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ABSTRACT
GIS higher education in Nigeria started in 1996 with the pioneering efforts at the Department of Geography, University of Ibadan. With a pioneering students’ enrolment of thirty graduate students, the programme has grown in leaps and bounds in tune with current trends and demands for GIS education in Nigeria. The programme now boasts of students’ enrolment of about of seventy participants per stream. As with most areas of modern technology, Nigeria is still lagging behind in the development and utilisation of information technology. Poor infrastructural facilities coupled with a poor maintenance culture and low level funding have greatly contributed to this. Poor funding is reflected in the levels of hardware and software available for training purposes.
This paper traces the antecedents of the programme from The Iowa/Nigeria University Development Linkages Project (UDLP) to the present levels of equipments, curriculum development, and students’ enrolment. The present state of funding of the programme is also examined. The goal of the paper is to offer suggestions on the way forward in the areas of curriculum development, funding, skills development and acquisition by lecturers, as well as equipments’ upgrades.
Areas of possible linkages with governmental, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the organized private sector are examined. Also, the role of GIS education in Nigeria’s information technology infrastructure development is suggested.
1 INTRODUCTION
The University of Ibadan in 1996 was the forerunner in pioneering of GIS education in Nigeria by the establishment of the first GIS Laboratory and the introduction of a graduate programme at the Professional Master’s level in the country. The antecedents are traceable to the University Development Linkages Programme (UDLP), a programme embarked upon by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in 1992.
A programme by which universities in the United States can develop and implement a variety of long term sustainable relationships with institutions in developing countries. The purpose of the UDLP according to USAID is to promote and support the collaboration of US colleges and universities with developing country institutions of higher learning to (1) further the internationalization objectives of US universities, and (2) strengthen developing country institutions to more effectively meet the development needs of their societies. The USAID made fifteen UDLP awards in 1992 one of which was the Iowa/Nigeria five-year university development linkages project which links four institutions in Iowa State, USA with four institutions in Western Nigeria.
The consortium of Iowa institutions of higher learning consists of The University of Iowa, at Iowa City, Iowa State University at Ames, The University of Northern Iowa at Cedar Falls, and the Des Moines Area Community College at Ankeny and Des Moines. These institutions were meant to use the UDLP to build upon and extend linkages with four Nigerian institutions, The University of Ibadan at Ibadan, Obafemi Awolowo University at Ile-Ife, The Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER) at Ibadan, and The Polytechnic at Ibadan. The Iowa/Nigeria UDLP developed a sustainable programme of faculty, staff and student exchange which complemented a number of activities including collaborative research and academic programmes.
The purpose of the Iowa/Nigeria UDLP was to strengthen institutional capacities for research and training in several key areas of development planning, management and analysis. The goals of this programme may be summarized as follows:
The planning and implementation of activities had been based on and greatly facilitated by a series of Development Advisory Team (DAT) training workshops and seminars held in both Iowa and Nigeria. The purpose of these DAT workshops was to train multidisciplinary development support teams consisting of US and Nigerian professionals with a full range of project planning, management, implementation, monitoring, and team performance skills. More specifically, each research team used the workshops for project identification, design and implementation, as well as the needed institutional capacity building in the participating Nigerian institutions (Abumere, et.al, 1997). It was in the course of these workshops that two of the teams, Environmental Monitoring and Management (EMM), and Spatial Decision Support Systems (SDSS) decided to merge and build their activities around a common technology, Geographical Information Systems (GIS). The EMM group was concerned with monitoring and evaluating environmental aspects of development projects, including the development of efficient strategies for collecting and managing environmental data which would lead to the establishment of an environmental information system based on GIS and Remote Sensing technologies. The SDSS team focused on the development and implementation of a research and training programme based on GIS/spatial decision support systems to facilitate locational analysis of essential services and the establishment of a GIS laboratory at the Department of Geography, University of Ibadan
The University of Ibadan demonstrated commitment to the project on the one hand and to the building of the laboratory on the other by voting nearly N100,000.00 ($US4,545.00) for the provision of air-conditioning equipment, and burglar proofing to the doors and windows of the room provided by the Department of Geography for this purpose. The USAID Office in Nigeria also provided a grant of N110,000.00 (or $US5,000.00) to decorate and furnish the laboratory.
The establishment of the GIS Laboratory at Ibadan spanned about two academic sessions. This entailed in the first instance, development advisory team workshops to raise awareness and to provide avenues for Nigerian participants to identify research priorities in the areas of spatial decision support systems and environmental monitoring and management and establish a need for GIS technology as a decision-making tool in a problem-solving environment. Secondly, the UDLP sponsored training and refresher courses for Nigerian faculty both locally and in Iowa on the latest computer hardware and GIS software available then with a view to drawing up realistic configurations of hardware, software and peripherals for the proposed GIS Laboratory. The Nigerian faculty had the opportunity of hands-on practice with various types of software mainly in laboratories at Iowa State University in Ames and also at the University of Iowa. The actual purchase and installation of equipment in 1994/1995 were finalized and implemented through the collaborative work of Professor Duane Shinn of the Department of Community and Regional Planning, Iowa State University, the UDLP Project leader, Professor Michael McNulty of the University of Iowa, and Professors Bola Ayeni and Olusegun Areola both of the Department of Geography, University of Ibadan. The stage was thus set for the take-off of the programme as well as the admission of the first batch of graduate students. The equipment and the software came in stages, the last set were installed in July 1996.
