PROPOSAL FOR STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN UB TECHNOLOGIES LTD AND UNIVERSITY OF BENIN STUDENTS FOR CAMPUS DIGITISATION

Introduction

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is a fairly recent global phenomenon that has drastically changed the way most things are done in the last decade and a half. Every facet of human and socioeconomic life has not only been touched but has in fact been revolutionized in several cases. These include engineering, banking, communication, journalism, printing, politics, creative arts, education, research, health, agriculture, modern warfare, etc.

Furthermore, the education portal for online services which the university put in place at the beginning of the 2003/2004 session has taken UNIBEN to an unprecedented level in ICT among Nigerian universities which students are very proud of. However, it costs money to access the online system. From next session it is going to cost students even more money as lecturers begin to give assignments mainly online as well as make lecture notes/handouts available only online. It is in the light of this that UB Technologies Ltd has packaged a proposal designed to provide unprecedented ICT access and exposure to all University of Benin students at a very affordable price. The objective is that every UNIBEN student will have low-cost access to full Internet services (including e-mail communication), become computer-literate, type their assignments/reports/projects themselves, be more entrepreneurally - minded and be more marketable in the job market on graduation. Thus the average fresh, ICT-equipped UNIBEN graduate is expected to have a competitive edge in the job market in Nigeria and overseas over their counterparts from other Nigerian universities.

UB Technologies Ltd is totally independent and operates outside the administrative structure of the University of Benin. This firm was set up as an enterprise to provide affordable Internet and related services to the university community (students and staff) with the principal aim of bridging the wide digital divide between the university community and the outside world - especially overseas but also employers in Nigeria.

What is our Proposal?

We intend to deploy enormous resources on campus to ensure that the teeming student population of the University of Benin enjoy a hassle-free access to full Internet services in a comfortable and conducive environment within the Faculties and halls of residence. These services will be provided on a subscription basis at an unusually low rate to enable all students to subscribe. The major cost component of Internet access (70-80%) is satellite bandwidth. The larger the volume of bandwidth deployed, the lower the unit cost of Internet access. Therefore, a major plank of this proposal is to have all students to subscribe at the beginning of each session.

UB Tech Obligations under this partnership

Establish at least one fully air-conditioned e-Learning Centre in or very near each Faculty and hall of residence on both Ugbowo and Ekewan campuses by the beginning of the 2004/2005 session.
Each of the e-Learning Centre will have 30-80 computers depending on the space available. Approximately 600 computers are expected to be deployed on both campuses under this arrangement.
The e-Learning Centres will run 24 hours daily and adequate power backup will be put in place to ensure this. In addition, good technical support and adequate redundancy arrangements will also be made for smooth operations.
Each student-subscriber will have a password which will entitle him/her to daily access to internet for 1 hour (6.00a.m.-12.00 midnight) or 2-3 hours (12.00 midnight – 6.00a.m.).
In the spirit of partnership, 2% of the gross intake from student subscriptions will be given as grants to the Students Union, Faculty students associations and halls of residence associations to support approved projects, programmes or endeavours.
1% of students’ subscriptions will also be set aside for the award of bursary awards (N10,000) to a limited number of very indigent but academically promising students in each Faculty. Selection of the beneficiaries will be jointly undertaken by Faculty Associations, the Students Union, and Students Affairs Division using mutually agreed criteria.
We will offer part-time employment in the e-Learning Centres to suitable students, especially those who are indigent. Students will make up about 20% of UB Tech workforce.
UB Tech will provide a laptop each to be won by a student in a raffle draw in each Faculty every session.

Students Obligations under the Partnership

Establish at least one fully air-conditioned e-Learning Centre in or very near each Faculty and hall of residence on both Ugbowo and Ekewan campuses by the beginning of the 2004/2005 session.
The Students Union, on behalf of all students, will enter into a 3-year partnership agreement with UB Tech on the provision of Internet services on campus.
As part of the above agreement, each returning student and fresh student will pay a subscription fee of N4,000 and 4,500, respectively per session (including vacation periods) for Internet access as indicated above. Subscription will be a pre-registration requirement as obtains with university charges.
All students will abide by the subscription conditions and the rules & regulations governing the operations of the e-Learning Centre.
As a mutually beneficial strategic partnership, students will endeavour to protect UB Tech facilities as well as promote the interests of the partnership at all times.

This proposed partnership, in which both the students and UB Tech are the major stakeholders, is strategic because of its potential far-reaching impact on the quality of graduates that will be produced by the University of Benin.

