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Tag: Tech-U

  • Tech-U: Epiphany of a changing narrative

    By Wole Adejumo

    The First Technical University, Ibadan, is fast becoming a formidable educational brand.  Upon entry into the academic space in 2017, the university management vouched to offer two key values: relevant technical education and innovative entrepreneurship model.  Two sessions after, the university seems poised to live up to the billing.

    Just within two years of commencing academic activities, Tech-U, which prides itself as Nigeria’s premier technical university, has upped the ante, registering its first patent – a remarkable feat by any standard.

    Again, the university was noted in the 2018 Webometric ranking, to have emerged as one of the most impactful universities in the country.

    And now that the Governor of Oyo State, Engr. Seyi Makinde has assured that Tech-U, will receive all necessary support needed to succeed during his administration, the narrative certainly holds better promise.

    While receiving the Governing Council of the University, led by its pro-chancellor and chairman of council, Professor Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe, on a courtesy call in his office recently, the governor noted how impressed he was with the calibre of eminent professionals who constitute the council.

    “Looking at the composition of the council, I can say you are men and women of great accomplishment that is beyond the ordinary. You are some of the best we can get around. When we were dissolving boards, we made an exception to Tech-U, because we looked at the profile of the people involved and we were convinced that you are there on your own merit. If I were to choose members of the council, I would have also chosen majority of you. We gave exception for Tech-U because of the work you’re doing for Oyo State”, Governor Makinde noted.

    Before now, tales being bandied about were that the university was established for personal gains. While it may be difficult to understand why such tales were contrived, it is heart-warming hearing the governor’s commitment to the university. He noted during the visit that he had exercised caution on the university because he wanted more information on the ownership profile of the university.

    With the decisions taken so far, the Makinde administration is commendably, prioritizing governance over politics, surely, this is an indication that the Tech-U train would have a smooth cruise to its destination of becoming a world class university.

    Over the last two years, Tech-U’s journey has evidently signposted an increasing wave of success. The university’s mission to produce exceptional graduates who are not only abreast of recent technological breakthroughs and developments in their fields of endeavour, but would also be fully groomed in entrepreneurial practices, unique innovation and sustainability can thus be said to be fully on course.

    Founded to raise the bar in tertiary education, the university’s effect is already being felt and embraced as the Tech-U fragrance spreads across the country. Not too long ago, 157 youths from the Niger Delta region of the country underwent intensive training in a youth empowerment programme facilitated by both Tech-U and Dosmack/CJ Oil and sponsored by the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.

    The beneficiaries, who included returnees from Libya, have testified that with the highly qualitative technical, vocational and entrepreneurship training they received at Tech-U. The university is irrefutably on an inexorable journey to becoming one of Africa’s best.

    In just a little over two years, Tech-U’s gown and town relationship is already nearing skyscraper status. It culminated in a two-week youth empowerment programme and contract recruitment programme for hundreds of beneficiaries across the state. The programme was designed to build participants’ capacity in industry-relevant technical, vocational and entrepreneurial skills essential to start and efficiently manage need-based micro and small scale enterprises.

    The Centre for Vocation and Entrepreneurship Studies has filliped the students into young men and women who believe in their dreams and are already working towards becoming job creators. When the vice chancellor, Professor Ayobami Salami said “Tech-U is not grooming people who would graduate and be looking for jobs”, he meant business. Students are already founding start-ups and building profitable businesses. Thanks to the positively disruptive educational model they are trained with, which enables them to do much more than their mates in other universities. It is the Tech-U advantage at play; it strategically allows instruction to be shared 60 – 40% between experienced academics and industry hands respectively, so that students are not just loaded with conventional theories.

    One thing many may not know about the university is it’s “never subsidize the rich nor deprive the poor” creed which is being adhered to very scrupulously. Over and over again, it has been made clear that the university is not exclusively for the rich. Through Tech-U’s scholarship bank, contribution from both the public and private sectors is used to support indigent but brilliant students unable to afford the qualitative education offered by the university. That on its own gives hope and additional momentum to those brilliant students, who would ordinarily not have been able to undergo university education.