2 Installed Hardware and Software.
At inception, the laboratory had hardware comprising the following:
The software complement was an integration of both vector-based and raster-based software, and they are listed in Table 1.
Table 1 Installed software (1996)
Apart from these core equipment and hardware, there were three other computers installed by other research groups within the UDLP, notably the Development Support Communications (DSC) and the Small-Scale Enterprises (SME) groups. The computers were loaded mainly with software packages for word processing, desktop publishing, database management, statistical analysis and graphics. Also, an e-mail facility was installed which served basically as a mail receiving and distributing node for the department, nay the entire Faculty of the Social Sciences.
Over the years, some of the software installation packages were corrupted due to constant use and some became obsolete. Software that became obsolete included ArcCAD/Autocad, TransCAD and Alexander. All other installed software and hardware have been upgraded over the years.
Currently, the Unit boasts of about fifteen (15) new computers all Pentium III, 256 Mb RAM, 30GB HDD, CD-ROM, USB, full multimedia, networked and fully internet ready. Three of the computers have been fully activated for internet browsing for students’ use. They were purchased about two years ago, and the department is putting in place a scheme whereby computers would be upgraded or renewed every three years.
Other currently available peripheral equipments include:
3 Laboratory Utilisation, Student Enrolment, and Curriculum Development
At the inception, laboratory facilities operationalisation was greatly enhanced by the UDLP. This was via the procurement of spare parts and consumables, system administration support and the exchange of faculty. Various hands-on workshops were organised in 1995 and 1996 mainly in Nigeria for the faculty on subjects like internet training, GIS software use, and other installed software. In addition to the faculty, the trainees in the 1996 workshop series have included the first set of students admitted into the one calendar year Professional M.Sc. Degree course in GIS at the Department of Geography, University of Ibadan.
Thirty graduate students were admitted in the 1995 / 1996 academic session and they represented a motley mix of senior and accomplished professionals in the environmental sector from various government agencies, the private sector and academics. This mix was considered relevant in an environment where awareness of environmental issues and modern technology was considered very low. Application for admission to the programme has witnessed a steady increase over the years to about 130 prospective applicants per session. Admission figures have also struggled to keep up with this rise.
The second stream of graduate students admitted were also thirty in number; but ever since, enrolment has risen to an average of sixty students per stream. Table 2 gives the figures.
Table 2 Student enrolment per academic year since 1995/1996 to 2002/2003.
* session cancelled by the University. ** current academic session. N/A: not available
The 100% jump in enrolment figures in the 97/98 session is perhaps attributable to the widespread awareness of the degree programme and the increasing exposure of most Nigerian professionals to GIS technology and methodology. The conclusion that could be drawn from this is that one fundamental objective of setting up the programme had been achieved. Since Abumere, et.al.(ibid) has stated that “the graduates of this programme are expected to promote the utilization of GIS technology in decision making in various fields of management and planning in Nigeria”. Preference is therefore given to prospective candidates who already possess higher degrees, and have acquired many years of working experience in ‘relevant’ organisations. Relevant organisations include government ministries, departments and agencies, non-governmental organisations, oil companies, academia, and the military.
Over time, admissions has been stabilised at an average of 60 students due to two factors. The first and more important is the lack of space within the laboratory. The laboratory occupies approximately 80m2 out of which about 25m2 is the System Administrator’s office/e-mail room. Zoning and planning regulations within the university campus has not made it possible for the laboratory to expand in area. The alternative is the construction of a new GIS Centre. Paucity of funds to efficiently run and manage the programme is a serious factor militating against this, and this highlights the second factor.
The course curriculum of the Masters programme from inception covers the functional elements of geographical information systems with courses dealing at some depth with data structures, computer programming, spatial statistics, spatial decision support systems, maps and map projections, digital image processing and GIS/remote sensing applications in different areas of the human and natural environments. In the last three sessions, the programme has witnessed the introduction of two new courses; one is Geomatics, while the other is the guest lecturer series. Geomatics is expected to introduce students to methods and systems of survey data capture and manipulation in an Automated Mapping / GIS environment. Surveying concepts and techniques taught include geodesy, control establishment, GPS observation and reduction, and strategies of integration of surveying, GPS and GIS. The guest lecturer series was initiated this session and its aim was to expose students to real world applications of GIS in various spheres of human endeavours. Lecturers include tested GIS and accomplished professionals in the surveying, oil exploration, remote sensing and academia of whom one is a graduate of the programme.
