By Nnamdi Ojiego

As part of its contribution to the development of ICT knowledge in tertiary institutions and youth empowerment, Vodacom Business Nigeria, a pan-African corporate total communication solutions, has organized a three day ICT workshop for the students of Benue State University.

The workshop which is aimed at exposing the students to practical applications of the theoretical knowledge of ICT had in attendance, lecturers and students from the Department of Mathematics/ Computer Science of the University who were taken through real life scenario of ICT.Taking the students through the practical application of ICT at Vodacom’s corporate office in Lagos, the Executive Head of Networks, Vodacom Nigeria, Mr. Vernon Van Rooyen explained the various network equipment, coverage, operations and maintenance.

Executive Head of Networks, Vodacom Business Nigeria, Mr. Vernon Van Rooyen (center) addressing the students while on the right is Managing Director, Vodacom Business Nigeria, Mr. Guy Clarke.

He also took them on a tour to the various departments of the company, intimating them of the products and services being offered by the company. This according to him, would enable the students to have a view of the Vodacom Data Center and learn about the company’s Managed Hosting Services, MHS, with interest in SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) and IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service) which is one of the many services provided by Vodacom Business.

Earlier in his speech, the Managing Director of Vodacom Nigeria, Mr. Guy Clarke emphasized the company’s belief in youth empowerment and its commitment to contributing to the development and well being of the people as a way of giving back to the society.

“Running a business is not only about profit making but impacting positively on the society and we will stop at nothing towards contributing our quota to the development of this country through improvement of the educational sector”, Clarke said while urging the visiting students to make good use of knowledge gained during the excursion to contribute positively to the increasing growth of ICT in Nigeria.

Speaking on behalf of the delegation, Mr. Adeyelu Adekunle, Assistant Lecturer in the Department commended Vodacom for its youth empowerment  initiative adding that investing in students was a worthy cause as they are the future leaders.

Also speaking, Mr. Fanen Laha, a final year student of the institution expressed gratitude to Vodacom for empowering them with ICT knowledge and assured that the knowledge gained at the workshop would go a long way in shaping and preparing them for the challenges in future.