    And now that the governor of Oyo State has cleared the air on the ownership of the university and pledged support, Tech-U will no doubt continue the peak performance that is extending its relevance by the day.

     

    • Adejumo is Media Assistant to the Vice-Chancellor, First Technical University, Ibadan.

  • Ajimobi and Tech-U

    First Technical University (Tech-U), Ibadan, Oyo State, is a visionary‘s idea. The institution’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ayobami Salami, acknowledged the innovative inspiration of Governor Abiola Ajimobi, who leaves office this month after two pacesetting terms.

    Salami said:  ”I must give credit to the Visitor to this university, His Excellency, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, who conceived the idea. I keep on saying that he’s the dreamer and visioner, I’m just the interpreter of that dream. When we started, not too many people gave us a chance. People thought it was not going to work. We came at a point when the economy wasn’t too good. People wondered and asked how we were going to pay salaries, get students and all.”

    The university’s story is a study in focus and self-belief.  Salami was appointed in May 2017. Three months later, the National Universities Commission (NUC) approved 15 programmes for the university. The university’s first set of students started their studies within six months after the NUC’s verification. Its first matriculation in January 2018 involved 190 students.   Courses available at Tech-U include Mechatronics Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Food Sciences and Technology, Cyber Security, Computer Science, Software Engineering, Physics with Electronics, Petroleum Engineering, Industrial Chemistry and Statistics.

    Obviously, the university’s courses have a 21st century character. Tech-U is designed to produce entrepreneurial techies.  French is compulsory for every student, which says something about the university’s international outlook. In addition, every student is required to take two skills in any field of artisanship along with any course of their choice, and must be certified in such skills before they graduate. This blend of academic, entrepreneurial and vocational education is expected to prepare the university’s graduates for the challenges of the 21st century.

     The university’s programmes show that it is on course concerning its orientation. Tech-U has demonstrated that it understands the meaning of specialisation.  This is a lesson in a country where specialised universities are known to have gotten off track.  Two years ago, the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, said: “Some of these specialised institutions include universities such as Universities of Agriculture, Universities of Technologies, Universities of Medicine, amongst others. The Federal government has observed that these institutions have derailed from their statutory responsibilities, thereby running programmes that are antithetical to their mandates.”

    Adamu added: “The government notes the unfortunate situation where Universities of Agriculture offer programmes in Law, Management courses such as Accounting, Banking and Finance, Business Administration, among others. As if that was not enough, some institutions change the nomenclature of some of the courses to read, for instance, Banking Engineering, Accounting Technology, among other names. This is an aberration and should be stopped with immediate effect.”

    Deviation from specialisation has been attributed to funding challenges. On the issue of funding, Tech-U, according to Salami, has pioneered “a new model of tertiary institution entirely. This university is today the only self-sustaining public university in Nigeria.”

    Salami explained:  ”This is a university that was established from the word go to be self-sustaining; a public university with private-sector orientation. So with that, except the law is changed, I do not see any problem with that. Let me say clearly that this university is not running on government subvention. What government gave us is the take-off grant; apart from the take-off grant, we are supposed to really, you know, generate resources to actually forge ahead while the government takes care of infrastructural development and that’s what we have been doing in the last one year. We have been partnering with so many agencies and we have been running the university smoothly.”

    Governor Ajimobi had emphasised Tech-U’s public-private partnership model at an event last year:  ”The commitment of government is to provide resources for its takeoff; after this, you pay your bills. While government will honor its commitment in this regard, it is imperative that the university begins to look out for partnerships that would make it attain full financial autonomy as a self-sustaining university.”

    There is no doubt that the Tech-U model calls for creative thinking on the part of the institution’s management. It is a model that deserves to be emulated by tertiary institutions in the country that continue to cry about poor funding. Salami’s words: “We are supposed to solve problems and we can’t solve problems without having resources. We don’t depend solely on government subvention. Yes, government has a responsibility to support education but what we are saying is that we are not going the way of other public universities that rely solely on government. We are able to survive because we do not depend solely on government.”