The programme places a strong emphasis on and also requires that a student develops a working knowledge and ultimately proficiency in at least three of the installed GIS vector-based and the only raster-based software and to carry out an individual project based on at least one of them.
4 Programme Assessment and Challenges
The GIS programme at the University of Ibadan till today remains the GIS programme of first choice for many prospective applicants in Nigeria. This is evident in application figures as well as in the diversity of students’ profile. The programme attracts students from all parts of the country and from all sectors; government, private organisations, academics, non-governmental organisations and the military establishment.
The scope and variety of the courses available remains the richest and most diverse being offered locally by any university or institution. In order to maintain this LEAD, the curriculum is continuously being adjusted to bring the programme in line with modern developments in the field of GIS.
Inadequate funding is perhaps the major challenge in the effective operationalisation of the programme presently. Funds are sourced entirely from fees paid by the students. Education in government owned universities in Nigeria is still largely subsidised therefore, little or no funds accrue to the programme. Funds that were initially provided at inception by USAID were terminated due to political problems between the Federal Military Government of Nigeria and the government of the United States of America in 1997. Also, endowments and donations are slow in coming despite strident efforts made by the unit at attracting such.
Various avenues are being explored presently, all geared towards raising some limited funds within the unit. One is the commercialisation of printing services by the students. This is expected to generate funds with which they maintain the colour printer i.e. buy paper, ink cartridges,; as well as buy other consumables like electrical fittings and computer mice. The second strategy is through the computer replacement scheme. Though this would be in the long term, the scheme proposes a plan whereby new computers are bought to replace the existing ones which are then handed down to faculty in batches for use in their offices. It is envisaged that a situation would come about where entire faculty has a computer each and there would be surplus stock which could then be sold to generate funds for the unit and the department. The unit also organises short term duration certificate courses in GIS and automated mapping, but due to dwindling participants’ enrolment, the courses were suspended. It was surprisingly discovered that applicants preferred enrolling for the graduate programme as the degree places them in an advantageous position to secure the best jobs available locally and internationally.
Perhaps the only viable revenue source available to the unit is the tuition fees paid by students. As earlier mentioned, education is subsidised, therefore, this option is closed. This poses a great challenge as donors and endowments are slow in coming. A favourable responses has been received from the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) who have promised to look into our request for software support and upgrade.
In the area of skills development and acquisition by lecturers, the Catherine T. and John D. MacArthur foundation awarded a junior faculty a grant for internet-based GIS mapping using ArcIMS tenable in the USA. ArcIMS stands for Arc Internet Map Server and it was developed by ESRI, who further granted the faculty a rebate on training fees. It is hoped that other junior faculty would benefit from the awards of training grants from some foundations and foreign institutions. More grants are welcome though. Locally, and sometimes internationally, faculty attend training courses but usually at personal expense.
Unstable electricity supply also presents its own plethora of problems and challenges for the unit. Epileptic power supply has resulted in damages to computer systems units and equipments. Software usage is also affected by erratic power supply. A case in point is the AtlasSelect; the application crashes when a disruption in power supply is experienced and the entire exercise has to commence afresh. This renders the software to be an un-popular choice of students. Huge amounts of scarce funds have been devoted to the repairs and at times replacements of these damaged equipments. Another challenge posed by this problem is that of maintaining steady and un-interrupted power supply to the laboratory. UPS’s and a petrol powered electricity generator were purchased. Unfortunately, the generator is overworked and urgently needs replacement.
5 The Way Forward and Conclusionsb
In order to ensure the sustainability of the programme, efforts are being stepped up by the unit at developing vigorous programmes of research and advisory services that would ultimately generate income for the running of the unit.
The unit has initiated a programme for the development of a GIS software. This is trying to model the achievements of Clark University, the developers of the Idrissi software. On completion of the exercise, it is expected that it would generate funds and bring worldwide recognition for the unit. Also, there are great prospects for offering consultancy services to government departments and agencies, non-governmental agencies, private organisations and other academic institutions. Already the unit is involved with some agencies locally as a stake holder and adviser, though with no pecuniary benefits accruing to it.
The unit has also been reaching out strongly to many organisations locally with proposals to digitize maps and perform digital image processing for them as a first step towards establishing a GIS for their own uses in various areas like urban and regional planning, environmental monitoring and impact assessment, inventory monitoring, etc. Efforts in this light are being vigorously pursued, but yielding no positive results yet.
To effectively render these services and also achieve results from set tasks, the unit requires space in which to flourish and funds with which to purchase and maintain the much desired equipments and software. This would ultimately translate to hardware and software upgrades and higher student enrolment figures. Higher enrolment numbers would cater for the rush for GIS higher education and the interest in Ibadan. The programme at Ibadan is indeed the model for GIS graduate education in Nigeria. Most GIS laboratories in Nigeria have at least a graduate of the programme at Ibadan actively involved in day to day decision making activities and management functions for their organisations. This factor is a strong point in our favour.
