Lagos – 1st December 2009 – The Lagos Higher Education Connectivity Project (LHECP) aka Eko-Konnect launches on 15th December in University of Lagos with a seminar on collaboration for research and education.The multi-institutional project initiated by the University of Lagos in partnership with the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria and Datasphir Solutions aims to facilitate and support network connectivity between all Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s) in Lagos including mono/polytechnics, colleges of education, Research Institutions and universities.

The LHECP is set to catalyse the development of the Nigerian Research and Education Network (NgREN), fostering collaborative research in network technology, development and sharing of content, applicationsand other resources as well as stimulate capacity building.Prof. Charles Uwadia, President of the Nigeria Computer Society and Director of the Centre for Information Technology and Systems in the University of Lagos pointed out that:“For too long, Nigerian higher education institutions have been grappling with the commercial and technical challenges that adequate network connectivity presents to improving the quality of education andresearch; the LHECP is a great opportunity for Lagos institutions to come together and tackle these issues”

The seminar took place at the Centre for Information Technology and Systems, University of Lagos,Akoka on the 15th December 2009 at 8.30 am. ICT Directors and their teams from all HEI’s in Lagos and telecommunication companies  attended.