    A particular arrangement highlights Tech-U’s internationalism. “We are focusing on the international – in terms of research, staff, content, faculty,” Salami said. “ To that effect, within the first one year, we have gone into collaborative arrangement with Texas Tech University, in America… we are signing ‘4 plus 1 X’ arrangement which allows our students to spend 4 years here if you have come for a 5-year programme. And once you can afford it, you spend the next one year in Texas Tech University and come back here to earn our degree and use that our degree to have automatic admission for master’s degree programme in Texas Tech in the U.S. This means that our curriculum (with what is going on in Texas) is comparable, and that means we can exchange our staff. We want to create an environment whereby our students can be here and get instructional materials from Texas Tech and then our staff will go into joint research partnership with the staff over there so that we look at the Nigerian environment and the challenges; and then we take advantage of the findings we have there to really deal with our local problem in the country.”

    Tech-U is for brilliant students, irrespective of their socio-economic context. Its scholarship basket, which attracts contributions from government and the private sector, had over half a billion naira in less than one year. “Those who ordinarily wouldn’t have seen the four walls of the university, even a public university, are now being brought to a university like this through scholarship and they are embracing it with both arms. They are very happy about it from the feedback we have,” Salami remarked.

    Governor Ajimobi’s Tech-U idea is the stuff of legacy. It should inspire forward-thinking governance.

  • TECH-U shines in latest Webometric ranking

    In a show of its acknowledged leadership in innovation, impact and excellence within the first year of commencement of academic programmes, Nigeria’s premier technical university, First Technical University (Tech-U) has emerged as one of the leading universities in Nigeria, according to the latest webometric ranking.

    In the current ranking, Tech-U comes out clear ahead of long-standing universities such as the Redeemers University (RUN), Bowen University, Pan Atlantic University (PAU), Lead City University and a host of private, state and Federal universities.

    Webometrics, also known as the Ranking Web, is the largest academic ranking of higher education institutions debuted in 2004 that runs independent, objective, free, open scientific exercise every six months performed by the Cybermetrics Lab (Spanish National Research Council, CSIC) for providing reliable, multidimensional, updated and useful information about the performance of universities from all over the world based on their web presence and impact.

    Coming in less than two years of its operation, Tech-U is ranked 43rd out of a total number of 252 higher institutions ranked in the country. The parameters deployed are impact rank, web presence, openness rank and excellence rank.

    As obtained from http://www.webometrics.info/en/Africa/Nigeria, Tech-U trumped UNILAG, Babcock University, FUTMINNA UNILORIN, UNIBEN, UNIPORT, UNAAB and several others with its aggregate point of 4050 to emerge as one of the most impactful Universities in the country.

  • Tech-U Chancellor endows scholarship

    THE Chancellor of the Technical University (TECH-U),  Ibadan, Chief Tunde Afolabi, has endowed a scholarship scheme for brilliant but indigent students.

    The scholarship is  merit-based and covers tuition, accommodation and other fees for students of Tech-U from the 2018/2019 academic session till the end of their study.

    Speaking during the presentation of awards to 13 beneficiaries, Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof Ayobami Salami, thanked the Chancellor for his thoughtfulness and generosity.

    He assured that the university was committed to its vision of being a world-class institution fully grounded in entrepreneurial practices, innovation, sustainability, science and international best practices for radical societal transformation.

    “The essence of Tech-U is to raise the bar in tertiary education. This university was established to address the skills gap in the country and not to mass-produce unskilled certificate wielding graduates, as it is in the country today. Here, our students are carefully baked to be outstanding entrepreneurs and innovators.”

    In addition to the Josephus Scholarship and the local government-backed scholarships available for students of the institution, Salami noted that the Tech-U management is committed to providing more support schemes to enable students have the best-in-class, globally competitive education.

    Salami, a professor of Space Application, urged the students to justify their selection by demonstrating excellent moral and academic performance during their course of study.

    Pioneer recipients of the scholarship were selected from diverse applicants through a keenly competitive aptitude test.

    The scholarship will be offered yearly to new students and could be held, subject to satisfactory performance, for the duration of a beneficiary’s programme of study.

