November saw the end of a successful series of inaugural lectures which were scheduled to take place at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) this year (2013).
The final inaugural lecture titled “Smart Cities in a Complex Hyperconnected World” was delivered by Professor Oludayo Olugbara, a Professor in the Department of Information Technology at DUT on Wednesday (November 20, 2013) evening.
Held at the DUT Hotel School Conference Centre, Ritson Campus, Prof Olugbara’s lecture followed two previous ones by Professor Suren Singh, Head of the Department of Biotechnology and Food Technology as well as Professor Nirmala Deenadayalu, a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at DUT.
An inaugural lecture is a prestigious event which symbolises a milestone in an academic career where he or she progresses to full professorship. It is also an opportunity for the professor to discuss his or her current and future research projects. With one of the University’s goals being to increase the number of academics with PhDs, these inaugural lectures were as much an achievement for the institution as they were for the professors.
Among the guests at Prof Olugbara’s inaugural lecture were Dr Jairam Reddy, Chairman of the DUT Council; former KZN Judge President Vuka Shabalala, DUT Chancellor; Professor Ahmed Bawa, the University’s Vice-Chancellor; Professor Nomthandazo Gwele, DVC: Academic and Professor Thiruthlall Nepal, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Accounting and Informatics. Many of the University’s staff also attended the lecture.
Professor Sibusiso Moyo, Director of Research and Post Graduate Support at DUT, extended her “heartfelt congratulations” to Prof Olugbara. “Keep up the good work in building our research capacity. We wish you well in your journey,” she said.
Head of the Department of Information Technology, Kesarie Singh, described the Prof Olugbara as a passionate individual whose work speaks volumes. “He plays an impressive leadership role within the Department and he has taken it to greater heights,” she said.
Freedom Khubisa, one of Prof Olugbara’s BTech students, said being lectured by the Prof was an enjoyable experience, saying “he was always so enthusiastic and entertaining. His work ethic is unmatched”.
A self-confessed God-fearing man, Prof Olugbara thanked “The Almighty” for making this day a reality, before acknowledging his family, church family, colleagues and students.
Explaining his chosen topic, Prof Olugbara said “we live in a critical age where the management and governance of cities become increasingly complex as they grow and expand their services”.
“There is an increase in demands such as infrastructure, water and energy. A lot of people consider technology to be a solution to all the contemporary problems facing mankind. Most cities around the world have tried to enhance the functionality of major sectors such as education, energy and transport; among others. However, most of these major sectors are still not driven by technology- the supposed solution to most issues,” he said.
According to Prof Olugbara, cities need to be “smart” in order to perform efficiently. Elaborating, he said a “smart city” exploits technology to improve the functionality of its major sectors. But no smart city can exist without hyperconnectivity, which promotes synergy. Therefore, in a hyperconnected city, all the elements which constitute that environment would have to work together towards its development. “We can make the world clean using clean technologies; we can make the world look green using green technologies. We can make the world provide services using service technology. Of course, we can integrate all these benefitting technologies together using smart hyperconnectivity. I strongly believe that hyperconnectivity has the potential to change the world, even more than the internet,” he said.
“A city is smart if it monitors and integrates conditions of all critical infrastructures including power, water, roads, bridges, airports, communications, etc. The emphasis here is on technology,” Prof Olugbara said.
On his role in using technology to develop his environment, Prof Olugbara introduced the guests to a few applications he has developed since 2009. These included Travel light Project, a guide to travelling as light as possible for long distance trips and TellMe, a mobile phone application created with some of his students which is aimed at connecting users to shops in order to assist them to identify specific items which are at reduced prices.
The University’s Vice-Chancellor and Principal Prof Ahmed Bawa who was impressed by Prof Olugbara’s lecture said, “He presented a theoretical model about how the use of technology can directly improve the quality of life of people in urban complexes. The work that Prof Olugbara spoke about was really important for DUT as it fits perfectly with its broad mission- innovation and technology,” Prof Bawa said.
Prof Olugbara holds a PhD in Computer Science, University of Zululand, 2008, M.Sc. in Mathematics (Computer Science Specialisation), University of Ilorin, Nigeria, 1995, and a B.Sc. (Honors) in Mathematics (First Class Honors), University of Ilorin, Nigeria, 1991.
He is a member of the DUT Senate, is Vice-chairman of the Space Science Research Group, DUT, and is also a member of the Research Network for E-Skills (ResNES). He has extensive teaching experience in Computer Science, Information Technology and Mathematics at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He has lectured at the Tshwane University of Technology, University of Zululand; Covenant University, Nigeria; Akintola University of Technology, Nigeria and the University of Ilorin, Nigeria. He arrived at DUT in 2010 when he was appointed Associate Professor of Computer Science and Information Technology in the University’s Information Technology Department. In 2011, he became Professor of Computer Science and Information Technology in the University’s IT Department.
During his time at DUT, he has supervised 6 Doctoral students, 10 Master’s students and more than 250 under-graduate students.
He has published over 30 peer reviewed journal articles and over 50 conference Papers. In 1995, he co-authored the book: Computer Application Packages, published by McKay Educational Series. He has also authored chapters in five books, including Mitigating Rural E-Learning Sustainability Challenges Using Cloud Computing Technology, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.
– Naledi Hlefane
Pictured: Professor Oludayo Olugbara, a Professor in the Department of Information Technology at DUT, during his inaugural lecture which was this year’s (2013) third and final inaugural lecture.
