Shell, NNPC, others boost learning in three varsities with ICT centre, digital library
Shell companies in Nigeria teamed up with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and other stakeholders to build Information Communication Technology (ICT) centers and a digital library in Nigerian universities this year in their continuing support for education. Shell Nigeria Exploration Production Company Limited (SNEPCo) and NNPC, in collaboration with the Nigerian Content Monitoring and Development Board (NCDMB), launched a digital library at Niger Delta University, Amassoma, in Bayelsa State in April, while an ICT center was commissioned at Sa’adu Zungur University (formerly Bauchi State University), Gadau, in Bauchi State in July by the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC) as part of the Joint Venture with NNPC, TotalEnergies, and NAOC. In the latest intervention just last week, lecturers and students at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) applauded as SPDC, NNPC, and other Joint Venture partners collaborated with NCDMB to unveil world-class engineering design studios and an ICT hub at the institution. “This is Shell working to power lives in Nigeria,” said Country Chair of Shell Companies in Nigeria and Managing Director of SPDC, Osagie Okunbor, reflecting on the three facilities. He said, “The projects have changed the academic and physical landscapes in the three universities and linked the students and lecturers to the global learning arena.” The facilities at FUTO include two state-of-the-art engineering design studios and a fully furnished 100-seater ICT lecture hall, equipped with computers and smartboards, along with dedicated power and water FUTO was selected for the project as part of the “institutional strengthening” in the catchment area of SPDC’s Assa North Ohaji South Gas Development Project. They were launched at a colorful ceremony attended by representatives of the Imo State Government and principal officers of the university.