  • Tech-U appoints Olatokun as new bursar

    The Governing Council of Technical University (Tech-U), Ibadan has approved the appointment of Mr. Kehinde Olusegun Olatokun as substantive Bursar of the University, with effect from October 3, 2018.

    Olatokun, until his new appointment, served as the acting bursar of the University.

    Born on January 4, 1965, Olatokun, an indigene of Lagelu, attended the Oyo State College of Arts and Science, Ile Ife from 1987-1989 for his General Certificate of Education (Advanced Level). He proceeded to the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife (1990-1993) where he obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting. He holds a Masters of Business Administration and a certificate in electronic data processing from OAU 1998 – 2000 and 2005, respectively.

    Olatokun began his career with the Central Bank of Nigeria, Enugu Branch between 1994 and1995, where he worked as a Youth Corps member. He later joined the services of the Oyo State Government as an Audit Officer in 1998 and rose to the position of Senior Auditor in 2002. He won the Auditor of the Year Award of the Office of the Auditor General, Oyo State in 1999.

    He later joined the services of the Obafemi Awolowo University as a Principal Accountant and Acting Divisional Head, Financial Information. He was promoted to the position of a Chief Accountant in, Grants and Agency Division from 2005 to 2012, and rose to become the Deputy Bursar, Cash Office, Bursary Department in 2005. He was also designated as the Deputy Bursar, Financial Accounting from 2012 to 2016, before joining Tech-U on sabbatical as the pioneer Acting Bursar in 2017.

    With this appointment, Olatokun is expected to bring his 25 years’ experience as a finance expert to bear on putting the nascent University on a firm footing.

     

  • Tech U signs MoU with Texas varsity on exchange programmes

    Technical University (Tech U) in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Texas Technical University (TTU) in the United States of America (U.S.A).

    TTU is among the top three per cent universities in the world.

    With the MoU, the two institutions will start exchange programmes among students, lecturers, researchers and other categories of workers for internationalisation of their degree and post-graduate programmes.

    Tech U may also become the hub for TTU’s “Study Abroad” programme in Nigeria and other West African countries.

    The exchange programme is expected to begin in the 2019/2020 academic session with TTU students coming for their six-week internship in factories and institutions in Ibadan and Lagos, as may be facilitated by the Tech U.

    Tagged: “Collaborative Agreement for Study Abroad and Research” between students and workers of the two institutions, the partnership will enable Tech U students to complete their degree programmes at TTU and proceed to post-graduate studies, if they desire.

    TTU has an expansive campus spread across the major parts of Lubbock, a serene city in Texas, United States of America.

    The partnership will also afford students and staff Tech U to participate in short and post-graduate programmes in which TTU has special capacity and competence.

    Researchers in both institutions will also collaborate in areas of common interest to internationalise their works.

    Signing the agreement at his office on Tuesday evening, TTU’s President (Vice Chancellor equivalent) Lawrence Schovance said the university was elated to expand scholarly activities to Nigeria through the partnership with Tech U.

    Schovance, who is an engineering professor, noted that the partnership was another step forward in TTU’s goal of widening its international operations to ensure that its students and faculty enjoy international enrichment in their studies and research.

    The varsity president said the partnership would bring great opportunities to students and faculty of the two institutions.

    He added that Nigeria had become a priority for TTU in its efforts at achieving global connections for studying, teaching and research.

    Tech U’s Vice Chancellor Prof. Ayobami Salami said a major goal of the university is to produce graduates who will be key players within the national space and in the larger global economy.

    For it to happen, Salami said, internationalisation is key, hence the huge satisfaction with the TTU partnership.

    He said the university was happy to have the partnership from its first year of operation, adding that it showed the level of seriousness and determination of the management and promoters of Tech U to the ideals of sound education that will enable their graduates make meaningful contributions to the progress of the society.

     

  • Tech-U students to finish at American varsity

    Students of the Technical University (Tech U), Ibadan, are to spend their final year at the Texas Technical University (TTU), Lubbock, United States  to complete their Bachelor’s degree.

