The Nation Newspaper

Tag: lecture

  • ExxonMobil experts ‘lecture’ in 17 varsities

    ExxonMobil experts ‘lecture’ in 17 varsities

    The launch of ExxonMobil Lecture Series was greeted with enthusiasm by lecturers and students at the University of Ibadan last Friday.

    The series, being implemented under the University Assistance Programme (UAP), an initiative of ExxonMobil affiliate, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited (EEPNL), would hold in 17 schools that have benefited from the programme.

    Since 2008, the UAP has been intervening in the Geosciences department of the 17 universities – providing them with workstations and other equipment for laboratories and ICT units, organising training for lecturers, and funding field trips.

    General Manger, Exploration, EEPNL, Mr Andrew Ejayeriese, said at the launch held in the conference room of the Faculty of Science, UI, that the Lecture Series is expected to further bridge the gap between university training and industry practices.

    “Under the Lecture Series, senior geosciences professionals from ExxonMobil Upstream companies will be presenting lectures at selected Nigerian universities on a pro bono basis, sharing their wealth of experience and depth of technical knowledge with both students and academic staff of these universities,” he said.

    Ejayeriese, who was represented by Mr Gilbert Odior, the Geosciences Coordinator, said that 24 lectures would be delivered at each university during a three-day workshop.

    Some of the 24 sub-topics under the theme, “Understanding the Upstream Oil and Gas Business”, included: “ExxonMobil Company Overview”; “Understanding the Oil and Gas Business”; “Sedimentation Concepts and Structural Styles;” and “Petroleum Economics and Economic Evaluations.”

    He said the University of Ibadan was chosen to flag-off the series because of its age and achievements in producing professionals who have made their marks in the labour market.

    Responding to the initiative, the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof Isaac Adewole, represented by the Dean, Faculty of Science, Prof Abiodun Onilude, said the lecture series would build the capacity of both academics and students and urged them to imbibe whatever they were taught.

    He also praised ExxonMobil for its investment in the UAP, valued at about N2 billion across all the universities and thanked the company for investing 60 per cent of the intervention in UI.

    He noted that the university has reciprocated the gesture by rising in the ranking of the best universities in Africa.

    Adewole however appealed to the company to invest in other departments in the faculty like Chemistry and Microbiology, which both have areas that deal with geosciences.

    “Through your STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) programme, you have improved science and technology.  But there are other departments in the faculty that need help for instance, Chemistry and Microbiology,” he said.

    On his part, the President, Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society, Prof Gbenga Okunlola, praised ExxonMobil for its intervention in Geosciences education, which has led to the production of 12 geographical maps across the country by the various universities.

    Of the lot, Okunlola said UI produced three – with the fourth at 75 per cent completion.

    He urged the company not to relent on the funding but continue so that the geosciences training would continue to improve.

    “We want to appeal to you; you still need to do more in the Nigerian education system.  N2 billion is chicken feed compared to what you make.  Improve the chicken to cow meat.  I want to appreciate and tell you that NMGS is always proud of you,” he said.

    A student participant, Chinelo Oduche, who is studying for an MSc in Petroleum Geology and Sedimentology, said the series has helped to make classroom learning clearer.

    “It is a wonderful opportunity.  It will help us to understand the upstream/downstream  sectors well.  It will help us to sediment the knowledge.  Having professionals from the field coming to talk to us is making clearer what we learnt in the classroom,” she said.

    Other universities to benefit from the lecture series include: Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt; Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun; University of Lagos, Akoka; Federal University of Technology, Owerri; University of Port Harcourt; University of Calabar; and Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

    Others are: “University of Benin; Delta State University, Abraka; Akwa Ibom State University; University of Nigeria, Nsukka; Enugu State University of Science and Technology; Federal University of Technology, Akure; Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka; and the Anambra State University, Uli.

     

  • Lecture holds today

    The Ninth Jire Olanlokun Memorial Lecture comes up today at the Julius Berger Hall of the University of Lagos, Akoka.

    This year’s guest lecturer is Dr Rilwan Abdu Salami, president, Nigerian Library Association. He is expected to proffer solutions to the problem of library services in  schools.

