University of Uyo (UNIUYO) vice-chancellor (VC), Prof. Nyaudoh Ndaeyo, has challenged academics in the institution to cash in on the newly mounted N350 million digital printing press to publish their research works in their contribution to knowledge.
While commissioning the project at the UNIUYO Main Campus at Nwaniba, Uyo, the state capital yesterday, the VC said the new innovation became necessary to enhance teaching, learning, and research for academics nationwide.
The managing director (MD) of Press and Digital Limited, Mr Kufre Paul, lamented that African authors are daily losing their identity and cultural heritage due to the lack of preservation of their workers, assuring that the machine will fill the void.
He said that the UNIUYO press, through its “Project Africa Initiative,” would ensure that books and stories of African descent are preserved and stored for students and people of the 21st century.
According to him, indigenous scholarly work would henceforth be preserved, as the press would collate, collect, and convert every work done by African authors into a digital platform and archive it on the Internet.
“Another epic service pioneered by UNIUYO printing press and digital limited is the Project Africa Initiative. Project Africa connotes the perseveration of our African books, African authors and other African scholarly materials.
“It’s no news that most of our African books and indigenous stories are no more accessible, especially to the students and people of the 21st century, and this is because we do not have a digital platform where these African literary pieces are stored for generations to come.
“Sadly, we know too well that most of our stories carry our identity; and as we lose them daily, so do we lose our identity, cultural heritage, and norms daily.
‘Our indigenous scholarly work will henceforth be preserved, as we will collate, collect and convert every scholarly piece written by African or authors of African descent into electronic format and archive them on the Internet where both the present and the future can access it,” he stressed.
In his remarks, the VC said the project was a fulfilment of the long-standing dreams of the university to have its own printing press.
