Sunday 15 March 2015

AIT 2015 Conference to focus on Emerging Trends in Applied Computing for Global Impact




AIT 2015 Conference to focus on Emerging Trends in Applied Computing for Global Impact
By Olatunde Tijani, LOC Secretary, AIT 2015
 
The world is now a global village, thanks to the power of innovative 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 we communicate and exchange information.
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.
 
In 2013, the world received the birth of the fastest supercomputer named Tianhe-2, also known as the Milky Way 2 located in Guangzhou, China with a throughput (processing speed) of 33.86 petaflops. Tianhe-2 is the creation of China's National University for Defense Technology. The device was built to "provide an open platform for research and education and also provides high performance computing service for southern China, according to the University of Tennessee's Jack Dongarra.
 
According to Wikipedia,"Supercomputers play an important role in the field of computational science, and are used for a wide range of computationally intensive tasks in various fields, including quantum mechanics, weather forecasting, climate research, oil and gas exploration, molecular modeling (computing the structures and properties of chemical compounds, biological macromolecules, polymers, and crystals), and physical simulations (such as simulations of the early moments of the universe, airplane and spacecraft aerodynamics, the detonation of nuclear weapons, and nuclear fusion)."
 
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.
 
Here in Nigeria, Daily Independent Newspaper of February 10, 2015, reported that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has approached the Osun State Government in Nigeria, seeking to adopt the e-learning device Opon Imo (Tablet of Knowledge) created by the Governor Rauf Aregbesola's administration. UNESCO also requested to re-produce and adapt the educational learning resource material and content of 'Opon-Imo' to promote its' educational programmes in Nigeria." Opón Ìmò, "Tablet of Knowledge" was developed to revolutionize learning and support education in developing states around the world.
 
In Ogun State of Nigeria, a giant stride was achieved in the application of IT, when the Governor Ibikunle Amosun-led administration implemented the about to be launched Geographic Information System (GIS) for the administration of land processing. This project according to the Ogun State Government "will improve the overall performance of government, by building a robust platform to centrally manage land and all related activities."
 
Technologies have no doubt evolved greatly right from nothing to the Stone Age and lastly into a world full of machines, equipment and inventions which are continuously changing our lives. Alas, human race is yet to witness the best of information technology, because the next research, discovery and creativity have not been tapped and the world is waiting and depending on the broad computer field professionals and scientists to berth the latest technology for mankind.
 
Most of these innovations were products of deep critical thinking from workshops, seminars, roundtable discussions, symposia and conferences on Information Technology. This is why; the Ogun State Chapter of Nigeria Computer Society in conjunction with Department of Computer Science, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State conceptualized an International Conference on Applied Information Technology (AIT 2015) which will hold at Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria between October 7-9, 2015.
 
The conference with the theme, "Emerging Trends in Applied Computing for Global Impact" is to address, discuss and exchange knowledge on all disciplines of Information Technology (IT).  AIT 2015 will provide 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.
 
While speaking on the conference, the Chairman of the local organizing committee, Prof. Adio Akinwale said the conference, apart from meeting the international standard will not only produce useful scholarly works, it will also offer 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 that the world will be proud of.
 
The  conference will focus on  Cryptography and Information Security, Intelligent Information Systems, Big Data Computing, 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.
 
The conference organizers are calling for papers from students, authors, researchers and professionals in the IT field. Instructions for submitting such papers can be found on the conference website www.ncsogun.org.ng/ait2015.  Selected papers will be published in the Journal of Natural Science, Engineering and Technology published by Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta or International Journal of Computer and its Applications published by Nigeria Computer Society. Registration for the AIT 2015 conference is strictly online on the conference website www.ncsogun.org.ng/ait2015.


