These are five ways we think establishing a microelectronic institute in any African country will help. Of course, there are many reasons, but we just want to focus on these five points. Microelectronics is the engine of the knowledge economy and nothing can really work out without it. Your ICT depends on it and without it, no ICT. It is a very important industry.
- A microelectronics institute will provide African microelectronics researchers and students with industry-caliber design resources, access to state-of-the-art prototyping technologies, tools for test and support services. This proposal will enable us acquire the facilities needed for the training and research. Also, this proposal will enable us provide the resources necessary to create technology adoption and diffusion by utilizing the expertise of African experts in Diaspora to visit the respective universities, on short term basis, to educate.
- The aim is to provide Africa University systems with the opportunity to develop an institute which will become in future an avenue to seek grants from many multinational firms in Africa who presently are not funding researches in Africa. An institute will showcase the readiness of Africa’s educational institutions to conduct researchers for firms like Motorola, CISCO, HP, etc. This future anticipated industry supported R&D (research & development) will help develop our students, staff and management learn.
- The institute will offer our students and staff opportunities to collaborate with global partners in the areas of comparative technologies, especially solar technology, which we will vigorously conduct researches on. Our students will be enriched in this program.
- The institute will post some educational podcasts on our website for the general learning and education of the public. This will be followed with Internet Virtual Classroom and Labs (IVCL) to enable other African students benefit from our programs irrespective of distance.
- The institute is designed to be academic, market and industry centric- this positions it to deliver programs to the needs of the academia, market and industry towards producing students with world-class skills.