NAN-H-65
ICT
By Chiazo Ogbolu
Lagos, Nov. 24, 2016 (NAN) A don, Dr Ajibike Itegboje, on Thursday said that Information and Communications Technology (ICT) was vast for professionals to be able to find an area and develop a niche.
Itegboje, Chief Lecturer, Computer Science Department, Yaba College of Technology, Lagos disclosed this during the maiden edition of the Nigeria Women in Information Technology(NIWIIT), Lagos Chapter’s, ”Guest Lecture Series” in Lagos.
She spoke on the theme: “Prospects for Women in Information and Communications Technology (ICT)”.
“Women need to become experts and create a niche for themselves in an area they feel comfortable with, so that they can excel.
“They should be encouraged to engage in the ICT sector, so that the gender gap in the sector can be bridged.
“Research has shown that a balanced gender team improves business performance and more financial economy for a country,” she said.
Itegboje listed some prospective areas of professionalism in ICT as: education, distribution and marketing, technical professions and others.
She said that the world economy was being driven by technology because it guarantees longer term gains in productivity, leading to demand for knowledge.
Itegboje, therefore urged women not to think that once they earn many degrees in ICT, they would become employable.
She said that many degrees do not count, but the expertise one had was what would fetch the needed knowledge economy for the country.
The guest lecturer listed the prospects from the use of ICT as: world economy, the dot com age bringing new dimensions, and the Single Treasury Account system that blocked leakages.
She urged the 21st century ICT professional to have sound understanding of technology and develop high level business, management and communication skills.
Itegboje further urged NIWIIT to organise college lectures, counselling and fairs, to sensitise and educate girls and encourage them to take ICT-related courses
In his own contribution, Prof. Charles Uwadia, former President, Nigeria Computer Society, said that there was need to have a change in the ICT demography.
“If you train a woman, you have trained a community, even a nation.
“To make that change, there is need to get to the drawing board, in different levels of engagement, both with parents, because career engagement starts from the home,” he said.
Earlier, Mrs Felicia Oyeyinka, coordinator NIWIIT, Lagos chapter, in her welcome address, said that empowering women was necessary for them to be able to take advantage of entrepreneur Opportunities embedded in ICT.
“Our women, once trained, will take their rightful position in technology,” she said.
Oyeyinka called on the need to redirect the attention of the youth from cybercrime and activities that waste away their talents, to productive activities by exploring the advantages in ICT.
She said that a time was coming when people would not need to physically sit in shopping malls and offices, adding that if adequate training was not given to this generation, expatriates would then be employed to do their jobs.
Oyeyinka said that the goal of NIWIIT was to affect both old and young positively, in the aspect of ICT tools, their usage, importance and the dangers associated with it.(NAN)
CAN/PIO/PIO
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(Edited by Idonije Obakhedo)