IT Diversity would lead to better innovation and improve the global economy

IT Diversity would lead to better innovation and improve the global economy


 
The Bells University of Technology, Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria was the venue of the 2014 Information Technology (IT) Development Competition organised by the Nigeria Computer Society, Ogun State Chapter on November 4 - 5, 2014 with the theme "IT Diversity Perspectives for Global Impact".
The competition which started in 2009 is a gathering of students from higher institutions in Ogun State that also attracts lecturers - who are coaches, professionals and participating companies from the ICT field.
In her presentation, the guest speaker, Mrs. Funke Olakanmi-Noble of Accenture Nigeria said "as the world has become a global village, users are continually demanding for more new products and software which would seamlessly provide access."
This she maintained "provides many opportunities and threats and thus, accentuates the need for innovative individuals with diverse IT skills and ideas to impact the ever increasing population with its growing demands for easier, faster and more accessible platforms to perform both individual and corporate activities.
This diversity maximizes the effectiveness of the shared resources and thrives on virtualization to provide tools, technologies and Infrastructure to carry out processes with much more affordable prices compared to traditional computing techniques."
She however was quick to identify the areas needed to key into this vast IT opportunities as understanding the gaps in IT educational skills in order to assess the necessary skills and concepts to be inculcated into the student curricula, re-evaluating existing IT curricula to meet the changing demand of the fast-paced and dynamic IT industry and the need for government, private sector and educational institutions to make huge capital investments for the development of technical infrastructures and systems to support global IT trends.
With this, the speaker is sure IT diversity would lead to better innovation within the IT marketplace and essentially improve the global economy.
A number of other presentations were made by other guest speakers including Dr. Niran Oyekale, CEO, Commit Technology and Consult.
According to the Chairman of the society, Dr. Bukola Onashoga while addressing the audience during the opening ceremony of the competition said "this year's event is a clear departure from the norm as the frontiers of the event was elaborated to accommodate institutions from across the South West zone of the country, which include the premier university, University of Ibadan, University of Lagos, Lagos State University, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Oyo State College of Agricultural Institute, Crawford University, Babcock University, Federal College of Education, Abeokuta and DS Adegbenro ICT Polytechnic among others."
The Chairman of the occasion and the Vice Chancellor of the host institution, Professor I. A. Adeyemi commended the organisers for the sustenance of the IT Development Programme, especially the 6th edition.
The two-day event, for the first time, featured an IT Innovation Presentation where participating institutions made presentations on using IT tools to solve problems in the society. It was a beauty to behold as Speakers from the various tertiary institutions made fantastic, brilliant and feasible presentations about using Information and Communication Technology to solve problems in different sectors ranging from the maritime to transportation industry and the banking sector.
At the end of the contest, it was the Lagos State University who came out tops while Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta followed closely as first runners up and Crawford University emerged as the second runners up.
However, a major upset was caused later in the day, when Ogun State Institute of Technology, Igbesa against all odds emerged as the winner of the IT Quiz competition, outscoring their counterparts from the universities namely Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta and University of Lagos who finished in the second and third positions respectively.
On the second day, the healthy rivalry between the institutions continued, as the stage was set for the much-awaited Accenture Software Development Challenge where participants are expected to build, design and program codes from the scratch to develop a web portal for e-learning. Three hours was the time allotted for the competition which interestingly drew the presence of the company with the best software in the world, Microsoft Nigeria and the sponsor, Accenture Nigeria.
It was accolades, shouts, back-patting and pageantry as the winner of the competition was announced by the judges, after a long-awaited and suspense-filled break period. The winner was no other than the host institution, Bells University of Technology, Ota who had left it late to give their teeming colleagues and other students of the institution something to cheer about. Babcock University were the proud first runners-up while Federal College of Education, Osiele, Abeokuta also went home as the second runners up.
By and large, the programme lived up to its billing and participants alike were delighted to be part of the epoch-making IT event of the year. Prizes were presented to winners of the different competitions.

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2014 IT DEVPT (1) - L-R: Dr. Bukola Onashoga, Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Ogun State Chapter, Chief Host & Vice Chancellor, Bells University of Technology, Ota, Prof. I.A. Adeyemi (2nd right) with Winner, Accenture Software Development Challenge, Bells University of Technology, Ota

2014 IT DEVPT (2) - Dr. Bukola Onashoga, Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Ogun State Chapter, Chief Host & Vice Chancellor, Bells University , Prof. I.A. Adeyemi, Accenture representatives and Microsoft representatives with Winner Accenture Software Development Challenge, Bells University of Technology, Ota

2014 IT DEVPT (3) - Dr. Bukola Onashoga, Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Ogun State Chapter (middle), Prof. I.A. Adeyemi, Chief Host & Vice Chancellor, Bells University, Mrs. Funke Olakanmi-Noble of Accenture Nigeria (back row - in pink), coaches and participants in a group photograph during the 2014 IT Development Competition held at Bells University of Technology, Ota

2014 IT DEVPT (4) - (6) - Participants during the Accenture Software Development Challenge at Bells University of Technology, Ota