Papua New Guinea National Research Institute (PNG NRI) Senior Research Fellow and Port Moresby Business College Governing Council Member Dr. Olugbenga Ige has called for higher education institutions to invest in reliable backup power as they embrace digital transformation.
Dr Ige made the call during the official launch of the Port Moresby Business College’s new website in Port Moresby on Monday.
Speaking on digital information in higher education, Ige said reliable electricity was a fundamental requirement for institutions to effectively use digital technologies and remain competitive.
“I wish to strongly appeal to senior officials of the council and the management of the school that to effectively utilize all these tools that are related to digital transformation, we need to develop an alternate power source,” he said.
“Stable electricity, stable power is necessary for every higher educational institution in the world to become competitive.”
Ige stressed that the need for reliable and alternative power should be considered beyond Port Moresby Business College, saying higher education institutions generally needed dependable electricity to support their growing reliance on digital systems.
He said the expansion of digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, cloud computing, big data and the Internet of Things, meant institutions could no longer afford to operate without reliable power infrastructure.
Dr. Ige said the new Port Moresby Business College website was one example of how institutions could use technology to improve services and remain competitive.
He highlighted the website’s online admissions system, which allows prospective students to access admission information, complete application forms and apply for enrolment without having to travel to the college.
He said the development demonstrated how digital technology could make higher education services more accessible to students.
Ige also noted that the website provides a platform for maintaining contact with students and graduates after they leave the institution.
He said the website should be viewed as part of the wider digital transformation taking place across Papua New Guinea’s education sector.
Dr. Ige explained that digital transformation involved technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing and the Internet of Things, which he described as key tools of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
He stated that institutions that failed to adapt to technological changes could become less competitive.
Using examples from the business sector, he said organisations that failed to embrace digital transformation had lost their competitiveness as new technology-driven businesses emerged.
Ige said the same principle applied to higher education, where institutions needed to continually improve their digital services to attract students and meet changing expectations.
He said the Port Moresby Business College website was developed by the college’s own information technology staff after being commissioned by the Governing Council.
Dr. Ige described the development as an important achievement and encouraged the institution to continue strengthening its digital systems and infrastructure.
He said the success of digital transformation in higher education would depend not only on technology but also on the people, systems and infrastructure supporting it.