Sweden partners Nigerian varsity on digital education

By Correspondent in Abuja

The Ambassador of Sweden to Nigeria, Grans Carl-Michael, has reiterated the determination of his country to cooperate with Nigeria in the development of the education sector, especially digital education.

Carl-Michael said this on Thursday in Abuja at the signing of a partnership agreement between Global Wissen Consul, a Swedish/Nigerian Social Development Enterprise and Baze University, Abuja.

The envoy, who expressed delight at the new cooperation between Nigeria and his country on digital education, added that it was part of the efforts to provide digital literacy for the youth of Nigeria.

He described the ceremony as a step forward in education development in the country.

“I am really fascinated to see a new cooperation between Nigeria and Sweden, two countries basically joining hands in the digital field, that is the real future when it comes to digitalization of our countries,’’ he said.

Mr Nwokesi Oscar, CEO, Global Wission Consult, said the partnership was aimed at promoting digital education in Nigeria which provide an international opportunity for Nigerian students.

“We established to promote literacy in Nigeria through the modern way of learning; this is a big day forward today as we take a step in digitizing education in Nigeria

“We have in the frontline, the Baze University, we are happy that we are here today that we are partnering with the Baze University,” he said.

The Managing Director and Co-Founder of the firm, Ms Nathalie Sundelin, said that the aim of the programme was to provide digital literacy for the youth of Nigeria.

She said that although the platform was international, courses and programmes to be offered would focus on the Nigerian market and would help to bridge the digital divide in the country.

“And, as we mentioned we are living in a digital world which is a global world, which means you can find opportunity anywhere, no matter where you are in the world,” she said.

According to her, the opportunities are not limited within Nigeria, and that is what the firm is providing and showcasing to the students in the universities and that their opportunities are not limited to Nigeria.

“We want to provide these opportunities and bring them to the tables for these students. And that all the knowledge that we will provide and courses that we do are also focusing on the Nigerian market.

“So, as you can see that there are lots of courses out there within the digital space but there are not many that are actually made to function in the Nigerian market, so it is international with the focus on Nigeria.

“The partnership with the Base University is a lifelong partnership and this is something that will always be needed and not something to be dissipated as you know in the digital space is here to stay and I believe all youths here today,” she said.

She explained that the organisation works as a social enterprise, stressing, “what we have done is to build the platform and everything else we do basically doesn’t require a lot of funds.

“We will continue to develop the content and create partnerships around the world that will bring this opportunity to these students.

“As we know that there are many partnerships with many organisations that have opportunities for people, so we become a place that you can find this opportunity and we will provide it to them,’’ she added.

The Vice-Chancellor, Baze University, Prof. Tahir Mamman (SAN), said that the university was one of the strongest universities when it comes to modern learning.

“That is why we are very happy to key into the programme and part of the scheme,” he said.

He said that IT and digitalization was actually one of the areas of strength of Baze University which made it to become one of the strongest during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When the challenges of COVID-19 came on board for institutions in Nigeria, Baze University has no problem at all, it is a programme that key into existing platforms and practice that we have.

“We are happy to be part of the system because we have a robust IT system and we have students, who are very strong in a digital capacity.

“This will further strengthen them and give them a wider scope of operation because this an international platform,” he said