it may become and called in the future IKT, etc), will not only be left behind, but indeed, will become the digital colonies of very

knowledgeable/powerful nations.
It is pure and simple, there will be digital colonies, where all is digitally regulated by external forces and the citizens digitally manipulated to consume e-services rather than create. Such countries will become the digital slaves of the emerging new world.

Consequently, “Digital Lock-in” will occur and deep down in the farthest depth of the deep tunnel, there will be no escape. If it took 400 years for Africa/Africans to be forced to learn English, French and Portuguese it will take less than half a century to lock-in a nation in the ICT dark tunnel. The only escape lies in the establishment and development of indigenous Software applications.

Recommendations
To meet the digital challenges of the 21st Century Education Development, LASU should consider the following strategies:
-We assume that LASU should declare ICT Capacity Building and Infrastructure Development as an emergency, deserving the highest priority and special budgetary
allocation. Also, that Software is recognized as the engine for sustainable growth and security of future education.

-Establish the LASU Information Technology Development Policy as strategic imperative for innovative and sustainable education, improved quality skills, creation of wealth and competitiveness. Ensure that IP Surveillance Cameras are installed around the Campus.

-Develop a special/continuous Train-the Trainer IT program for all lecturers as well as a universal/compulsory IT training for all LASU students. -As from 2009, LASU will ensure that employment of new lecturers will be based on IT literacy with enhanced skill-sets in E-Learning and Multimedia e-Leadership, as key imperatives. -Empower the workforce to innovate and become the driving

force of the organization, by providing major point of policy focus for rapid IT integration and development. -Establish effective Institutional Framework such as Centre for Knowledge Incubation and Management, Centre for Software Engineering and MULTIMEDIA Modeling - as instrument for sustainable growth and investment security. Priority Task: To Digitally Re-model Lagos State Urban Environment as future Mega City Project.

-Develop uniform sets of standards and operational guidelines for Campus-wide Intranet IT Infrastructure and local content.

-Establish a LASU Data Centre a centralized Network capable of utilizing College-Wide Intranet (Network) as a bridge for knowledge and experience sharing and also as repository of future campus knowledge. An Education Portal with e-learning capabilities should be a priority infrastructure for LASU.

-Establish an IT Strategy Action Plan (with time-line) for Technology Lecturers focused at attaining short, medium and long-term goals in ICT skill enhancement as a key requirement for promotion.

-The most effective way to provide this focus is to set up the LASU Committee on Information Technology Development (LASU-CITD)

-Establish Knowledge Incubators through International collaboration in Training development issues, Telemedicine and in RD&D knowledge sharing incubator. Others include:

1) LASU should develop a sustainable IT Policy for its 21st Century Education goals.

2) Political will is a crucial factor for the successful acquisition, adaptation and use of Information technology to address education and knowledge management issues

2) ICT initiatives must be founded on a multi-layer process that includes generating capacity building, fostering networks and partnerships among distant communities

3) LASU must strive to make education functions smart, more efficient & accountable

4) Move beyond the exclusive use of computers and Internet and integrate other types of media (radio, electronic-newspapers, etc.) into the Digital framework.

5) ICT Projects must have reasonable incentives. Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) of Lecturers must be protected and a self-sustaining commercial focus should be one of the driving factors.

6) LASU ICT Lecturers should be granted a special engagement status to establish and operate a private ICT Consultancy for Research, Design and Development (RD&D) operational once a week (every Friday).

7) Establish LASU ICT “Entrepreneur Incubator” as Maters and/or Ph.D Program}


Customer Relations By Listening, The MTN Example
By John Awe

The mood was festive at Sharon Centre, GRA, Onitsha this special Wednesday. Music from a live band tickled the ear-drum. Men, women, old and young in colourful attires
trooped into the hall in droves and took positions at colourfully draped tables and chairs arranged neatly inside the hall. It all had the trappings of a huge society wedding
reception.

But it was, in fact, a general assembly of key customers of Nigeria's leading telecommunications operator, MTN in the East, appropriately tagged, MTN Town Hall Meeting. It was the first of its kind that any operator would hold in Nigeria.

Blazing the trail as it has done in Nigeria's telecommunications sector in the past seven years, MTN has thus stylishly introduced the concept of constructive customer consultation and engagement into the country's very competitive telecommunications industry.

