University of Ibadan
Emma Okonji
Google Nigeria has announced the launch of ‘Google Apps Supporting Programs’ (GASP) for the University of Ibadan at a ceremony held at the university campus.
The event was attended by principal officers and the management team of the university and its information and communications technology services Department, including the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Isaac Adewole.
The GASP initiative helps increase usage of the Internet and Google Apps in sub-Saharan African universities. With the launch, all students from the university will have access to a lifetime email address stu.ui.edu.ng and up to 25 Giga Byte of storage space.
The programme provides the Google Apps for Education suite and strengthens the existing ICT services of participating universities through a combination of infrastructure grants, technical consulting and training. Through the integration of Google’s tools into university processes and student life, GASP aims to increase productivity and offer cutting-edge world-class collaboration solutions to the academic world.
According to Adewole, deploying Google Apps meant that students had access to a platform that offers the best integration and collaborative opportunities.
He said: “Through the deployment, all students will have access to their emails from every part of the campus.”
Google Programme Manager for sub-Saharan Africa, Ego Obi, said: “We are excited and honoured to partner the university to launch email powered by Google, which is one of the many Apps in the Google Apps for Education suite. We hope that the development will foster better communication and collaboration within the university community enabling teaching, learning and research.”
She also added, “We want to get more and more Nigerians users online by improving access to the Internet and helping universities like University of Ibadan to take advantage of the Internet many opportunities aligning with its vision to be a world class institution for academic excellence. We look forward to partnering more local universities, and encourage any interested parties to visit our website.”
Google Apps for Education has been deployed in over 100 universities across sub-Saharan Africa to hundreds of thousands of students and university faculties, including South Africa, Ghana, Senegal, Kenya and Uganda.