Benefits of this Strategic Partnership

It is necessary to highlight some of the immense benefits to students of the proposed strategic partnership:

Very low internet access cost. Many students currently patronizing ‘pay as you use’ cybercafes spend between N1,000 and N4,000 per month on internet access as against the N 4,000 per session being proposed.
Opportunity for students to become computer-literate if they use the e-Learning Centre regularly. e-Learning Centre staff will assist students to use the Internet. Students would not have to spend between N3,000 and N10,000 to take computer appreciation courses.
The Internet is a global reservoir of information and knowledge in a worldwide network. Students will be able to download all that they require to understand, beef up and even update lecture notes. Doing assignments will be greatly facilitated. The Internet is a goldmine for final year students carrying out dissertation projects, and others writing term papers.
There are unlimited opportunities in Internet for those seeking admissions into foreign institutions and obtain grants, scholarships, bursaries, IT (industrial training) placements and vacation jobs, etc.
For the entrepreneurially-minded student, the Internet has given birth to e-commerce which will enable you to market your products, services and skills at great profit and thus make tens of thousands and, possibly, millions of US dollars annually. Indian students and scientists made over US $15 billion income last year via this approach.
You can download assorted application software to meet various needs, e.g., small business plans and accounting, research, data analysis, report-writing, etc.
Internet helps to kill boredom. When you are bored or idle, you may go to a cybercafe and keep yourself usefully occupied with any digital game of your choice – chess, football, lawn tennis, table tennis, billiards, cricket, etc. You may also choose to keep abreast of current events by reading the day’s newspapers, including Nigerian dailies, from all parts of the world through the Internet.
You will also enjoy instant Internet Chat/Messaging which is a live conversation via Internet with another person in any part of the world who has access to Internet. You type your message, the person at the other end receives it in a matter of 2 or 3 seconds and replies instantly. It just goes on until one or both of you decide to call it quits.
Regular Internet usage will channel your time, energy and imagination from unwholesome and anti-social activities which can get you into trouble, to satisfying and productive experiences and endeavours.
It is almost certain that ultimately every UNIBEN graduate who has participated fully in what is being planned, will be ICT-enabled, and will thus be far better equipped to compete in the tight job market, enjoy rapid career progression through better on-the-job performance, and be better prepared to engage in self-employment and other entrepreneurial endeavours.
Cheap Internet phone calls (both international and local) will also be available in the cybercafes but the subscription will not cover this facility.

We look forward to your consideration of this proposal as well as wide consultations and discussions on it at various levels of the student community to facilitate the concretization of a final plan.

Board of Directors, UB Technologies Ltd.

