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 socioeconomic development. It enhances job creation and lasting productivity.
- Adesola is the Media/Public Relations Officer of The Technical University, Ibadan, Oyo State.
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