In an attempt to build capacity development for staff and students of the University, the Directorate of Entrepreneurial Studies and Innovations (DESI), Olabisi Onabanjo University has organized a digital training seminar for members of the University Community. The event which took place on Friday, June 28, 2019 at the Otunba Gbenga Daniel Lecture Theatre, saw Google Africa coming to the University Main Campus in Ago-Iwoye to conduct specialized skills acquisition training in Information Communication Technology with emphasis on the use of various Google tools.
While declaring the event open, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ganiyu Olatunji Olatunde stated that the training was a step in the right direction towards achieving the Directorate’s Vision Statement of being a top-tier entrepreneurial centre that identifies and nurtures individuals to become highly successful entrepreneurs. The Vice-Chancellor added that through the training, the capacity of the University human resources would be enhanced to face modern digital challenges and improve service delivery within its system. Speaking further, Professor Olatunde who was represented by the Registrar, Mr. Femi Ogunwomoju emphasized the need for staff to upgrade themselves through training in order to catch-up and be knowledgeable with the fast paced advancements and trends in the digital world. The Vice-Chancellor commended the staff of the Google Africa for making out time to visit the University and train staff and students on digital skills. Professor Olatunde also expressed his appreciation for the impressive turn out of staff and students for the training. He gave kudos to the leadership and staff of DESI for organizing such a beneficial programme.
In his own address, the Director, DESI, Professor Tunde Ogunsanwo remarked that it was a great priviledge to be part of the training adding that it was important for individual staff to be digitally educated in the 21st Century. He further stated that with the coming of Google Africa team, it was a great opportunity “to learn and broaden our knowledge on the modern trends in the IT world”. Professor Ogunsanwo hinted that with the mastery of google tools and IT, an individual’s financial independence is almost guaranteed. He, therefore, advised all the participants to pay proper attention to the details of the lectures and take the training serious.
The Lead Consultant from Google Africa Team, Mr. Gabriel Chukwu informed the participants that the main purpose of the training was to enhance and sensitize participants on digital skills and how to use such skills for ease of doing business and improving service delivery within an organization. He told the audience that it would be an added advantage for any worker in an organization to upgrade his digital skills. According to him “there are numerous unending opportunities available for people with special skills in IT”. The Consultant observed that with over 4 billion people out of approximately 7 billion having access to the internet and coupled with the increasing advancement in the realm of technology, there was need for individuals to keep up with the development in the IT world in order to be productive and remain relevant within an organization. He noted that it was not an easy task for some workers to embrace the digital world, stating that it required discipline and hard work to start a career and distinguish oneself in the IT industry. However, he revealed that the result could be so refreshing.
Mr. Chukwu further recommended some interesting careers in the digital space for the participants. Such vocations include but not limited to Webmaster, Social Media Managers, Search Engine Marketing, Project Management and E-Commerce Management. He stated that all the careers mentioned “are very lucrative to the extent that they have made some people to become celebrities by leveraging on the opportunities available therein.” The Consultant later introduced to the participants some tools that were available on Google to make life easier. One of such was “Google Alert” which he said was introduced as a content change detection and notification service that sends e-mails to users when it finds new result that matches the search term. Another was “Google Trend” which he described as a Google website that analyzes the popularity of top search queries in
Google search across various regions and languages. He illustrated how these tools could help entrepreneurs to decide what product or service was in demand and what locations have more demands for such product or service in real time. Another Google tool that was introduced to the participants was “File Go” which serves as a file manager and aims to free up space on android device. He stated that the primary focus of “File Go” was to make storage management easier. Mr. Gabriel Chukwu rounded off his presentation by advising all the participants that there were many opportunities through which financial opportunities could be harnessed via social media, especially for individuals with large followers.