With increasing awareness by governments, environmental planners and managers and the general populace of the benefits of implementing full and functional GISes, the programme at Ibadan with dedicated financial and institutional support, would prove to be viable and sustainable. The programme has contributed in no small measure to the fulfilment of the Nigerian Information Technology (I.T.) dream by producing competent and thorough professionals who are contributing meaningfully and positively to the efficient management of the Nigerian environment. Within the University, the unit is represented in almost all the I.T. committees set up by the authorities.
In an environment where information technology awareness is high, but, in which familiarity is still very low, GIS education is fast bridging this gap. This is buttressed by the finding that enrolment in the GIS programme provides the first opportunity of computer appreciation for about 70 – 80% of the students. GIS as an introductory course is now being taught at the undergraduate levels and they are expected to understand simple GIS concepts and procedures. Also, a basic knowledge of information technology is being imparted to them. The objective being that students acquire an early appreciation of specialised IT techniques. Also, undergraduate students are now being introduced to automated mapping techniques and global positioning systems devices. This is with a view to keeping them abreast of modern techniques and methodologies of environmental data capture, manipulation and presentation.
The existence of a well-trained and highly-experienced research team in the Department of Geography, University of Ibadan has been crucial to the development of the UDLP in general and the GIS laboratory specifically. For many years before the UDLP, this department had developed linkages with a number of American universities, indeed the relationship with the University of Iowa dates back to the late 1960's. Also there has been a long history of faculty exchanges and collaborative research between the universities in Iowa and Ibadan which dates back to a Rockefeller Institutional Development Grant in the early 1970's. These links were maintained through the years and the exchange relationship was formalized in 1988 with a linkage programme funded in part by a United States Information Agency (USIA) University Affiliation Programme grant. The UDLP had merely built upon and expanded existing relationships. Such high levels of cordial working relationships and commitment to the achievement of set objectives are necessary for the implementation of any programme of capacity building in African universities by counterpart institutions in the developed countries.
Other linkage programmes have been proposed and are being pursued. It is hoped that positive results would be realised from these efforts.
The department in its own way has tried to finance the programme from students’ fees and other internally generated revenue sources. However, the demand for admission into the Professional M.Sc. programme and the limited capacity of the laboratory calls for an integrated approach for transforming the UI GIS programme to accommodate the increasing demand for training in this new technology.
GIS is increasingly being used by experts to analyse the environment, natural resources, and management problems in the developing nations including Nigeria. Therefore, there is an urgent demand locally for professionals trained in GIS who would help to integrate these concepts and technology into the spatial decision making processes in the country. There is the need also to train and continually re-train teachers who would assist in integrating GIS concepts and applications into programmes taught by disciplines concerned with spatial phenomena such as geography, land surveying, architecture, forestry and resources management.
Acknowledgements
I wish to acknowledge the pioneering efforts of Professors Abumere, S., Areola, O., and Ayeni, Bola in pioneering the GIS programme at the Department of Geography, University of Ibadan. Their earlier paper also presented the stimulus for this paper. Also, I wish to acknowledge their cooperation over the years since I joined the faculty after my completion of the programme. The help and cooperation of Professors Akintola, F., Gbadegesin, A. as well as Drs Fabiyi, O., Dada, F. and Mr. Adeleye, E. towards the smooth running of the programme are appreciated. My sincere appreciation goes to the Catherine T. and John D. MacArthur Foundation and the Vice-Chancellor pf The University of Ibadan for awarding me a training grant for learning ArcIMS. And also to the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), California, USA for subsidising my training fees in ArcIMS. I also acknowledge the support and efforts of all faculty and support staff at The University of Ibadan.
References
GIS Higher Education Development in Nigeria: The Example of The GIS Programme, The University Of Ibadan, Nigeria.
Rasheed Yusuf
GIS UNIT,Department of Geography,
Faculty of The Social Sciences
University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Phone/Fax: 234-2-810-2900
caponerkyusuf@hotmail.com
caponerkyusuf@hotmail.com
Rasheed Yusuf
GIS UNIT,Department of Geography,
Faculty of The Social Sciences
University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Phone/Fax: 234-2-810-2900
caponerkyusuf@hotmail.com
caponerkyusuf@hotmail.com
ABSTRACT
GIS higher education in Nigeria started in 1996 with the pioneering efforts at the Department of Geography, University of Ibadan. With a pioneering students’ enrolment of thirty graduate students, the programme has grown in leaps and bounds in tune with current trends and demands for GIS education in Nigeria. The programme now boasts of students’ enrolment of about of seventy participants per stream. As with most areas of modern technology, Nigeria is still lagging behind in the development and utilisation of information technology. Poor infrastructural facilities coupled with a poor maintenance culture and low level funding have greatly contributed to this. Poor funding is reflected in the levels of hardware and software available for training purposes.
