ISLAMABAD: During a three-day COMSATS international workshop, the member states of COMSATS and OIC were recommended to aggressively employ information and communication technologies (ICTs) as a tool to strengthen education, healthcare and agriculture sectors to achieve sustainable progress in their respective states.
Nigeria’s Science and Technology Federal Minister Dr OgbonnayaOnu inaugurated the event.
In his keynote address, he highlighted the recent initiatives of the present government of Nigeria for the promotion of science, technology and innovation for achieving economic progress, including Nigerian Economic Recovery Roadmap (2017-2030).
He thanked COMSATS, ISESCO and INIT for selecting Nigeria to host this important event, and pledged that his ministry will continue collaboration with these organisations in future.
The workshop titled ‘Applications of ICTs in Education, Healthcare and Agriculture’ was co-organised by COMSATS in collaboration with Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO); and the Inter Islamic Network on Information Technology (INIT) in Abuja, Nigeria, says a communiqué issued by the COMSATS Secretariat here.
As many as 250 participants belonging to Egypt, Jordan, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine, Sudan, and Sri Lanka attended the event.
The workshop featured themes related to the cutting edge innovative ICT-based technologies and techniques used in education, healthcare and agriculture sectors.
The three-day event, hosted by the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), Federal Ministry of Science and Technology (FMST), Nigeria, included three technical sessions one each on the applications of ICTs in education, agriculture and healthcare, which featured 16 technical presentations and invited lectures.
The themes touched upon during the event included: optimised use of computer in education; precision agriculture; improved use of GPS, GIS; integration of new technologies for livestock production and management; wireless sensors and monitoring in agriculture; environmental information and management systems; ICTs for malaria eradication; and telemedicine and healthcare delivery in the South.
Each of the three technical sessions included a discussion session for assessing the present state of the use of ICTs as well as to formulate specific recommendations for the governments of the member states of COMSATS and OIC for employing ICTs as a tool to strengthen the aforementioned sectors. The recommendations of the meeting touched upon various aspects deliberated upon during the event.
Nigeria’s FMST Permanent Secretary Belema Wakama, COMSATS Programmes Senior Assistant Director Farhan Ansari and Dr Khalid Latif also spoke on the occasion.
Ansari and Dr Latif were representing the COMSATS executive director and CIIT rector, respectively. The ceremony also included goodwill messages from the representatives of Nigerian Federal Ministry of Education, Federal Ministry of Health, and Federal Ministry of Agriculture, and a vote of thanks by PharmA Oguntunde, FMST (COMSATS-Nigeria Liaison Officer).
The ceremony was attended by guests belonging to universities, R&D organisations and government departments of Nigeria.
