Inaugurating a partnership that will help boost cybersecurity capabilities in Cameroon while building Capitol Technology University’s international presence, Capitol president Dr. Michael T. Wood and Bishop Immanuel Banlanjo Bushu, chancellor of the Catholic University Institute of Buea (CUIB), signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at a ceremony on Thursday (July 16).
Cameroon’s ambassador to the United States, HE Joseph B.C. Foe-Atangana, delivered remarks at the event, as did Capitol Board of Trustees Chairman Harvey Weiss.
The MoU provides for Capitol to assist CUIB in establishing a cybersecurity program, starting with courses in information assurance. CUIB faculty will be trained on-site at Capitol’s campus in Laurel, where they will have access to experts in the field and resources such as the Cyber Lab.
Addressing the signing ceremony, Dr. Wood described the agreement as “a bond which we expect to be lasting and productive for both of us.” The MOU will “encourage and allow us to collaborate across the Atlantic in potentially many higher education ventures.”
Bishop Bushu, who heads the Roman Catholic Diocese in Buea, spoke of a pressing requirement for cybersecurity expertise in Cameroon and beyond. “Cybersecurity is what we need very badly, for ourselves individually, for the institutions, and for governments in the western and central African regions,” he said.
“This university has not hesitated to accept our request to come to our help, to give us the [needed] knowledge,” he said.
Ambassador Foe-Atangana, likewise, cited the need to tackle the growing problem of cybercrime and pointed to the general importance of technology education in national development.
“What we are doing today reflects the will of Cameroonians at every level to educate our people, particularly in scientific innovation,” he said.
Forging international partnerships is a key element of the university’s five-year strategic plan, adopted in 2013, which outlines a commitment to become more active in serving international countries, companies and learners. Trustee Weiss, in his remarks at the signing ceremony, described this goal as a “very important part of implementing our strategy.”
Capitol aims to “increase our footprint internationally, with institutions like yours and with international corporations as well,” he said.
Founded in 2012, the Catholic University Institute of Buea describes itself as an “entrepreneurial university.” Its academic philosophy stresses, among other priorities, empowering students “to be job creators and masters of their destinies through experiential learning (learning by doing).”
Practical, experiential learning is also a hallmark of the academic programs at Capitol, which cover a growing spectrum of engineering, computer science, IT and business-related fields. The university, originally founded in 1927 as the Capitol Radio Engineering Institute, has continually upgraded its course offerings in keeping with society’s emerging technological needs.
Capitol currently offers bachelor’s degree programs in astronautical engineering, business administration, computer engineering, computer engineering technology, computer science, cyber and information security, electrical engineering, electronics engineering technology, management of cyber and information technology, mobile computing and game programming, software engineering, telecommunications engineering technology, and web development.
In addition, it offers online master’s degree programs in astronautical engineering, business administration, computer science, cyber and information security, electrical engineering, information systems management and internet engineering, as well as doctoral programs in cybersecurity and management and decision sciences.
CAPTIONS: (A) Dr. Michael T. Wood and Bishop Immanuel Banlanjo Bushi shake hands after signing the MoU on July 16. (B) Cameroon’s ambassador to the United States, HE Joseph B.C. Foe-Atangana, addresses the event.