This paper traces the antecedents of the programme from The Iowa/Nigeria University Development Linkages Project (UDLP) to the present levels of equipments, curriculum development, and students’ enrolment. The present state of funding of the programme is also examined. The goal of the paper is to offer suggestions on the way forward in the areas of curriculum development, funding, skills development and acquisition by lecturers, as well as equipments’ upgrades.
Areas of possible linkages with governmental, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the organized private sector are examined. Also, the role of GIS education in Nigeria’s information technology infrastructure development is suggested.
1 INTRODUCTION
The University of Ibadan in 1996 was the forerunner in pioneering of GIS education in Nigeria by the establishment of the first GIS Laboratory and the introduction of a graduate programme at the Professional Master’s level in the country. The antecedents are traceable to the University Development Linkages Programme (UDLP), a programme embarked upon by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in 1992.
A programme by which universities in the United States can develop and implement a variety of long term sustainable relationships with institutions in developing countries. The purpose of the UDLP according to USAID is to promote and support the collaboration of US colleges and universities with developing country institutions of higher learning to (1) further the internationalization objectives of US universities, and (2) strengthen developing country institutions to more effectively meet the development needs of their societies. The USAID made fifteen UDLP awards in 1992 one of which was the Iowa/Nigeria five-year university development linkages project which links four institutions in Iowa State, USA with four institutions in Western Nigeria.
The consortium of Iowa institutions of higher learning consists of The University of Iowa, at Iowa City, Iowa State University at Ames, The University of Northern Iowa at Cedar Falls, and the Des Moines Area Community College at Ankeny and Des Moines. These institutions were meant to use the UDLP to build upon and extend linkages with four Nigerian institutions, The University of Ibadan at Ibadan, Obafemi Awolowo University at Ile-Ife, The Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER) at Ibadan, and The Polytechnic at Ibadan. The Iowa/Nigeria UDLP developed a sustainable programme of faculty, staff and student exchange which complemented a number of activities including collaborative research and academic programmes.
The purpose of the Iowa/Nigeria UDLP was to strengthen institutional capacities for research and training in several key areas of development planning, management and analysis. The goals of this programme may be summarized as follows:
- to strengthen faculty and institutional capacities for research and training/education in seven priority areas of development policy analysis and development management and planning so as to respond better to national and community development needs;
- to develop the capacity of seven inter-institutional, multidisciplinary cross-cultural development support teams in areas of development support communications, small-scale enterprises, indigenous knowledge, environmental monitoring, participation/decentralization in development, women in development, and spatial decision support systems to conduct development project design, implementation and evaluation assignments in an effective and efficient manner; and
- to provide opportunities for Iowa faculty to participate in development-oriented activities in Nigeria leading to further internationalization and diversification of existing course curricula in Iowa institutions.
The planning and implementation of activities had been based on and greatly facilitated by a series of Development Advisory Team (DAT) training workshops and seminars held in both Iowa and Nigeria. The purpose of these DAT workshops was to train multidisciplinary development support teams consisting of US and Nigerian professionals with a full range of project planning, management, implementation, monitoring, and team performance skills. More specifically, each research team used the workshops for project identification, design and implementation, as well as the needed institutional capacity building in the participating Nigerian institutions (Abumere, et.al, 1997). It was in the course of these workshops that two of the teams, Environmental Monitoring and Management (EMM), and Spatial Decision Support Systems (SDSS) decided to merge and build their activities around a common technology, Geographical Information Systems (GIS). The EMM group was concerned with monitoring and evaluating environmental aspects of development projects, including the development of efficient strategies for collecting and managing environmental data which would lead to the establishment of an environmental information system based on GIS and Remote Sensing technologies. The SDSS team focused on the development and implementation of a research and training programme based on GIS/spatial decision support systems to facilitate locational analysis of essential services and the establishment of a GIS laboratory at the Department of Geography, University of Ibadan
The University of Ibadan demonstrated commitment to the project on the one hand and to the building of the laboratory on the other by voting nearly N100,000.00 ($US4,545.00) for the provision of air-conditioning equipment, and burglar proofing to the doors and windows of the room provided by the Department of Geography for this purpose. The USAID Office in Nigeria also provided a grant of N110,000.00 (or $US5,000.00) to decorate and furnish the laboratory.