    Its Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ayobami Salami, disclosed this during an interaction with select reporters on the institution’s first anniversary.

    Salami also disclosed that Tech U had pooled N500 million for its scholarship fund that would be used to support indigent but brilliant students gaining admission to the university.

    He said both institutions would sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the partnership at TTU, later this month.

    He said the deal would allow students of Tech U to spend one year at the TTU in addition to their first four years of study in Ibadan. They can then proceed for higher degrees at TTU or any other university in the United States.

    He described the partnership as a ‘4+1x’ agreement – with the four standing for the four years of study at Tech U, one for the one year at TTU with the x representing infinite number of years of study at any university of the student’s choice anywhere in the world.

    TTU is one of top American technical universities producing top-grade graduates for the country’s oil industry and related areas.

    With the partnership, Salami said the one-year TTU programme be an icing on the cake for the balanced training already received at Tech U which is 40 per cent practical and 60 per cent academic.

    He added that the aim was to produce well-grounded graduates who will be relevant to employers and be able to create employment.

    He said the partnership would meet the need of parents and students who desire American training system, adding that it would reduce education tourism and capital flight.

    According to him, TTU will share its materials with Tech U because the curricular are compatible.

    To achieve this, Salami said the institution has started partnership with relevant professional associations such as the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Engineering Academy and COREN.

    Tech U is already constructing two workshops for practicals while several organisations, including companies, will soon set up factories where students will gain practical experience. He said the university is in constant dialogue with industry leaders to understand what skills are needed from young graduates so Tech U can continue to integrate such into its training model.

    “For us at Tech U, our students won’t just obtain the degree but will also have the skills needed in the industry. So, our mode of training is different because there is convergence of theory and practice. Forty per cent of our training will come from the industry while 60 per cent will be academic.” Salami said.

    On the scholarship, the Vice Chancellor explained that the institution came up with the idea to help students that need financial assistance. But he emphasised that Tech U won’t subsidise for students that can afford the fees. Local governments in Oyo State are major contributors to the pool while charitable organisations and individuals have also joined in the support initiative.

    Salami said Tech U is already a success story for taking off with 15 approved courses and a total of 183 students in residence.

  • Tech-U partners engineers on Curriculum

    The Technical University (TECH-U), Ibadan has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE, Oluyole Branch, Ibadan) and the Automation and Engineering Academy (AEA)to strengthen its education curriculum.

    Apart from providing a framework for deeper and stronger relationship between the university and the NSE, the MoU would provide opportunities for hands-on experience for Tech-U students while it will also enable professional associations and the industry to have regular inputs in the curriculum review of the university.

    Speaking at the signing, the University’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof Ayobami Salami said the pact would provide TECH-U students with industry interaction while still in school.

    “Our students do not have to wait till after graduation before they interact with professional mentors whose contributions will complement our academic offerings thereby giving them a true perspective of what the situation out there is before they even get there.

    “We intend to cultivate and produce graduates whose training while in the University affords them ample opportunity to have direct contact with real rather than imaginary challenges that impede economic and social development of the society and whose acquired competences and experiences propel them to generate science and technology innovations to solve problems.”

    Salami said the aim of the university is to produce thinkers and innovators who can compete with their peers on the world stage.

    The Chairman, NSE Ibadan Branch, Mr Adedamola Falade-Fatila described the agreement between the Society and TECH-U as a commendable effort to bridge the gap that exists between the town and gown.

    He called on stakeholders to make deliberate efforts to bridge the employability gap.

    “It is our desire to reach out to every stakeholder and make our presence felt in all that we do in Engineering”.

    Ademola Agoro, NSE Oluyole Branch chairman, said the NSE would look at areas it would work with TECH-U to solve some of the critical problems.

    “The university will handle the academic part while we will work on the professional part,” he said.

    While expressing his firm belief in the pact, Basir Adewale Ikotun, the Chief Executive Officer, AEA said with his Academy’s endorsement of the MoU, the actualisation had started.

