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THE Nigeria Computer Society, NCS, is seeking research and innovation funding that will spur technology research in the country. Prof. Adesina Sodiya, president, NCS, said a lot needs to be done in the area of IT research to help increase Nigeria’s rating in the future.
In a statement, Sodiya appreciated the efforts of the government and other stakeholders on the progress the country has made in promoting and supporting IT development. “The position of Nigeria in various world rankings in ICT development, digital readiness, and broadband penetration are still not acceptable to the Nigeria Computer Society.
“In other specific emerging technologies such as robotics, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, IoT, implementation, and general digital smartness, it is obvious we still need to make significant progress. Certainly, we need to improve IT development capacities and capabilities in order to scale up with technological giants countries like Singapore, USA, China, Japan, UK, South Korea, and so on.
“It is obvious that the key ingredients to leapfrog IT development in this country are research and innovations. Recently, the NCS constituted a committee to assess the impact of the adoption of 5G technology on the nation. The committee recommended the need for rigorous and extensive research on 5G technology and its adoption,” he said.
The NCS has been championing IT development for over 40 years. Currently with over 20,000 members in both private and public sectors, NCS remains at the centre console of IT development in Nigeria. Citing the recent introduction of Innovation Development Fund (NIDF) by the NCS to provide necessary supports for developmental research and innovations in information technology, Sodiya listed specific thematic areas of consideration to include: Connectivity (5G Network); Virtual Reality and Environment; System Automation and Design; Digital Economy; Robotics; Artificial Intelligence; Cybersecurity; Internet of Things and Smart City; e-Health and e-Agriculture; Software-defined everything, among others.
According to him, the Innovation Fund has further been extended to provide solutions, tools and technology to fight the global COVID-19 pandemic, which will cover Contact tracing; Vaccine development; Diagnostic tools; Enforcing social distancing; Misinformation about COVID-19 pandemic; Decision support systems; Enforcing wearing of mask; Tracking of the COVID-19 pandemic; Treatment monitoring; Projection of cases and mortalities; Drugs development; Heavy workload of healthcare workers, among others.
– Jun. 19, 2020 @ 15:45 GMT |
Tags: innovation NCS seeks funding to boost IT research