    The event, to be chaired by the Registrar of Librarians Registration Council of Nigeria (LRCN), Dr Victoria Okojie, in line with the objectives of the foundation to proffer solutions to the problems militating against establishment of good library services.

     

  • Professor Val’s Lifetime Lecture

    Welcome to your column on public speaking. It was really exciting to read all your comments on our ‘mutual friend’, Professor Val. Thanks for the questions you sent in and the suggestions you gave the Professor to save his career. I totally agree that he needs training in effective communication. In case you missed last week’s article, Professor Val was a Russian scholar who was invited to make a lead paper presentation at an international conference. While he arrived amidst glee and excitement, not much could be said of his presentation. Not that he wasn’t knowledgeable about the subject, his message was only lost in the midst of other major flaws.

    As promised last week, we shall begin to examine Professor Val’s errors and learn how to avoid them. Recall that we observed last week that our dear Professor worked perfectly by the book. That was not a bad thing in itself, only that we must learn the exceptions to the rules. Therefore, the approach we will adopt is to state the rule Val obeyed and then identify its exception.

    Professor Val obeyed the rule that says a speaker must earn the right to speak to his/her audience by being knowledgeable. It is, of course, expected that a speaker should know more than the audience before being qualified to speak. It is also generally suggested that a speaker should gather five times more materials than required for any given speech so as to SELECT the best resources from the pool. Please take note of the emphasis on the word ‘select’. So, we can safely say that Professor Val, who was a world-acclaimed scholar with award winning formula, was a knowledgeable person.

    Where did Val go wrong? His error was that he neglected the exception to the rule of knowledge, which is, “You cannot teach people in a moment what you learnt in a lifetime”. The transmission of knowledge must be gradual, otherwise there will poor assimilation. Val, just like several speakers today, was carried away by his desire to impart knowledge that he failed to consider the time available and the capacity of his audience. His misplaced zeal led to a few errors:

    • Overloaded presentation slides: Professor Val made use of presentation slides that were projected on a screen. However, propelled by his zeal, he over-loaded each slide to the extent that the text became too small to be legible. The projection was meant to enhance the delivery of the presentation; unfortunately, it further hindered effective communication because the audience could not see it clearly. The lesson here is that it is preferable not to use any technical assistance if it would not add to the quality of a presentation. It is also very important to make the audience the priority of any presentation. As speakers, we must always ask ourselves, “What will the audience think of this? Will they see it clearly? Will they get the meaning? How far will the screen be from the audience?”. These and many other questions will help us to see things from the perspective of our audience.
    • Hasty Presentation: from the story of Professor Val, it was clear that he knew he couldn’t deliver all he had prepared in just one hour. Hence, he quickened the pace of his delivery. Again, it is important to emphasize that the priority of our presentations must be our audience. What is the use of covering a syllabus if the students have learnt nothing? Val mistook completing his presentation for communicating with the audience. He should have taken his time to explain every step of his presentation carefully. If he had communicated with his audience but did not cover all his outlined points, the audience could have requested for more information during the question time (as you will recall, they couldn’t wait to leave the hall so there was no question for the presenter), or even request for his presentation slides. As speakers, the information we have to pass across must not take priority over the people we want to pass it to. The success of a speaker is not determined by the amount of information shared but by the amount of influence made on the audience.

    Next week, by the grace of God, we shall explore another error of Professor Val and how to avoid it. I look forward to more comments from you on how Val can improve his speaking skills. I would also love to respond to your questions. Have a blessed weekend.

  • AOCOED Registry plan lecture

    The Registry department of the Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED), Oto/Ijanikin, Lagos State, will hold a public lecture in honour of its immediate past registrar Mr Bola S. Disu Thursday, next week.

    The lecture, which is the second edition, will hold at the Oluremi Tinubu Hall of the college.

    The lecturer, a former Registrar, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Mr. Ayo Ogunruku, will speak on: “Effective Administration of Tertiary Institutions in the 21st Century”.

    The event would also feature presentations of award to four other members in Registry unit who have distinguished themselves in the service of the college over the years.

     

  • Lecture for May 13

    The 11th Mosobolaje Oyawoye Faculty of Science Endowed Lecture will hold on Wednesday, next week, at the Main Auditorium of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN).

