By Olusegun Obisanya
Participants at a three-day workshop and conference have been empowered with digital skills to become competence needed in the areas of research and national development.
The organiser, Prof. Tunde Ope-Davies, make this known at the hybrid conference with participants drawn from around the globe.
Themed, “Exploring opportunities and possibilities in digital humanities and digital cultures,” the three-day digital humanities workshop and conference was organised by the Centre for Digital Humanities, University of Lagos (CEDHUL) and held at Faculty of Arts, University of Lagos (Unilag).
It was declared open by the Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos, Prof Folashade Ogunsola, ably represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Management Services), Prof. Lucian Chukwu.
In his address, the Director, CEDHUL and convener, Prof. ‘Tunde Ope-Davies hinted that the conference was organized to bridge the skill and knowledge gap with respect to digital competence among scholars in humanities.
“Basically, this programme is organised to empower students in the Humanities with skills to do their research, to become competent in the use of digital tools for research and ultimately for national development which will make a difference between the graduates in humanities and those in sciences.
“Embracing technology will give the students the skill to promote social benefit and social transformation.
“This is the first centre in Nigeria and Africa as a whole which not only put Unilag in the forefront, but also enhance the global ranking of the university and its contribution to the society,” he said.
He assured that availability of fund would make the programme hold annually.
In her comment, Ogunsola said that Unilag is particularly interested in the conference because the institution has, intentionally in the last couple of decades, been moving towards becoming a research-intensive university.
Commending Ope-Davies for his consistency in pushing the frontiers of the development of this branch of knowledge, VC remarked that Digital Humanities has always been aspiring to form the nexus between humanities, technology and the advancement of knowledge.
Special guest of honour, Managing Director, Intermac Consulting, Nigeria, Adeyinka Adeyemi, along with other speakers from other nations including the United States of America noted that the world is in the digital era and every sector is not only expected to acquire just the digital skills but also the digital tools to excel and be relevant which CEDHUL is keying into.