While the telecom industry regulator, the NCC organizes a monthly forum for telecoms consumers to seek answers to service related issues from telecom operators, MTN is the first telecom operator to initiate a forum of its own where subscribers are brought together from far and wide to openly discuss service issues and ask executives questions.
  The company has introduced this as part of its ongoing rejuvenation of its customer relations strategy.
Experts in management and customer relations are unanimous that a company keen on satisfying its customers must listen to them. Professor Edward B. Roberts of M.I.T. Sloan School of Management in his book 'Developing New Products and Services by Listening to the Voice of the Customer'

writes: “Years of academic research, consulting practice, and real-world experience in large and small firms demonstrate that listening to the “voice of the customer” is the most productive route for gaining the information required for effective creation of new products and services”.

MTN seems to agree totally with this. The company's officials said the multi-party interactive forum demonstrates just how important the company regards its
customers.

“We are introducing the MTN Town Hall Meetings as a tangible demonstration of MTN's commitment to the concept of customer centricity”, said Mrs Amina Oyagbola, Corporate Services Executive in a press statement. “At MTN we are shifting customer appreciation and care into overdrive. Our ultimate aim is to give our customers the best experience they can find on any telecommunication network in Nigeria. The process began with the aggressive expansion of our service centres across the nation” she said.

Indeed, determined to make itself a darling of its subscribers, MTN recently increased the number of its service centres to 41 across the country with the formal commissioning of a new centre at the departure wing of the Murtala Mohammed Airport 2. The centre performs all the functions of a service centre, including sales of MTN Starter Packs, Blackberry from MTN and DSTV Mobile from MTN among others. In addition, customers are able to replace their SIMs for those who lose or misplace their phones, learn how best to make use of mobile handsets and get specialist advice on any MTN product or service.

MTN followed up a week later with a state-of-the-art online customer assistance facility which runs on Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) platform, the latest technology in call centre technology used in developed economies. The centre, built at a cost of several millions of Naira, has capacity to handle about 3.5 million subscribers. It presents a strong alternative to existing walk-in customer assistance centres and broadens access to help for customers who have service issues to resolve. Such issues can now be resolved more quickly using online media in addition to telephone calls.

The maiden edition of the Town Hall Meetings held in Onitsha drew attendance from the academia, military, police, traditional institutions, cultural organizations, religious institutions, and various trade and professional associations from across Anambra State, among others.
The Obi of Onitsha was represented by the Ede Gbogbogaga of Onitsha, Chief (Dr) Okechukwu Areh. And as if to buttress the opinion of experts that customers appreciate being consulted, scores of the representatives at the gathering were full of commendations for MTN for initiating the forum.

“This is a very nice idea that will yield bountiful results in the days ahead. Without MTN calling us for this meeting, it would have been difficult to know the challenges it faces. It would also have been difficult for them to get the advice we have freely given here today as to how the network can be better. The beauty of this all is that the people you have seen here today are representatives of groups of people. We will now go back and spread the news to the grassroots that MTN truly cares and is making efforts to serve us better” said Sylvester Odife, President, Anambra State Markets Amalgamated Traders Association (ASMATA).

“MTN has blazed another trail by initiating this laudable session. There is no doubt that the company has received useful suggestions and feedback that will enable it to serve its customers even better”, said the chairman of the forum, Dr (Sir) G.U. Okeke (Onwa), Chairman of G.U.O Group of companies who chaired the forum.

Another stakeholder, Dr H. T. Molokwu, president of Agbalanze Cultural Organisation, Onitsha said: “We are happy about this initiative. Our concerns have been tabled and we have received some illumination as to how MTN operates. There have been very useful interactions. MTN is clearly ahead of others and what they have done today is another proof of that.”

The forum indeed provided a platform for MTN customers in the eastern region to ask MTN executives various questions ranging from the quality of service on the network and expansion plans to corporate sponsorship issues. A great deal of the customers urged MTN to put more physical installations in Onitsha to provide more job opportunities to the youths of the area.

All the questions and observations from the customers were tackled by a panel of MTN executives drawn from various departments. With all their queries answered, the customers were later treated to a sumptuous lunch before taking part in a raffle draw where many of them went home with many branded gifts ranging from electric iron to power generating sets.

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