By Blessing Essien
The Professor Umar Danbatta-led Management of Nigerian Communication’s Commission (NCC) has set up a National Steering Committee to develop a research roadmap aimed at, among other things, offering more research fellowships to best researchers in the nation’s institutions of higher learning.
Membership of the national steering committee was drawn from the National Universities Commission (NUC), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), the Academia and the industry.
The NCC Executive Vice Chairman who disclosed this recently while speaking at the third edition of the Stakeholders forum with academics in Abuja stressed that the Commission believes that increased support to researchers will have long and positive impact on our economy.
Danbatta who was represented at the third stakeholders forum by the Director of new media and information security of the commission, Engr. Haru Alhassan, said, the Commission is committed to promoting research and development which is the in-thing and thriving developmental initiative by all developed and developing nations across the world today.
The Executive Vice Chairman said the roadmap would ensure improved academic researches, address local industry needs and boost the efforts of tertiary institutions to produce industry-ready graduates.
“We intend to offer research fellowship positions for in-depth research and exploration of problems the industry is facing whilst improving the researcher’s experience in the industry.
“I am confident that our cerebral and germane deliberations amongst like-minded people will impact positively on the development of the telecommunications industry, and its role in the growth of the nations economy,” he said.