By Muazu Abubakar Albarkawa The Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Adamu Ahmed, has expressed appreciation to Huawei T...
The Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Adamu Ahmed, has expressed appreciation to Huawei Technologies Nigeria Limited for choosing the university as a trusted and worthy partner in the upgrade of its information and communication technology infrastructure.
Prof. Ahmed spoke on Wednesday during the official kick-off ceremony of the ABU ICT Infrastructure Revamp Project, held at the university. The project, tagged “Network Infrastructure Refresh Project: Huawei Smart Campus for ABU,” formally commenced with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the university and Huawei.
According to the Vice-Chancellor, the partnership is a strategic intervention aimed at addressing the growing ICT needs of the campus. He clarified that the collaboration with Huawei does not replace existing service providers, but is designed to strengthen teaching, learning and research through improved digital capacity.
Prof. Ahmed noted that the new internet infrastructure would enhance productivity and allow learning and research activities to extend beyond the physical classroom environment. He described the event as a renewal and continuation of the long-standing relationship between ABU and Huawei.
The Vice-Chancellor also acknowledged the roles played by the Director of the Distance Learning Centre (DLC), MB Muazu, and the Director of the Iya Abubakar Institute of ICT, EA Adedokun, for facilitating and actualising the project.
Earlier, Prof. Muazu said the initiative was aimed at overhauling the entire internet network architecture of the university system. He thanked participants for honouring the invitation and wished them safe journeys back to their destinations.
Speaking on the technical details of the project, Prof. Adedokun disclosed that the network refresh would be implemented in three phases. He explained that the first phase would focus on the data centre and storage network, the second on the distribution layer network, while the third phase would address the access layer network.
In a presentation, a Senior Account Manager with Huawei, Esther Anigbo, said the company was deploying its Smart Campus Solution for ABU, including the iMaster NCE platform, which would enable centralised management and control of network devices across all campuses. She added that the solution would strengthen disaster recovery and improve campus network design.
Also speaking, the Director of Sales at Huawei, Mars Zhangmi, said the project was aimed at consolidating years of collaboration between Huawei and ABU. He noted that Huawei ICT Academy had trained many ABU students, providing them with global opportunities, and reaffirmed that ABU remains the first Huawei ICT Academy Centre in Nigeria.
In his vote of thanks, the Registrar of the university, Rabiu Samaila, thanked the Vice-Chancellor for his visionary leadership, which led to the signing of the MoU. He also appreciated Huawei for the partnership, assuring the company that it would not regret the decision.
Highlights of the event included the official signing of the MoU and cultural performances by students of the Theatre and Performing Arts Department. The ceremony was attended by principal officers of the university, deans, directors and heads of departments.
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