The establishment of the GIS Laboratory at Ibadan spanned about two academic sessions. This entailed in the first instance, development advisory team workshops to raise awareness and to provide avenues for Nigerian participants to identify research priorities in the areas of spatial decision support systems and environmental monitoring and management and establish a need for GIS technology as a decision-making tool in a problem-solving environment. Secondly, the UDLP sponsored training and refresher courses for Nigerian faculty both locally and in Iowa on the latest computer hardware and GIS software available then with a view to drawing up realistic configurations of hardware, software and peripherals for the proposed GIS Laboratory. The Nigerian faculty had the opportunity of hands-on practice with various types of software mainly in laboratories at Iowa State University in Ames and also at the University of Iowa. The actual purchase and installation of equipment in 1994/1995 were finalized and implemented through the collaborative work of Professor Duane Shinn of the Department of Community and Regional Planning, Iowa State University, the UDLP Project leader, Professor Michael McNulty of the University of Iowa, and Professors Bola Ayeni and Olusegun Areola both of the Department of Geography, University of Ibadan. The stage was thus set for the take-off of the programme as well as the admission of the first batch of graduate students. The equipment and the software came in stages, the last set were installed in July 1996.
2 Installed Hardware and Software.
At inception, the laboratory had hardware comprising the following:
- four 486 66DX desktop computers; with two of them being APEX computers with 16MB RAM, 540MB hard disk, 31/2" diskette drive, backup tape driver and CD ROM; while the other two were Gateway 2000 Intel Pentium with 16MB RAM, CD-ROM and 1.6GB hard disk.
- three digitizing tablets two of which were small templates (12”x 18”) while the third, an A0 Calcomp Drawing Board III was on loan from UNICEF Ibadan.
- three Hewlett Packard (HP) inkjet printers, one of which was a colour printer.
- a hand-held Magellan Trailblazer global positioning system (GPS) receiver equipment, with a 30m positional accuracy.
The software complement was an integration of both vector-based and raster-based software, and they are listed in Table 1.
Over the years, some of the software installation packages were corrupted due to constant use and some became obsolete. Software that became obsolete included ArcCAD/Autocad, TransCAD and Alexander. All other installed software and hardware have been upgraded over the years.
Currently, the Unit boasts of about fifteen (15) new computers all Pentium III, 256 Mb RAM, 30GB HDD, CD-ROM, USB, full multimedia, networked and fully internet ready. Three of the computers have been fully activated for internet browsing for students’ use. They were purchased about two years ago, and the department is putting in place a scheme whereby computers would be upgraded or renewed every three years.
Other currently available peripheral equipments include:
- One Calcomp A0 digitizer (donated by the Federal Government of Nigeria), as well as three small templates (12”x18”) digitizers.
- One HP Colour printer.
- One external CD-ROM drive.
- data backup media e.g. CD – ROM recordable and re-writing media, and Iomega ZIP drives.
- large-format plotters e.g. HP 750 C series and above.
- A3 scanners.
- digital cameras.
- hand-held GPS receivers.
3 Laboratory Utilisation, Student Enrolment, and Curriculum Development
At the inception, laboratory facilities operationalisation was greatly enhanced by the UDLP. This was via the procurement of spare parts and consumables, system administration support and the exchange of faculty. Various hands-on workshops were organised in 1995 and 1996 mainly in Nigeria for the faculty on subjects like internet training, GIS software use, and other installed software. In addition to the faculty, the trainees in the 1996 workshop series have included the first set of students admitted into the one calendar year Professional M.Sc. Degree course in GIS at the Department of Geography, University of Ibadan.
Thirty graduate students were admitted in the 1995 / 1996 academic session and they represented a motley mix of senior and accomplished professionals in the environmental sector from various government agencies, the private sector and academics. This mix was considered relevant in an environment where awareness of environmental issues and modern technology was considered very low. Application for admission to the programme has witnessed a steady increase over the years to about 130 prospective applicants per session. Admission figures have also struggled to keep up with this rise.
The second stream of graduate students admitted were also thirty in number; but ever since, enrolment has risen to an average of sixty students per stream. Table 2 gives the figures.
* session cancelled by the University. ** current academic session. N/A: not available
The 100% jump in enrolment figures in the 97/98 session is perhaps attributable to the widespread awareness of the degree programme and the increasing exposure of most Nigerian professionals to GIS technology and methodology. The conclusion that could be drawn from this is that one fundamental objective of setting up the programme had been achieved. Since Abumere, et.al.(ibid) has stated that “the graduates of this programme are expected to promote the utilization of GIS technology in decision making in various fields of management and planning in Nigeria”. Preference is therefore given to prospective candidates who already possess higher degrees, and have acquired many years of working experience in ‘relevant’ organisations. Relevant organisations include government ministries, departments and agencies, non-governmental organisations, oil companies, academia, and the military.
Over time, admissions has been stabilised at an average of 60 students due to two factors. The first and more important is the lack of space within the laboratory. The laboratory occupies approximately 80m2 out of which about 25m2 is the System Administrator’s office/e-mail room. Zoning and planning regulations within the university campus has not made it possible for the laboratory to expand in area. The alternative is the construction of a new GIS Centre. Paucity of funds to efficiently run and manage the programme is a serious factor militating against this, and this highlights the second factor.
