On 19 July 2019, we commenced the Campus Technology Internship Program (CTIP) at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Lagos State at the UNILAG ICT Center. A total of one hundred and twelve 200 and 300 level students from the Faculty of Engineering and Sciences who applied to participate in this program were invited for the CTIP open day.

The CTIP is a student internship program that is managed by Eko-Konnect in collaboration with Nigerian higher education institutions and other organisations in the ICT sector. The aim of the program is to develop the technical skills capacity of students from stem related departments in Nigerian higher institutions through challenge-driven education. The program focus areas for learning are physical computing with Python, computer networking, Internet governance and digital skills certification. Throughout the one year duration of the program within an institution,  the students are engaged in a series of online courses, training workshops, events, and practical smart projects for the Internet of Things using the Raspberry Pi.

Olayiwola Lawal lead CTIP Trainer with the students
Olayiwola Lawal lead CTIP Trainner with the students

In the UNILAG CTIP open day, the invited students participated in the intern selection computer-based test and interview session. Thirty-five (35) of these students were selected as Unilag CTIP interns. On the following day, the selected student interns were invited to the CTIP orientation day. They were engaged in the program goal and objectives, content and format. They also commenced their first course for the program, “Basic programming with SNAP and Finch Robots”. This was followed by an “Introduction to Internet governance” presentation and a demo of a surveillance system and automated LEDs through voice prompts using the Raspberry Pi and Finch robots.

For effective management of the program on campus, we have partnered with the UNILAG Faculty of Engineering, Department of Computer Science and the Center for Information Technology Systems (CITS). We also donated five (5) Finch robots which the students will use for practical work on the program. We look forward to fulfilling the program goals in UNILAG by facilitating the students learning on technical projects which will bring value to their institution.