  • Tech-U and the university ideal

    Nigeria’s and, undeniably, West and Central Africa’s first technical university, The Technical University (Tech-U), Ibadan, could not have come any other time other than now. A product of structured and strategic thinking, the university answers to the crying need to reclaim the university ideal and stem the raging tide of scotching youth unemployment arising, in some measure, to a consistent inadequacy in entrepreneurial and vocational trainings. The glaring limitations of the conventional universities in this regard provide a good ground for the take-off of an institution like the Tech-U.

    In his peroration on the history of universities in the United States of America, Robert Church brilliantly stresses the essence of university to be an emporium of learning and knowledge production for the continual advancement of society. He credits America’s vast progress in different areas to the great ideas which resulted from the workings and exertions of its higher institutions. It is in that connection that what he regards as the “university ideal” manifests – knowledge generation and dissemination, and the building of human capacity for the development of society. The university ideal, as he argues, is to “foster the search for new knowledge necessary to meet the ever-changing needs of modern society, to train intelligence and direct it to the service of society and [humankind …] these expectations form the essence of what may be called the university ideal.”

    In Church’s submission above, it is clear that a university does not begin to have any relevance until it is capable of generating and transmitting ideas that inspire and sustain human progress. The continual timely essence of the university inheres in its progressive enhancement of societal development in all humanly feasible ramifications. What this also means, as numerous examples from different advanced countries of our planet show, is that no nation can develop beyond the capacity or scope of operations of its educational institutions. Put another way, a nation whose educational bodies do not contribute consciously and largely to its quest for progress is a nation for whom development is a mirage.

    It is in that connection that the entrance of the Tech-U to the higher education industry in Nigeria requires some attention. Established by the Oyo State government under the leadership of Governor Abiola Ajimobi, Tech-U seeks primarily to embody the university ideal through the efficient and responsible use of science, technology, engineering, and innovation in solving societal problems. It is founded on the principle of unique innovation, research collaboration, exceptional service, integrity, excellence, and the uplifting of human condition. This university, which will commence academic activities next October with two faculties (Natural Sciences and Engineering and Technology), and Centres for Language and General Studies, and Entrepreneurial and Vocational Studies is not in existence to serve some political aggrandisement need nor is it in place as a mere inconsequential addition to the ordinariness of many existing universities in Nigeria.

    Tech-U is a science-oriented institution with strong interest in generating solutions to the avoidable problems plaguing our society. Indeed, its focus on STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics – education is strongly informed by the fact that development education is critical to the actualisation of progress for any country. This institution is out to produce young minds who are not only scholarly rounded, but who are equally soundly innovative, skilful, ethically sturdy, and wired to generate solutions to problems. The resolve of the management of the university is to see to it that the institution operates in all critical areas as a university whose existence means something to societal pursuit of progress through a constant conflation of old and new knowledge, and wide-ranging development of human capacity.

    What this means is that for the university to translate its vision into reality, things have to be done differently from extant norm in administration, curricular policies, teaching and training of students in the country’s higher institutions. That is, certain things have to be unique. Yes, Tech-U is poised to exemplify uniqueness in technical, development education. It is ready to set the pace and become a reference point through the quality of its graduates.

    More specifically, the management of the institutions has outlined certain initiatives that will enable Tech-U to accomplish progressively the university ideal. In the students of this university, the entrepreneurial spirit will be ingrained and sustained. Each student, regardless of their course of study, is required to sign up for two vocational programmes right from the 100 level. Before graduation, they must be certified as qualified in the two vocations enlisted in. It means they can begin their own start-ups. At 300 level, the students are expected to write proposals. The best of these will be selected and sent to the Bank of Industry as applications for grants, with the university as their guarantors. It must be noted that the vocational studies will be handled by experts in the various areas, not academics.

    The idea here is that graduates from Tech-U are not going to be the usual, conventional graduates that have come to be infamously characterised by the twin malaises of unemployment and un-employability. Our graduates are not expected to finish their studies and be out there walking the streets in search of jobs. With their vocational trainings, they can set up their own businesses to meet real market needs through creative production of products and services. The point has to be emphasised, as Adetona Salau, a STEM education advocate avers, that for young graduates to be effectively productive and contribute considerably to the economic affairs of their country/world, they need “a solid, entrepreneurship-style education”. This education, Salau explains, must empower them “with useful knowledge and skills to become employable; to quickly be productive when hired; and to even start their own businesses if they want to”.