The course curriculum of the Masters programme from inception covers the functional elements of geographical information systems with courses dealing at some depth with data structures, computer programming, spatial statistics, spatial decision support systems, maps and map projections, digital image processing and GIS/remote sensing applications in different areas of the human and natural environments. In the last three sessions, the programme has witnessed the introduction of two new courses; one is Geomatics, while the other is the guest lecturer series. Geomatics is expected to introduce students to methods and systems of survey data capture and manipulation in an Automated Mapping / GIS environment. Surveying concepts and techniques taught include geodesy, control establishment, GPS observation and reduction, and strategies of integration of surveying, GPS and GIS. The guest lecturer series was initiated this session and its aim was to expose students to real world applications of GIS in various spheres of human endeavours. Lecturers include tested GIS and accomplished professionals in the surveying, oil exploration, remote sensing and academia of whom one is a graduate of the programme.
The programme places a strong emphasis on and also requires that a student develops a working knowledge and ultimately proficiency in at least three of the installed GIS vector-based and the only raster-based software and to carry out an individual project based on at least one of them.
4 Programme Assessment and Challenges
The GIS programme at the University of Ibadan till today remains the GIS programme of first choice for many prospective applicants in Nigeria. This is evident in application figures as well as in the diversity of students’ profile. The programme attracts students from all parts of the country and from all sectors; government, private organisations, academics, non-governmental organisations and the military establishment.
The scope and variety of the courses available remains the richest and most diverse being offered locally by any university or institution. In order to maintain this LEAD, the curriculum is continuously being adjusted to bring the programme in line with modern developments in the field of GIS.
Inadequate funding is perhaps the major challenge in the effective operationalisation of the programme presently. Funds are sourced entirely from fees paid by the students. Education in government owned universities in Nigeria is still largely subsidised therefore, little or no funds accrue to the programme. Funds that were initially provided at inception by USAID were terminated due to political problems between the Federal Military Government of Nigeria and the government of the United States of America in 1997. Also, endowments and donations are slow in coming despite strident efforts made by the unit at attracting such.
Various avenues are being explored presently, all geared towards raising some limited funds within the unit. One is the commercialisation of printing services by the students. This is expected to generate funds with which they maintain the colour printer i.e. buy paper, ink cartridges,; as well as buy other consumables like electrical fittings and computer mice. The second strategy is through the computer replacement scheme. Though this would be in the long term, the scheme proposes a plan whereby new computers are bought to replace the existing ones which are then handed down to faculty in batches for use in their offices. It is envisaged that a situation would come about where entire faculty has a computer each and there would be surplus stock which could then be sold to generate funds for the unit and the department. The unit also organises short term duration certificate courses in GIS and automated mapping, but due to dwindling participants’ enrolment, the courses were suspended. It was surprisingly discovered that applicants preferred enrolling for the graduate programme as the degree places them in an advantageous position to secure the best jobs available locally and internationally.
Perhaps the only viable revenue source available to the unit is the tuition fees paid by students. As earlier mentioned, education is subsidised, therefore, this option is closed. This poses a great challenge as donors and endowments are slow in coming. A favourable responses has been received from the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) who have promised to look into our request for software support and upgrade.
In the area of skills development and acquisition by lecturers, the Catherine T. and John D. MacArthur foundation awarded a junior faculty a grant for internet-based GIS mapping using ArcIMS tenable in the USA. ArcIMS stands for Arc Internet Map Server and it was developed by ESRI, who further granted the faculty a rebate on training fees. It is hoped that other junior faculty would benefit from the awards of training grants from some foundations and foreign institutions. More grants are welcome though. Locally, and sometimes internationally, faculty attend training courses but usually at personal expense.
Unstable electricity supply also presents its own plethora of problems and challenges for the unit. Epileptic power supply has resulted in damages to computer systems units and equipments. Software usage is also affected by erratic power supply. A case in point is the AtlasSelect; the application crashes when a disruption in power supply is experienced and the entire exercise has to commence afresh. This renders the software to be an un-popular choice of students. Huge amounts of scarce funds have been devoted to the repairs and at times replacements of these damaged equipments. Another challenge posed by this problem is that of maintaining steady and un-interrupted power supply to the laboratory. UPS’s and a petrol powered electricity generator were purchased. Unfortunately, the generator is overworked and urgently needs replacement.
5 The Way Forward and Conclusionsb
In order to ensure the sustainability of the programme, efforts are being stepped up by the unit at developing vigorous programmes of research and advisory services that would ultimately generate income for the running of the unit.
The unit has initiated a programme for the development of a GIS software. This is trying to model the achievements of Clark University, the developers of the Idrissi software. On completion of the exercise, it is expected that it would generate funds and bring worldwide recognition for the unit. Also, there are great prospects for offering consultancy services to government departments and agencies, non-governmental agencies, private organisations and other academic institutions. Already the unit is involved with some agencies locally as a stake holder and adviser, though with no pecuniary benefits accruing to it.
