by Isi Esene
Nigeria’s most innovative and fastest growing telecommunications company, Etisalat Nigeria on May 16th, changed the face of education in Nigeria as it launched the first Masters course in Telecommunications Engineering in West Africa at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria.
Known as the Etisalat Telecommunications Engineering Programme (ETEP), the programme is a corporate social responsibility initiative of Etisalat Nigeria in partnership with the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Etisalat Academy in the UAE, Plymouth University in the UK and Huawei. The Programme is established at the Electrical and Computer Engineering department of ABU, one of five approved universities in Nigeria accredited to offer telecommunications engineering, but previously only at undergraduate level, with input from the National Office for Technology Acquisition & Promotion (NOTAP) as part of its oversight functions.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Steven Evans, the programme would annually empower 15 to 20 engineering graduates with capacity and expertise in excellently running Nigeria’s telecommunications sector. These post graduates, he said, would serve as possible manpower for Etisalat, Huawei and other such companies in the telecommunications industry.
Chairman of Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Hakeem Belo-Osagie, said the MSc. course is aimed at contributing to local manpower with regards to telecommunications technology skills. “Telecommunications Engineers are involved in the planning, design, commissioning and monitoring of complex telecommunications networks, wireless systems, broadcasting systems and future broadband networks. We are delighted to champion this first of its kind project in order to promote the telecommunications industry which has been dubbed as the backbone of the new economy and plays a central role in facilitating reliable and fast information exchange,” he said.
In attendance at the launch include the Kaduna State Governor, Alhaji Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, who represented the Vice President, Namadi Sambo; Vice Chancellor of ABU, Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha, top academic staff of the university, representatives from the Zazzau Emirate Councils, Directors and Board Members of Etisalat Nigeria, among other dignitaries.
Here are pictures from the launch:
– This is an advertorial
Leave a reply