By By Wole Adejumo
The words of John C. Maxwell that “effective leaders look for ways to use the successes of today to empower their people for the challenges of tomorrow” aptly describe the vision behind The Technical University, Ibadan.
Before the bill establishing Nigeria’s first technical university was passed and assented to by the Visitor to the university, Governor Abiola Ajimobi, on July 12, 2012, the governor had outlined his vision for the institution and the purpose it was expected to serve.
Between then and June 6, 2017, when the university’s library project was commissioned to signal the take-off of the institution, considerable planning and work had gone into putting the necessary structures and facilities in place.
At the commissioning, Governor Ajimobi stressed that Tech-U was not a university of technology but a technical university.
“It is an initiative of Oyo State, continuing in the tradition of innovation and excellence pioneered by our pathfinders. It is a marriage between classroom and industry, a marriage between theory and practice,” he said.
Summing up the vision, the governor said, “It is not a university of Technology but the first Technical University in Nigeria.”
Efforts were also made to provide an academic environment supported by modern facilities and personnel with relevant skills and experience.
Academic activities commenced on January 8, 2018, marking another important stage in the development of the institution. For two weeks, pioneer students underwent orientation designed to familiarise them with the university’s objectives, expectations and academic environment.
Students also participated in a week-long entrepreneurship orientation aimed at equipping them with managerial and entrepreneurial skills in line with the university’s stated objectives.
On March 9, 2018, the university matriculated 183 pioneer students. The institution also installed Chief Tunde Afolabi, an entrepreneur and businessman in the oil and gas sector, as its pioneer Chancellor.
Since the commencement of academic activities, the pioneer Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ayobami Salami, and his management team have continued to pursue the university’s stated objective of providing technical and practical training relevant to the needs of Nigeria.
Unlike the predominantly theoretical approach associated with conventional university education, the institution places emphasis on practical learning as part of its technical education model.
Through the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Vocational Studies, students receive vocational training intended to help them develop entrepreneurial skills and explore opportunities for creating businesses and employment after graduation.
The university also enrolled its students for French language studies through the Centre for Language and General Studies, with the stated aim of preparing them for opportunities in an increasingly international environment.
The Vice-Chancellor said the institution was focused on producing graduates who could contribute to Nigeria’s socioeconomic development.
“We are training youths whose trainings will contribute richly to the socioeconomic advancement of Nigeria and other climes. The graduates we will produce will have the confidence of their trainings; will be innovators, job creators, employers and ultimately builders of society,” Professor Salami said.
According to the university, its academic programmes were selected with the intention of addressing gaps in technical skills and improving the relationship between university training and industry requirements.
As part of this effort, the university entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with industry partners, including the Nigerian Society of Engineers, to strengthen collaboration between academic institutions and industry.
Such partnerships were expected to provide students with opportunities for practical experience and expose them to workplace requirements before graduation.
The university also undertook a curriculum review involving representatives of organisations and professional bodies, including the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) and the Automation and Engineering Academy.
The exercise was aimed at aligning the institution’s programmes with industry expectations and improving the employability and entrepreneurial capabilities of its students.
With industry stakeholders contributing to the curriculum review, the university said students would receive training designed to prepare them for practical challenges in the workplace.
Those interested in employment would be better positioned to adapt to industry requirements, while students interested in entrepreneurship would have the opportunity to develop skills relevant to establishing and managing businesses.
In its first year of academic activities, The Technical University, Ibadan presented a model of education centred on technical training, practical learning and entrepreneurship.
As the institution continued to develop, its management maintained that the ultimate objective was to produce graduates with the technical competence and practical skills required to contribute meaningfully to Nigeria’s economic and social development.
— Wole Adejumo Media Assistant to the Vice-Chancellor, The Technical University, Ibadan
0 Comments