Official: UI will teach 10,000 new geospatial specialists.
The University of Ibadan has established a goal of training 10,000 new researchers and students in the use of geospatial tools developed by the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI).
In a conversation with media, Mr. Ahmed Olanrewaju, Principal Systems Analyst, Management Information System Unit, University of Ibadan, stated this.
According to Olanrewaju, the objective is to investigate the benefits of implementing ESRI technology in order to provide students and research communities with more access to spatial technical tools for research.
According to him, it would also aid in the utilisation of its effective data store for information preservation technology.
Olanrewaju stated that the University of Ibadan has used the ESRI technology grant since 2014 to optimise research and improve teaching.
“The institution has significantly shifted away from traditional data collection and analysis methods and towards dynamic technology-driven research processes,” he explained.
According to him, the advantage of implementing ESRI technology is tremendous because UI students and research communities now have access to spatial technical instruments for research, as well as its efficient data repository for information archiving.
“This means that those who want to expand on earlier research can access the appropriate data sets and contribute to the knowledge pool provided they have the requisite approval.”
“This is a huge deal for the university since there would be no need to duplicate work and no time would be wasted recreating previously collected material,” he said.
He went on to say that even non-science-based education faculties and others have begun to embrace technology for location-based data collecting and analysis.
According to Olanrewaju, the university has increased the number of students and researchers who now use location-based digital surveys compared to previous results.
He argued that the institution had taken a huge step forward by addressing students’ access to software licences in a novel way.
Olanrewaju also stated that technology support services were now available for those experiencing technical difficulties during working hours.
“For the first time, research in many locations is now coordinated at the same time, and data is collected and archived seamlessly.” Researchers now have the ability to capture location-specific audio data using this technology.”
“Another significant advancement is that AI student programmers are now using ESRI technologies with their Python knowledge to access unique geospatial data sets for machine learning,” Olanrewaju stated.
He claims that the university has set a goal of teaching 10,000 new researchers and students to use ESRI geospatial tools. Approximately 5,000 people are currently using the technology, up from 3,800 people last year.
He stated that the institution has been working on an initiative to collect data sets from Nigeria’s 774 local government units.
“By the end of the day, over 15,000 records from respondents will be accessed, making this the first large-scale data collection in UI utilising ESRI capabilities,” he stated.
Olanrewaju also stated that policies for the use of location-based technology research in Nigeria are required; for example, researchers must collect and operate with exact location-based data.
“Once students sign up for research projects, the University of Ibadan may now give technology tools and platforms for use, just as other universities across the world can.”
“Also, within the same ecosystem, the institution may do many things to harmonise research and give access for usage by the government, industries, and stakeholders for the country’s development.”
“Universities do not need to maintain multiple pieces of software in order to run their e-learning.” “ESRI technology can facilitate multidimensional e-learning for tertiary institutions,” he says.
Some of the students who spoke about the technology’s use, including Abiodun Awokoya from the Faculty of Arts, Thomas Adesina, and Oluwadamilare Akindipe, stated that it had greatly aided their research work because ArcGIS has a large number of tools, an easy user interface, extensive documentation, and an active community for support.