    For us at Tech-U, our conviction is that entrepreneurship provides one of the fastest routes to socio-economic development. It enhances job creation and lasting productivity. This is the reason for the entrepreneurship curriculums that we have designed for our students – hence the sense in the motto of the university, Building Minds, Training Hands. Theory and praxis are fittingly married in the training of our students.

    Another important initiative that will distinguish graduates of Tech-U is their bi-lingual skill. This is expected to widen their sphere of opportunities and internationalise them. For example, of the 16 countries in West Africa, only four are Anglophone while 12 are Francophone. The point of this is that there are opportunities that being bilingual can enable one to tap richly from. It is in view of this that the study of French language has been decided as compulsory for all students of the university. In this too they must be certified. In fact, it is one of the conditions for graduation. Graduates of Tech-U will be empowered to fish in the waters of international markets, corporations, and industries.

    As an extra boost, students will, in addition to French, register for one Nigerian language. There will be various options to choose from. Taken together, the picture that emerges is one of students who will be fully busy and comprehensively engaged. In being so intensely engaged, it does not mean that the students will be debarred from some beneficial social engagements. The goal is to build the complete person, one who is psychologically well-adjusted and truly empowered to positively advance his/her society.

    As for facilities, Tech-U is well prepared to ensure that no essential equipment, tools, and other modern necessities of training in STEM education will be unavailable. Whatever is needed to ensure the quality training of students is being put in place. Moreover, the classrooms are designed to accommodate a maximum of 24 students. All the classrooms, library, and other similar ports of activities are fitted with air conditioners. Useful technological resources are richly deployed in all vital areas of the university. Quality learning must happen in conducive physical facilities. Therefore, it is not surprising that the National Universities Commission’s team that visited the university sometime in July to assess its resource readiness for take-off was largely impressed with the quality of the facilities already in place.

    One other strong point of the university is the high premium placed on partnerships and collaborations with established technical institutions overseas and reputable international organisations. For instance, Tech-U is collaborating with Texas Tech University, Lubbock, USA. As a matter of fact, students from Tech-U, Ibadan, will visit the institution for one year in the course of their programmes. A university which must operate in tandem with the university ideal must not only be international but must also have international exposure and connection. It is also for this reason that Tech-U will admit students from anywhere in Africa.

    Without doubt, a university that seeks to operate in this mode requires strong support from every vital sector of society.

     

    • Ademola is the Media/Public Relations Officer of Tech-U
  • NUC approves Tech-U academic programmes

    NUC approves Tech-U academic programmes

    The National Universities Commission (NUC) has approved 14 programmes at the Technical University (Tech-U) in Ibadan, Oyo State capital.

    A statement by the Media Office said the approved courses would be run in the seven departments and two faculties of the institution.

    The two faculties are: Faculties of Natural Sciences and Engineering and Technology.

    The approved courses with full accreditation are: Microbiology, Industrial Chemistry, Physics with Electronics, Software Engineering, Computer Science, Cyber Security, Mathematics and Statistics.

    Others are: Agricultural Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Food Science and Technology, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering as well as Petroleum Engineering.

    The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ayobami Salami, hailed the approval.

    He said the university would ensure that higher education lives up to its highest potential to ennoble the human spirit and advance human society.

    Salami said: “As a technical university, we have an abiding obligation to efficiently and responsibly use theoretical and practical knowledge of science, technology and engineering in engaging societal problems while maintaining a culture of entrepreneurship anchored on quality programmes that are responsive and financially suitable and sustainable.

    “It is in that connection that we provide entrepreneurial and vocational training to students.”

    The vice chancellor said students would be trained in two vocational programmes for certification before graduation.

    The students, he said, would also be required to sign in for French language and undergo immersion as a prerequisite for graduation.

    Besides, they are to learn one other Nigerian language, besides their mother tongue.