    The lecture, titled: “Stem cell research: Science, medicine and ethics”, will be delivered by Prof. H. C. Higgins, the Pro-Chancellor and immediate past Vice-Chancellor, Durham University, United Kingdom (UK).

    Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. AbdulGaniyu Ambali, is the chief host for the lecture, which is being jointly organised by the Faculties of Life and Physical Sciences.

    The Deans, Faculty of Life Sciences, and Faculty of Physical Sciences, Prof. A. Sani and Prof. I. A. Adimula, will be the co-hosts.

  • Registry lecture holds today

    The Registry Department holds its second lecture today.

    Titled: “Effective administration of tertiary institutions in the 21st Century,” the lecture would be delivered by the Registrar, Obafemi Awolowo, University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Mr. Ayo Ogunruku.

    The event, which is to honour the immediate past Registrar, Mr Bola Disu, would also feature awards for five distinguished members of the Registry.

  • Firm holds lecture

    This year’s edition of PUNUKA Attorneys & Solicitors yearly lecture will hold on April 30 at the Metropolitan Club,Victoria Island, Lagos at 10am.

    It has the theme: Anti-corruption and bribery laws: Extra territorial applications and lessons for businesses and government agencies.

    The lecture is aimed at bringing key industry players and stakeholders on topical issues on law, the economy, financial matters, good governance, nation-building, among others.

    Retired Supreme Court Justice Emmanuel Olayinka Ayoola will chair the event, while Associate Professor and Associate Dean of Graduate Studies at the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto Prof Mariana Mota Prado, will be the Guest Lecturer.

    The lecture will also have a Panel of Discussants that willl deliberate on the subject.

    Senior Partner of the firm Chief Anthony Idigbe (SAN) said the discourse presented from both international and local perspectives would address, among other issues, the efficacy of anti-corruption laws, the extra territorial application of foreign anti-bribery laws, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act & UK Bribery Act,  the advent of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Nigeria with focus on the effectiveness of their anti-corruption policies and campaign  and the implication for the economy, businesses and government institutions.

  • Lecture-free period for Fridays

    The management of the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti has re-emphasised the setting aside of 1pm to 3pm of every Friday as lecture-free periods to enable Muslims (both staff and students) attend the Jumat Service. A circular signed by the Deputy Registrar, Academic Affairs Registry, Mr. S.O. Adeniyi, noted that it had become a matter of policy for the polytechnic to avail Muslims in the institution the opportunity to attend their Jumah Service every Friday.

    It enjoined workers and students to comply with the directive.

  • OAU Muslim body holds lecture

    The annual public lecture/luncheon of the Obafemi Awolowo University(OAU) Muslim.

    Graduates’Association Lagos chapter will come up  in Lagos on Sunday.

    The event holds at the Lagoon Restaurant, Ozumba Mbadiwe Street, Victoria Island.

    The lecture themed: ‘The Journey of excellence: Making Nigeria a Tertiary education hub for Africa’ will be chaired by Prof. Obini Ekpe, of the Department of Physics, Ebonyi State University. The guest speaker is the Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs of Nigeria (SCIA) Prof. Isaq Oloyede.

    A statement signed by the association’s  Lagos Chapter’s chairman, Alhaji Mohammed Buari, said the association was formed over 20 years ago with the purpose of fostering brotherhood amongst its members, educating and enlightening the general society on topical issues as well as giving humanitarian assistances to the less privileged.

    The Chairman, Board of Trustees, Alhaji Abdul Rafiu Ebiti, and the national president Prof. Abdul Wahab Egbewole, will be chief host and host respectively.

  • Law Faculty hosts lecture

    The 8th edition of the Annual M.M. Akanbi Public Lecture of the Faculty of Law, University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) holds today at the auditorium.

    The lecture titled: “Of Women Law and Gender Justice: The Rhetoric, the Realities and the African Perspectives”, is to be delivered by Prof Ademola Popoola, a former Dean, Faculty of Law, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife.

    A book, titled “Hallmark of Justice – Commentaries on Selected Judgments of Hon. Justice M.M.A. Akanbi”, will also be presented on the occasion.

    The UNILORIN Vice-Chancellor, Prof AbdulGaniyu Ambali, will be the Chief Host while the Governor of Kwara State, Dr. Abdulfattah Ahmed, is the Special Guest of Honour.