Wilson Nwankwo

Professor Wilson Nwankwo is a multipotentialite with strong industry and research experience in information technology, cyber security, system engineering, risk management, health information systems, healthcare, portfolio management, project management, budgeting, cyber law, and advocacy. With an indefeasible passion, he leads innovative projects to transform businesses, organizational and socioeconomic process chains through consistent and careful research, initiating, designing, implementing, and maintaining frameworks, policies, systems, and networks across various socioeconomic sectors such as international trade, oil and gas, financial institutions, manufacturing, environment, education, health, defense, and security. He holds a Doctorate (Ph.D.) in Information Technology from the Federal University of Technology Owerri, Nigeria with a bias on Enterprise Systems, Business Intelligence, and Cybersecurity; Master of Science in Computer Science, Master of Business Administration (MBA), Bachelor of Science in Business Computing from Anglia Ruskin University Chelmsford in the United Kingdom, Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree, Doctor of Optometry degree, and a Higher National Diploma in Computer Science.

Professor Nwankwo has some global professional credentials to his credit. He is a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Risk Manager (RMP), Certified Quality Auditor (CQA), Oracle Certified Expert, Certified Systems Engineer, Certified Big Data Analyst, Certified Network Professional (HCNP), Cisco Certified Network Administrator (CCNA), and a Certified Information Infrastructure Specialist (ITIL).

Following the completion of the mandatory National Youth Service Corps in 2002, He immediately joined the services of Pentrenix Technologies, an ICT Solutions Provider based in Owerri, Imo State, where he worked as a System Engineer. Conscious of more challenging opportunities he left Pentrenix Technologies for Ibeto Cement Limited in Port Harcourt, Nigeria where he took up the role of Information Technology Manager. He was instrumental to the design and deployment of a high speed fibre communications network across the cement factory, as well as the deployment of the SAP R3 Enterprise Resource Planning System that made Ibeto Cement Ltd the second company in Nigeria to successfully deploy such cutting-edge solution at that time. Professor Nwankwo left the services of Ibeto Cement Limited for Global Scansystems Limited, Victoria Island, Lagos, an end-to-end ICT and Telecoms Solutions, Risk Management and International Trade facilitation provider and contractor to the Federal Government of Nigeria in 2006.

In late 2006, He broke new grounds as the Coordinator of Risk Management Systems and ICT when he, as the Project Manager and Lead Software Engineer, led a cross-cultural project team of over 50 specialists from around the world, comprising system architects, analysts, database designers, security engineers, and programmers, to execute an almost infeasible project involving the development and deployment of a custom-built enterprise resource planning system (a pre-requisite for the Nigeria Customs Services Modernization Contract) project within a record time of nine (9) months and below the budgeted 400,000 US Dollars. The realization of this project assured the prospects of Global Scansystems Limited in securing an 8-year destination inspection contract with the Federal Government of Nigeria. As a career Project Manager and System Engineer, he had successfully led over 70 industry projects cutting across enterprise software solutions, voice and data communication networks, network and data security solutions, risk management solutions, data centre and network operations centre design and deployment, system integration, system audit and assurance, environmental and pollution management systems, and control instrumentation respectively working with teams from Singapore, United Kingdom, India, and the United States of America. His project assignments saw him travel round the world. At Global Scansystems, due to his excellent performance in project delivery, Professor Nwankwo became the Chief Information Technology and Risk Management Officer in 2013, a position he occupied before leaving to pursue a full-time academic career.

Having attained an enviable height in his Industry career, Professor Nwankwo had a burning passion to transfer his enormous skills to the younger generation and would seek a realistic platform to achieve this goal. He later travelled to Kampala, Uganda, where he taught briefly and returned to Nigeria to join the services of Wellspring University, Benin City in 2015 as a full-time academic in the Department of Computer Science. Before this time, it is worthy of note that Professor Nwankwo had served as part-time lecturer in many professional and tertiary institutions including universities and polytechnics in Nigeria from 2008.

Professor Nwankwo’s achievements at Wellspring University resonate to date. As Head of Department of Computer Science at Wellspring University, He led the Department to its first full accreditation. He designed and implemented a modern University Management System, Electronic Library solution, and a Campus Area Network. He later left the services of Wellspring University for Edo State University Uzairue, Edo State in 2018 as an Associate Professor. Professor Nwankwo’s immense contributions in Edo State University Uzairue still speaks to date, and was responsible to his elevation to a full Professor with interests in Software Engineering, Informatics, and Cyber Security in the Department of Computer Science. Professor Nwankwo held the following positions at Edo State University Uzairue: Acting Head of Department of Computer Science; Acting Director, Centre for Professional Training and Development; Acting Director, Open Distance Learning; premier substantive Dean, Faculty of Science, and Chairman, Academic Information System among others. Professor Nwankwo joined the services of the Delta State University of Science and Technology in 2022, and currently, the Dean, Faculty of Computing, Chairman Central Time Table Committee, and Chairman, Committee on Computer Based Examination respectively.

Professor Nwankwo is a prolific practitioner and writer, and has published over 150 papers in reputable national and international journals comprising research articles, book chapters, conference proceedings, books, with over 46 publications duly indexed in Scopus, some in Web of Science, and other notable global indexation databases. Professor Nwankwo is a visiting Professor to a number of Universities in Nigeria. He is also an external examiner for PhD Programmes in Computer Science, and Information Systems in some Universities in Nigeria, and South Africa. Professor Nwankwo has taught over 40 courses at undergraduate, postgraduate, and professional levels at different times across Universities and professional institutes in Nigeria and abroad. His research interests include: Engineering of integrated and smart software and cyber physical systems, Cyber forensics, Cyber terrorism, Cyber espionage, ethical hacking, vulnerability analysis, Threat modeling, Cloud computing, System integration and interoperability, Software-defined networks, Intelligent enterprise systems, Control systems, Artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, Legal Informatics, Bioinformatics, Nanotechnology, Health Law and Policy, Cyber Law, and Education Management Systems.

Professor Nwankwo is an active member of various learned professional societies including Nigeria Computer Society; Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria; Project Management Institute, USA; Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, United Kingdom; American Society for Quality, USA; Association of Computing Machinery, USA; Information Systems Audit & Control Association (ISACA), USA; Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers(IEEE), USA, and the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria(ISPON) respectively.

Professor Nwankwo is an active researcher whose research interests include: Engineering of Integrated Software Solutions and Cyberphysical Systems, Bioinformatics, Nanotechnology, Health Law and Policy; Cybersecurity, Digital Forensics and Cyber Law, Education Management Systems, Cloud Computing, Software-Defined Networks, Intelligent Enterprise Systems, Control systems, Artificial intelligence, Simulation and Modelling, Internet of Things, and Legal Informatics. Prof. Nwankwo has over 150 publications to his credit comprising local and international peer-reviewed and fully refereed journals, published conference proceedings, books, and book chapters.

Prof. Nwankwo is a practicing Christian, family man, and happily married with children.