Energy firm lifts UNILAG with N70m digital laboratory

To make the 21st century compliant and globally competitive, Siemens Energy has donated a digital engineering laboratory worth N70 million to the University of Lagos (UNILAG).

The laboratory is equipped with computer sets for students to learn, interact and refresh themselves.

Speaking at the inauguration, Siemens Managing Director, Mr Seun Suleiman, said the provision of the facilities was borne out of the firm’s desire to boost learning and equip students with needed skills.

According to him, education is key to the firm, because, with it, you cannot get it wrong. “It will fix the society, take many off the streets and people will be able to gain employment,” Suleiman said.

“One of our cardinal objectives is to develop education and we believe it is a big opportunity to demonstrate our corporate social responsibility to the government. We committed N70million to this project, as we are trying in the nearest future to train young engineers.

Already, Suleiman said the firm has ordered software that would be used to teach students on programming and how to build and simulate applications, saying N20 million is earmarked for the purchase of the software.

“We have ordered new software to the tune of a million, we have also paid for training,” he said, noting that the firm’s commitment to improving technical education in Nigeria would spread across institutions, as UNILAG was chosen to kick-start the project.

“UNILAG is centre of excellence, and Lagos is a centre of commerce, so, we felt the impact would be felt more by starting from Lagos, We are going to expand to other places.”

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, assured that his students would maximise its usefulness.

Ogundipe described the project as a big investment and would be used by students for their start-ups, projects and starting their businesses.

“If you go all over the world, you will see that students develop their skills. In this place, they will be able to develop their skills in the area of innovation, entrepreneurship and skills development in every area, whether medicine or science,” Ogundipe said.

While appreciating the Director, of Distance Learning Institute (DLI), Prof Uchenna Udeani and other members of the Faculty of Engineering for ensuring the successful delivery of the digital laboratory project, Ogundipe assured that the new world-class facility would be maximised to its full potential for training, innovative ideas and technological solutions for all-round development.

He charged students to avail themselves of opportunities that the new digital laboratory would avail them, especially in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine and other areas.