Technology is the single biggest innovation that shaped the world—Prof Olatunji-Bello

Vice Chancellor, Lagos State University (LASU) Professor Ibiyemi Ibilola Olatunji-Bello, has stated that Technology is the single biggest innovation that shaped and continues to change the world.

She went further to state that technology is creating adaptive never-before-known tools and applications that meet the needs of businesses and institutions, improve efficiency, enhance accessibility to solutions and services and guarantee better quality of life.

Prof. Olatunji-Bello made the assertion in her Welcome Address at the 27th Convocation Lecture which was held on Tuesday, 4^th May, 2024, at the Main Campus in Ojo. The theme of the Lecture was "Embracing the Future: Navigating the Intersection of Technology and Humanity."

She revealed that in the domain of education, technology has facilitated online learning, making education accessible to a wider audience. She said that besides, e-learning platforms, digital textbooks, and virtual classrooms have enabled continuous education, even during disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Olatunji-Bello said, “Technology continues to enhance our lives and the ways we communicate, educate our learners, move around and do business, but the debates on how it impacts humanity both now and, in the future, have not been sufficiently addressed. For instance, it has been argued that technology is separating us from our common humanity, making us more isolated, eroding our privacy, hampering our abilities for genuine empathy as a result of dependence on virtual communication, and fostering a culture of instant gratification that can undermine patience and deeper connections. Not all people agree with these positions. But these observations are telling for our future as a people and need to be addressed.

“It is, therefore, imperative that we find a balance between technology and humanity by harnessing the power of technology to improve our lives and humanity in general. Here at Lagos State University, we are committed to leveraging technology to enhance our service delivery to make life better for our staff and students,” she stated.

She gave instance of how LASU has leveraged the power of Technology to overcome her admission challenges. “As a way of easing the challenges that come with manual admission clearance, the university digitalized the manual clearance system by creating the LASU Central Admissions Clearance App (LACACA), an online clearance operation for all categories of admitted candidates into the University where candidates’ suitability for the programmes to which they have been offered admissions would be duly verified. This App works such that the same records provided during the clearance will be the same ones that will be used for the student’s final clearance upon graduation.

“This is also integrated into all students’ services throughout their lifecycle of stay on campus and can be relied on for services such as school fees payment, course registration, results operations, certificate and transcript processing, all carried out online.  With this feat, LASU is one of the first, if not the first, to digitalize all its students-related processes from the point of admission to graduation,” the VC disclosed.

She added that the university has also infused technology into its pedagogy by adopting hybrid teaching for its general courses. This allows students to receive lectures anywhere around the campus without the physical inconvenience of being in crowded classrooms for courses with a large number of students. These, including the use of technology to conduct virtual examinations, have earned the university accolades from far and wide, including its recognition as the most digitally advanced state university in Nigeria at the Nigeria Information Technology Awards (NITA). These innovations have not cost any staff their jobs nor has any student been shortchanged in any way, rather it has improved their learning and service delivery experience.

Speaking on the convocation lecture, she stated that the lecture would be delivered by His Excellency, Dr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, a distinguished personality who is eminently qualified as seasoned public servant to address this topic, adding that the lecture not only reveals the lecturer’s perspectives on the national issues but proffered solutions to the identified problems, and also inspires graduates as they embark on the journey outside of academia. She said beyond that, convocation lectures address contemporary issues, thereby setting an agenda for more provocative conversations and debates tailored towards addressing the national malaise.

Present at the event include, the Visitor to the University and Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu ably represented by the Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadiri Obafemi Hamzat; Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Hon. Tolani Sule; the Chancellor, Professor Gbolahan Elias, SAN; the Pro Chancellor, and Chairman Governing Council, Sir. David O.A. Sunmoni; the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academics – Professor Olufunsho Abayomi Omobitan; the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Administration – Professor Adenike Omotunde  Boyo; the University Registrar and Secretary to Governing Council – Mr Emmanuel A. fanu; the University Bursar – Mr Said Olayinka; the University Librarian – Dr Omawunmi Makinde; Chairman of Convocation Lecture, Emeritus Professor Peter Okebukola, among other dignitaries.