The University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, has said its main concern is to, among others, produce graduates who are capable to create wealth towards meaningful socio-economic advancement of Nigeria and other African countries by extension.
The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, gave this position, on Thursday, at the inauguration of the Incubation and co-working hub built by the Bank of Industry (BoI) for UNILAG.
The centre, which is fully furnished with hi-tech tools and other learning items is located within the Faculty of Social Sciences of the university.
The Vice-Chancellor, who commended the Bank of Industry for the project, said the facility would significantly boost the entrepreneurial spirit of students of the university.
He said UNILAG had made it a culture for every student of the university across disciplines, especially at the undergraduate level, to be trained on one entrepreneurial skill or the other alongside their courses of study.
He said the aim was to make them not only succeed in their chosen professions but also to become employers of labour and wealth creators even before graduation.
He said up to 500 business ideas from the graduating students of the university across disciplines had already transformed into registered companies either on sole or joint ownership.
He said the university is not leaving out the indigent students in this vision as about 1,200 of them are currently being assisted in their studies.
While appealing to the Bank of Industry to grant students of the university who have viable and doable business ideas loans with zero interest, Prof Ogundipe called on other corporate bodies and individuals who love good education to assist the university in any way possible and be of immense benefit to humanity.
He said they could do that by picking a project within the academic environment or students’ hostels, or by funding a student or group of students, or do any other things that would be of great value to the university and the economy as a whole.
In his remarks at the event, which also has the Vice-Chancellor of Christopher University, Prof Olatunji Oyelana; Deputy Vice-Chancellor of UNILAG (Academic and Research), Prof Oluwole Familoni and the Director of Entrepreneurial Skills and Development Centre, UNILAG, Dr Sunday Adebisi, in attendance, the Managing Director\CEO of BoI, Mr Olukayode Pitan, said part of the visions of Bank of Industry is to expose university students to entrepreneurial skills that they could generate income from and also create wealth with even when they are still in school.
He said nowadays, especially with a high rate of youth unemployment in the country, students just have to be innovative of what they could do on their own to earn incomes and in a fulfilled way, rather than waiting for paid employments that he said are not available.
He said this is the mind of BoI in supporting universities with the innovation hub, the type of which was being inaugurated at UNILAG and those at University of Africa, Bayelsa, and the Kaduna Polytechnic.
He noted that the plan by the bank is to replicate the project across the 36 states of the federation and the federal capital territory with each state determines the location to be sited based on need.
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