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education
Thursday, 8 October, 2015
RUN deploys interactive touch-screen boards in lecture theatres …Graduates 15 First Class at 7th convocation Laolu Harolds S part of efforts to continue to raise the bar of academic standards among Nigerian universities, the Redeemer’s University of Nigeria (RUN), Ede, Osun State, has pioneered the use of electronic interactive boards with touch screen technology in all its lecture rooms and theatres. A delegation from Samsung West Africa, which was in the university last week to commission the project, confirmed that the university is the first in the country to deploy such innovative educational e-learning infrastructure for teaching. This was part of the achievements of the university as highlighted by the vice chancellor, Professor Debo Adeyewa, in his address at the 10th anniversary and 7th convocation ceremony of the university on Tuesday. A total of 447 students, christened the ‘Triumphant Class’, graduated on the occasion, 15 of them with First Class degree. Also at the event, two outstanding personalities were conferred with the honorary Doctor of Science (honoris causa) of the institution.
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Pastor (Mrs) Foluke Adenike Adeboye, the wife of the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, was conferred with the Doctor of Science in Management; while Professor Folagbade Olajide Aboaba, a pioneer Dean of the College of Technology, University of Ibadan and pioneer pro-chancellor and chairman of council of the Redeemer’s University, was conferred with the Doctor of Science award. Tribune Education recalls that RUN earlier came into limelight by emerging as the best rated university in research among universities in West and Central Africa, and was selected as African Centre of Excellence for the Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID), funded by the World Bank. The first case of the Ebola Virus Disease in Nigeria was diagnosed at the Redeemer’s University’s ACEGID laboratory, one of two such laboratories in Nigeria recognised by the American Centre for Disease Control (CDC). Adeyewa also spoke on the Recovery of Destiny (ROD) programme started few years ago by the university, which was designed for student offenders
who after expulsion are ready to undergo a transformational programme and wish to return to the university if successful. According to him, a total of 85 students have gone through the ROD programme – five of them (four male, one female) on Tuesday graduated with the ‘Triumphant Class’. “Apart from academics, we build lives through conscientious
spiritual and social engagements. We (are committed) to the building of not just the intellect of our students, but their character and spirits as well. Holiness is our lifestyle and godliness is a principle that cannot be compromised in Redeemer’s University. This is our stance for both staff and students,” he said. Governor Rauf Aregbesola, in his address urged the graduat-
ing students to strive to be ‘gems embedded in the rock’, and stand tall wherever they find themselves, saying that with what RUN had equipped them with, they have no reason to fail. The highly revered General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, who is the Visitor to RUN, was in attendance at the event.
Computers in the new-look ICT Centre at Girls’ Government College, Dala, Kano State, renovated by Etisalat Nigeria, being inspected by the state’s Deputy Governor and Commissioner for Education, Prof. Hafiz Abubakar, together with his team, on Tuesday.
ABUAD students shine at Microsoft competition in America Sam Nwaoko - ado-Ekiti TOP executives of Microsoft Corporation in the United States of America, the organisers of the Microsoft Imagine Cup Competition, have commended the team from Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), ‘Team LifeWatch’, and described the team as “the best in Africa for five years.” ABUAD’s Team LifeWatch participated in this year’s edition of the competition which took place in Seattle, USA, and was generously praised by Microsoft executives for its excellent performance. For their invention, AsthmaVisor, a device for a more effective and efficient way of managing Asthma, particularly among children, a senior director with Microsoft Corporation, Mrs. Jenny Lay-Flurie, described Team LifeWatch as “the best team in Africa in five years” while the deputy director of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Jeninie Firpo, said the team’s invention was “awesome.” Team LifeWatch, made
up of four ABUAD students, eventually emerged fourth out of the five teams nominated for Imagine Cup Ability Award on account of the potential impact their projects could have on the lives of people with disabilities and design principles, usability and potential in the market place. Other criteria include how the project has been tested with people with disabilities and overall quality of the execution. Team Prognosis (with a solution for Parkinson’s disease detection and intervention) from Greece won the award as their solution has already been deployed on a large scale and in use by disabled people for about a year now in Greece. Team LifeWatch, made up of Adeyemo Oluwaseun Kayode, Raymond Obinaju, Sobola Timilehin David, and Ahwin Kevin with a joint passion for saving lives, had earlier invented AsthmaVisor. The race to the finals of this year’s edition of the Imagine Cup competition among higher institutions in Nigeria commenced
with ABUAD winning in Nigeria to qualify for the African Zone (semi-finals) where it defeated higher institutions in other African countries, including Burkina Faso, South Africa, Uganda, Egypt, Angola, Algeria and Morocco as well as Tunisia, to qualify for the world finals. At the end of Team LifeWatch live performance to a panel of seven judges, made up of seven industry experts like Thomas Middleditch (Star of HBO’s Silicon Valley), Alex Kipman
(inventor of HoloLens) and Jens Bergensten (Lead Developer of Minecraft), the judges were so impressed about the presentation that they opted for a 10-minute hands-on demonstration with the team to test its solution (AthsmaVisor). The level of recommendations Team LifeWatch received from the judges also led to a private session organised for the team with Microsoft Brand Manager, Dennis Tom. This, according to the judges, was a proof of how much they
35,467 candidates scramble for Kwara poly admission Biola Azeez, Ilorin No fewer than 35,467 candidates are seeking admission into the Kwara state polytechnic, Ilorin for 2015/2016 session. However, a statement signed by the deputy registrar, (information and publicity), Alhaji Moshood Amuda, which was made available to journalists
said that the institution could only admit 4,380 candidates for both ND and HND. This is in accordance with the carrying capacity of the institution as determined by the National Board for Technical Education(NBTE), which is the regulatory body for polytechnic and monotechnics in Nigeria.
loved the project and how they “cannot wait to see it in the market.” During the private session which lasted for 40 minutes, important issues
relating to how the solution can be improved upon and how a partnership can be established with Microsoft for making the solution a reality were discussed.