October 27, 2004




		PROPOSAL FOR STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN UB TECHNOLOGIES LTD AND UNIVERSITY OF BENIN STUDENTS FOR CAMPUS DIGITISATION Introduction Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is a fairly recent global phenomenon that has drastically changed the way most things are done in the last decade and a half. Every facet of human and socioeconomic life has not only been touched but has in fact been revolutionized in several cases. These include engineering, banking, communication, journalism, printing, politics, creative arts, education, research, health, agriculture, modern warfare, etc. Furthermore, the education portal for online services which the university put in place at the beginning of the 2003/2004 session has taken UNIBEN to an unprecedented level in ICT among Nigerian universities which students are very proud of. However, it costs money to access the online system. From next session it is going to cost students even more money as lecturers begin to give assignments mainly online as well as make lecture notes/handouts available only online. It is in the light of this that UB Technologies Ltd has packaged a proposal designed to provide unprecedented ICT access and exposure to all University of Benin students at a very affordable price. The objective is that every UNIBEN student will have low-cost access to full Internet services (including e-mail communication), become computer-literate, type their assignments/reports/projects themselves, be more entrepreneurally - minded and be more marketable in the job market on graduation. Thus the average fresh, ICT-equipped UNIBEN graduate is expected to have a competitive edge in the job market in Nigeria and overseas over their counterparts from other Nigerian universities. UB Technologies Ltd is totally independent and operates outside the administrative structure of the University of Benin. This firm was set up as an enterprise to provide affordable Internet and related services to the university community (students and staff) with the principal aim of bridging the wide digital divide between the university community and the outside world - especially overseas but also employers in Nigeria. What is our Proposal? We intend to deploy enormous resources on campus to ensure that the teeming student population of the University of Benin enjoy a hassle-free access to full Internet services in a comfortable and conducive environment within the Faculties and halls of residence. These services will be provided on a subscription basis at an unusually low rate to enable all students to subscribe. The major cost component of Internet access (70-80%) is satellite bandwidth. The larger the volume of bandwidth deployed, the lower the unit cost of Internet access. Therefore, a major plank of this proposal is to have *all* students to subscribe at the beginning of each session. UB Tech Obligations under this partnership Establish at least one fully air-conditioned e-Learning Centre in or very near each Faculty and hall of residence on both Ugbowo and Ekewan campuses by the beginning of the 2004/2005 session. Each of the e-Learning Centre will have 30-80 computers depending on the space available. Approximately 600 computers are expected to be deployed on both campuses under this arrangement. The e-Learning Centres will run 24 hours daily and adequate power backup will be put in place to ensure this. In addition, good technical support and adequate redundancy arrangements will also be made for smooth operations. Each student-subscriber will have a password which will entitle him/her to daily access to internet for 1 hour (6.00a.m.-12.00 midnight) or 2-3 hours (12.00 midnight – 6.00a.m.). In the spirit of partnership, 2% of the gross intake from student subscriptions will be given as grants to the Students Union, Faculty students associations and halls of residence associations to support approved projects, programmes or endeavours. 1% of students’ subscriptions will also be set aside for the award of bursary awards (N10,000) to a limited number of very indigent but academically promising students in each Faculty. Selection of the beneficiaries will be jointly undertaken by Faculty Associations, the Students Union, and Students Affairs Division using mutually agreed criteria. We will offer part-time employment in the e-Learning Centres to suitable students, especially those who are indigent. Students will make up about 20% of UB Tech workforce. UB Tech will provide a laptop each to be won by a student in a raffle draw in each Faculty every session. Students Obligations under the Partnership Establish at least one fully air-conditioned e-Learning Centre in or very near each Faculty and hall of residence on both Ugbowo and Ekewan campuses by the beginning of the 2004/2005 session. The Students Union, on behalf of all students, will enter into a 3-year partnership agreement with UB Tech on the provision of Internet services on campus. As part of the above agreement, each returning student and fresh student will pay a subscription fee of N4,000 and 4,500, respectively per session (including vacation periods) for Internet access as indicated above. Subscription will be a pre-registration requirement as obtains with university charges. All students will abide by the subscription conditions and the rules & regulations governing the operations of the e-Learning Centre. As a mutually beneficial strategic partnership, students will endeavour to protect UB Tech facilities as well as promote the interests of the partnership at all times. This proposed partnership, in which both the students and UB Tech are the major stakeholders, is strategic because of its potential far-reaching impact on the quality of graduates that will be produced by the University of Benin. Benefits of this Strategic Partnership It is necessary to highlight some of the immense benefits to students of the proposed strategic partnership: Very low internet access cost. Many students currently patronizing ‘pay as you use’ cybercafes spend between N1,000 and N4,000 per month on internet access as against the N 4,000 per session being proposed. Opportunity for students to become computer-literate if they use the e-Learning Centre regularly. e-Learning Centre staff will assist students to use the Internet. Students would not have to spend between N3,000 and N10,000 to take computer appreciation courses. The Internet is a global reservoir of information and knowledge in a worldwide network. Students will be able to download all that they require to understand, beef up and even update lecture notes. Doing assignments will be greatly facilitated. The Internet is a goldmine for final year students carrying out dissertation projects, and others writing term papers. There are unlimited opportunities in Internet for those seeking admissions into foreign institutions and obtain grants, scholarships, bursaries, IT (industrial training) placements and vacation jobs, etc. For the entrepreneurially-minded student, the Internet has given birth to *e-commerce* which will enable you to market your products, services and skills at great profit and thus make tens of thousands and, possibly, millions of US dollars annually. Indian students and scientists made over US $15 billion income last year via this approach. You can download assorted application software to meet various needs, e.g., small business plans and accounting, research, data analysis, report-writing, etc. Internet helps to kill boredom. When you are bored or idle, you may go to a cybercafe and keep yourself usefully occupied with any digital game of your choice – chess, football, lawn tennis, table tennis, billiards, cricket, etc. You may also choose to keep abreast of current events by reading the day’s newspapers, including Nigerian dailies, from all parts of the world through the Internet. You will also enjoy instant Internet Chat/Messaging which is a live conversation via Internet with another person in any part of the world who has access to Internet. You type your message, the person at the other end receives it in a matter of 2 or 3 seconds and replies instantly. It just goes on until one or both of you decide to call it quits. Regular Internet usage will channel your time, energy and imagination from unwholesome and anti-social activities which can get you into trouble, to satisfying and productive experiences and endeavours. It is almost certain that ultimately every UNIBEN graduate who has participated fully in what is being planned, will be ICT-enabled, and will thus be far better equipped to compete in the tight job market, enjoy rapid career progression through better on-the-job performance, and be better prepared to engage in self-employment and other entrepreneurial endeavours. Cheap Internet phone calls (both international and local) will also be available in the cybercafes but the subscription will not cover this facility. We look forward to your consideration of this proposal as well as wide consultations and discussions on it at various levels of the student community to facilitate the concretization of a final plan. Board of Directors, UB Technologies Ltd. October 27, 2004

		Copyright© 2002-2005. UB Technologies Ltd, Benin City. All rights reserved

Introduction

What is our Proposal?

UB Tech Obligations under this partnership

Students Obligations under the Partnership

All students will abide by the subscription conditions and the rules & regulations governing the operations of the e-Learning Centre.

As a mutually beneficial strategic partnership, students will endeavour to protect UB Tech facilities as well as promote the interests of the partnership at all times.

Benefits of this Strategic Partnership