The unit has also been reaching out strongly to many organisations locally with proposals to digitize maps and perform digital image processing for them as a first step towards establishing a GIS for their own uses in various areas like urban and regional planning, environmental monitoring and impact assessment, inventory monitoring, etc. Efforts in this light are being vigorously pursued, but yielding no positive results yet.
To effectively render these services and also achieve results from set tasks, the unit requires space in which to flourish and funds with which to purchase and maintain the much desired equipments and software. This would ultimately translate to hardware and software upgrades and higher student enrolment figures. Higher enrolment numbers would cater for the rush for GIS higher education and the interest in Ibadan. The programme at Ibadan is indeed the model for GIS graduate education in Nigeria. Most GIS laboratories in Nigeria have at least a graduate of the programme at Ibadan actively involved in day to day decision making activities and management functions for their organisations. This factor is a strong point in our favour.
With increasing awareness by governments, environmental planners and managers and the general populace of the benefits of implementing full and functional GISes, the programme at Ibadan with dedicated financial and institutional support, would prove to be viable and sustainable. The programme has contributed in no small measure to the fulfilment of the Nigerian Information Technology (I.T.) dream by producing competent and thorough professionals who are contributing meaningfully and positively to the efficient management of the Nigerian environment. Within the University, the unit is represented in almost all the I.T. committees set up by the authorities.
In an environment where information technology awareness is high, but, in which familiarity is still very low, GIS education is fast bridging this gap. This is buttressed by the finding that enrolment in the GIS programme provides the first opportunity of computer appreciation for about 70 – 80% of the students. GIS as an introductory course is now being taught at the undergraduate levels and they are expected to understand simple GIS concepts and procedures. Also, a basic knowledge of information technology is being imparted to them. The objective being that students acquire an early appreciation of specialised IT techniques. Also, undergraduate students are now being introduced to automated mapping techniques and global positioning systems devices. This is with a view to keeping them abreast of modern techniques and methodologies of environmental data capture, manipulation and presentation.
The existence of a well-trained and highly-experienced research team in the Department of Geography, University of Ibadan has been crucial to the development of the UDLP in general and the GIS laboratory specifically. For many years before the UDLP, this department had developed linkages with a number of American universities, indeed the relationship with the University of Iowa dates back to the late 1960's. Also there has been a long history of faculty exchanges and collaborative research between the universities in Iowa and Ibadan which dates back to a Rockefeller Institutional Development Grant in the early 1970's. These links were maintained through the years and the exchange relationship was formalized in 1988 with a linkage programme funded in part by a United States Information Agency (USIA) University Affiliation Programme grant. The UDLP had merely built upon and expanded existing relationships. Such high levels of cordial working relationships and commitment to the achievement of set objectives are necessary for the implementation of any programme of capacity building in African universities by counterpart institutions in the developed countries.
Other linkage programmes have been proposed and are being pursued. It is hoped that positive results would be realised from these efforts.
The department in its own way has tried to finance the programme from students’ fees and other internally generated revenue sources. However, the demand for admission into the Professional M.Sc. programme and the limited capacity of the laboratory calls for an integrated approach for transforming the UI GIS programme to accommodate the increasing demand for training in this new technology.
GIS is increasingly being used by experts to analyse the environment, natural resources, and management problems in the developing nations including Nigeria. Therefore, there is an urgent demand locally for professionals trained in GIS who would help to integrate these concepts and technology into the spatial decision making processes in the country. There is the need also to train and continually re-train teachers who would assist in integrating GIS concepts and applications into programmes taught by disciplines concerned with spatial phenomena such as geography, land surveying, architecture, forestry and resources management.
Acknowledgements
I wish to acknowledge the pioneering efforts of Professors Abumere, S., Areola, O., and Ayeni, Bola in pioneering the GIS programme at the Department of Geography, University of Ibadan. Their earlier paper also presented the stimulus for this paper. Also, I wish to acknowledge their cooperation over the years since I joined the faculty after my completion of the programme. The help and cooperation of Professors Akintola, F., Gbadegesin, A. as well as Drs Fabiyi, O., Dada, F. and Mr. Adeleye, E. towards the smooth running of the programme are appreciated. My sincere appreciation goes to the Catherine T. and John D. MacArthur Foundation and the Vice-Chancellor pf The University of Ibadan for awarding me a training grant for learning ArcIMS. And also to the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), California, USA for subsidising my training fees in ArcIMS. I also acknowledge the support and efforts of all faculty and support staff at The University of Ibadan.
References
- Abumere, S., Areola, O. O., and Ayeni, O. A. (1997) A Model GIS Laboratory For Higher Education
in a Developing Country: The Example of The University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
In: http://www.ncgia.ucsb.edu/conf/gishe97