The Federal Polytechnic Nekede is at the threshold of history as the smart Rector of the institution, Engr. Dr. Michael Arimanwa FNSE, last Friday performed the switching-on ceremony of a robust Wi-Fi network in the frontline polytechnic.
The launch of the 24-hour internet service is a product of an ambitious period of laying an underground fibre optic cable round the entire campus projected to last more than a hundred years. In his remarks, the Rector recounted how he had embarked upon the SmartCampus project to solve the myriad of operational problems facing the institution.
In his remarks while switching on the digital deployment the Rector said: “When I came in as Rector, I knew what the problems of the institution were, having schooled here and worked since 1993 in the institution. I realized that the solution to many of the problems was to create a smart campus system where one may need a minimal human contact to achieve anything. By implication, you can stay anywhere and make a transaction with the polytechnic without going to queue up behind any office.
“We are therefore creating a system that will survive us, a system that will endure for over a hundred years, for as long as we do not willfully destroy it. The facilities we are seeing today are still open for further expansion till we get to its maximum point. However, what we have is enough to solve the existential challenges which the digital technology can solve. All offices and buildings in the polytechnic have robust internet facilities, both land and Wi-fi. This will help us to recreate and reinvent our polytechnic to a modern institution of higher learning befitting of its status.”
The Rector also hinted that the robust internet service in the polytechnic would come with a 24-hour security surveillance of the institution, warning staff and students to be wary of what they do in the institution as the polytechnic had a database in the cloud space where information from the surveillance is stored and recalled for use.
Earlier, the Director of the ICT Directorate, Engr. Mary Nwakanma, had stated that the fibre cables had over 32 access points which support a non-stop internet deployment. She also disclosed that access points could be expanded in due course and as the need arises. She poured encomiums on the Rector for the progressive idea of a SmartCampus project in a 21st century period.
The switching-on of the Wi-Fi internet deployment in the polytechnic is a cardinal agenda of the SmartCampus Project of the Rector, Engr. Dr. Michael Arimanwa FNSE, intended to turn the polytechnic to a typical 21st century of note, where digital technology is deployed to solve problems with less human contact. There are therefore expectations trailing this epic launch.
According to Dr. Ijeoma Emeagi of the Department of Computer Science, the Rector deserves all the commendation for the project as it would foster research and learning. She also expressed expectation that staff would leverage on it to write papers and attain visibility online.
On her own, Dr. Raymonda Obioha of the Registry commended the Rector for the project as it would ease off the operations of the division, expressing hope that screening officers would learn to be proactive and make good use of the technology. She further praised the management of the polytechnic for the great initiatives of giving the institution visibility in the country.
Meanwhile, the Dean, Student Affairs Division of the Polytechnic, Dr. Okafo Okoreaffia, has commended the Rector and his management team for actualizing the dream of a robust internet service in the polytechnic. According to Okoreaffia, “The students are looking forward to the benefits of the project. For one, it will propel others to come and take up bed spaces in the hostels as there will be a 24-hour internet service in the hostels.”
Speaking on behalf of the students, the vice president of the Student Union Government, Comr. Chiamaka Ochiuba, praised the Rector for the privilege of lighting up the entire campus with a Wi-Fi network, at a time most institutions have yet to enjoy such a facility. According to her, the facility would enable students browse online to solve their academic problems while saving their internet data.
In the same vein, Miss Peculiar Osegi, a student of the Department of Computer Engineering lauded the Rector for fulfilling the dream of students of the polytechnic, promising to make good use of the facility to further her academic enterprise in the polytechnic. It will be recalled that the Rector’s SmartCampus project is a programme envisioned to take the institution to greater heights since the ICT has capacity to solve institutional and operational challenges.
In a chat with FEDPONEK GAZETTE prior to the programme, the Rector stated that he was moved to create a system of digital operations that would endure the test of time in the polytechnic – a system that would expunge any form of tech-phobia and drive a cutting-edge institution of higher learning.
The launch of the project was done in three access points of the facility after which a stop over was made at the 1000-capacity auditorium. It was at the auditorium that the Rector received goodwill messages from staff and students. After this, the Rector and his management team alongside deans and directors of the polytechnic retired to the Council Chambers where the final ceremony was performed.
