Prof. Mu’azu Bashir, a professor of Computer and Control Engineering and Head of Computer Engineering Department at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria has been appointed the Chairman of a 15-member Evaluation Committee for the assessment of the 2020 Telecommunications based research from Academics in the Nigerian tertiary institutions.
Inaugurating the committee at the Commission’s Head Office in Abuja recently, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, noted that initiating the committee speaks to the NCC’s commitment towards encouraging the development of indigenous innovative solutions that impact not only the Telecom industry/ICT sector positively but also the nation as a whole.
“We want to continuously support research projects that can lead to the development of new products and services in the industry as the key enabler of the nation’s digital economy. We are all aware of the appreciable contributions of the Nigerian Telecommunication sector to the growth of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over the years, which peaked at 14.53 percent in the second quarter of 2020,” he said.
He admitted that the telecom regulatory body understands that funding Research and Development (R&D) is fundamental to ensuring that the needs of consumers are properly anticipated and met while enabling sustainable economic growth.
According to him, the Digital Economy-based Research Innovations project underlines the importance of funding Research & Development.
This year’s request for proposals was tailored to providing innovations and solving challenges in five emerging areas of technology. These include innovative clean energy technology; 5G deployment in Nigeria; Internet of Things (IoT), low power Wide Area Network (WAN) technology; advanced methods of Quality of Service (QoS) and Quality of Experience (QoE) management and test mechanism as well as monitoring and localisation of drones.
Members of the Committee have been carefully selected from the Academia, related government institutions and the industry based on their pedigree. The Committee is expected to carry out the assignment and submit its report within four (4) weeks from the day of inauguration.
