Morgan State University is on the edge of a digital future in its 150^th anniversary year.

Baltimore’s public urban university won an “Institutional Excellence Award in Information Technology” at the 2017 ACUTA conference for its technology upgrade.

“The award is based on our NGN work and was very competitive. Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, came second and got honorable mention even though it is the hosting institution for the conference,” said Bisi Oladipupo, who received the award as Morgan State’s chief information officer in the Office of Information Technology.

Morgan’s Next Generation Network or NGN is a major transformation. The goal of the project is to enhance digital education and professional experience. NGN makes it easier to connect mobile devices, gaming consoles, and Smart TV to the network in an NGN Certified building.

Last year, Morgan State signed a 10-year contract with Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise and channel partner Magothy Technology to implement its NGN. The NGN will deliver better service in areas such as Mobile Apps and Data, Phone Services, and Streaming Media and Video Chat. Benefits of the NGN include, but are not limited to: Faster Internet, Wireless Mobility, Flexibility, and Improved Security. Work on the two-phase project is expected to conclude in Spring 2017.

“This is just the beginning of greater things to come as we grow the future and lead the world,” Dr. Oladipupo said. “We won a research grant last year and now an excellence award in IT. I owe my gratitude to the tremendous support of the president Dr. David Wilson, my team, and senior administration of the university.

Morgan State has won an ACTUA award two years in a row in annual competitions.

The Association for College & University Technology Advancement or ACTUA is a non-profit educational association serving colleges and universities. ACUTA represents over 1800 individuals at more than 500 institutions of higher education with members ranging from small schools and community colleges to the 50 largest U.S. institutions representing diverse Carnegie classifications in all 50 states, Canada and New Zealand. ACUTA also has corporate affiliate members, representing all categories of technology vendors who serve the college/university market.