Applied Computing Emerging Trends Resonate @ Ogun NCS Conference

Information Technology (IT) experts who gathered at a three-day Applied Information Technology (AIT) Conference 2015 have called for increased awareness on the emerging trends in the applied computing ecosystem as catalysts for National Development.

‎The experts comprising Government officials, educationalists, and private IT practitioners gathered at the Conference organised by the Ogun State Chapter of the  Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) in collaboration with the Department of Computer Science, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State during the week.

They were unanimous in a view for improved collaborations between the educational institutions and the Government in developing technological competences to address multifaceted challenges facing the society.

According to participants , Nigeria would remain on the outskirts of applied computing unless professionals are accorded vintage positions to contribute towards government programmes.

However, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, Ogun State Governor and special guest at the occasion, said that the State has demonstrated an understanding on the impetus technology adds to every economy with its recent IT exploits.

The Governor represented by Engineer Ayodele Jolaoso,‎ permanent secretary, Ministry of Special Duties, disclosed that they have gone ahead to implement a Geographic Information System (GIS) for the administration of land processing across the State.

This project according to him, will improve the overall performance of government by building a robust platform to centrally manage land and all related activities.

"It will eliminate all sorts of bottlenecks been experienced in the land matters in our dear State," he added.

Also, Professor Adesola Aderounmu, president, Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), extolled the Ogun State Chapter for the visionary conference tagged, 'Emerging Trends in Applied Computing,' maintaining that the growth of every nation nowadays is measured by the by the level of technological preparedness.

He pledged NCS unwavering stand on the cause for the government to incorporate professionals in the execution of IT related projects.

According to him, "The Federal Government must speed up measures to deepen Information Technology growth in the country, as all over the world, IT is a major driver of the major economies and deserves to be accorded every seriousness."

Speaking to Nigeria CommunicationsWeek,  ‎Dr. Bukola Onashoga (Mrs), chairperson, Ogun State Chapter of NCS, said that the Conference's focus on  Cryptography and Information Security, Intelligent Information Systems and ‎Big Data Computing was aimed at emphasising the need for knowledge sharing among the academic community, the government and organizations to leverage applied computing ecosystem to better the worth of Nigerians.

Other topic discussed at the conference include, ‎Cloud Computing, Mobile Communications and Networking, e-Health/e-Banking/e-Agriculture/e-Commerce/ e-Government, Bio-Informatics, Learning and Education Technologies and Computer Aided Designs.‎

"It's important to emphasise that education is key in making these happen. Any nation that does not take its educational sector very serious will not do well in the ICT space too. Experts at this conference have re-echoed this as well. Therefore, we need to make hay while the sun shines."

She added that ‎technologies have no doubt evolved greatly over time and "now into a world full of smart machines, equipment and inventions which are continuously changing our lives,we even need smarter graduates to take the advantages.‎

"To me, the educational system should be overhauled, with the curriculum reviewed to reflect the nitty-gritty of today's working tool. In an era of the Internet of Things (IoTs) we should not be talking about 'handouts', rather, 'handson'; practical knowledge transfer is urgently needed in our educations system which is one of the points raised in this conference'.

Also speaking, Professor Adio Akinwale‎, chairman of the local organizing committee,‎ said as the world is now a global village, largely for the innovations in technology and power of creativity in the form of human resources, the likes of the early fathers of computer, Pascal Blaise, Charles Babbage and more recently, Microsoft Founder, Bill Gates; Dell Founder, Michael Dell; Apple cofounder, late Steve Jobs and many more have revolutionize the way the world communicates and exchanges information.

He recalled that  from the era of giant computer which occupies a whole room, generating excessive heat to the present world where a micro-computer (smartphone) now fits into a pocket and performs even better functions.

“From desktop computers with CPU, keyboards and mouse to portable laptops and netbook, one can access the internet and exchange information and date with a click. New inventions of computers include changes to their different screens and touch screen enabled configurations.

“Our communication systems like telephones have also changed. Bulky analogs characterised with broken network signals have now been transformed into small and handy mobile phones. The fax machine, Internet for chat and emails keep our communication with our loved ones and people around us, easy and fast”.

Akinwale added that the availability of information through innovations in ICT has made the world a better place. All thanks to the British computer scientist, Tim Berners-Lee who created the World Wide Web (w3).

“With the click of a link on the internet, you are guaranteed of host of information and more recently the power of social media, the world is now truly a global village. Facebook, twitter, hi5, skype, myspace and google+ just to mention a few have intertwined the world and make communication even better.
‎
Speaking further on the on the conference Olatunde Tijani, LOC Secretary, AIT 2015 said, said the aimed has been achieved following‎  discussions and exchange of knowledge on all disciplines of Information Technology (IT).
‎
He said that AIT 2015 will provided a key forum for researchers and industry practitioners to exchange information regarding advancements in the state-of-art and practice of applications of Information Technology.

Tijani, said the conference, apart from meeting the international standard, it produced useful scholarly works, while offering participants the platform to network and share ideas on the information technology and computing world which is expected to give rise to a new technological innovation in the country that the world will be proud of.