Early in February, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, represented by Senator Austin Akobundu representing Abia Central Senatorial District, conducted the opening ceremony of the ultramodern Amadeus University founded by Development Economist and CEO/Founder of Grooming Centre Dr. Godwin Nwabunka, and located in Amizi Oloko in Ikwuano LGA, Abia State.
In this interview with Daily Sun, the Vice Chancellor of Amadeus University in Amizi Ikwuano LGA Professor Samuel Mbadike Nzotta, explains why Amadeus ranks high as a world class institution with an academic curriculum powered by the NUC prescribed Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS).
Excerpts:
Can the Vice Chancellor introduce himself?
I am Professor Samuel Mbadike Nzotta, the Vice-Chancellor of Amadeus University here in Amizi Oloko in Ikwuano LGA, Abia State.
Before I resumed at Amadeus University, I was at the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO) as a Professor of Finance, and was at different times a Director, Head of Department and Dean of Faculty.
What is your Vision for this university?
We have keyed into the vision of the founder, Dr. Godwin Nwabunka. Essentially, we intend to have in place a university that is going to provide excellent teaching and learning facilities. We are going to be innovative and ensure that we impart skills to our graduates such that they are going to be job creators and not job seekers.
We are going to make sure that they are independent minded and competitive globally. Our students are also being groomed in the art of critical and rational thinking necessary for their individual growth.
That is our focus.
Right now, how many faculties do you have?
We have four faculties presently. There is the Faculty of Engineering, which offers two courses; we have the Faculty of Allied Health Services which offers four different courses. Then we have the Faculty of Social and Management Sciences with five programmes and the Faculty of Science and Computing with eight programmes. So those are the four faculties accommodating the 19 courses that we are currently running.
The NUC prescribed CCMAS or the Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards are adapted by these four faculties. We intend in the nearest future to commence the process of enlarging our degree courses or programmes such that new and innovative subjects would be added to the array of courses we have here.
The idea is to ensure that we are unique in the courses we offer in our chosen departments.
In addition to your future expectations, do you intend to have a College of Medicine and a Faculty of Law?
Yes, we do. There has been emphasis here regarding the list of our future developmental intentions. In the next two years, we are going to put in our papers for the Faculty of Law and then th College of Medicine.
The idea is that these are areas where there are a whole lot of developmental challenges and once the requirements are met within our set time frames and the demands from our stakeholders, we shall be ready to launch these faculties.
Do you have provision for such practical courses needed in certain specialised fields as marine engineering, welding, and plumbing?
In our Curriculum Development, emphasis is not on marine engineering, welding and plumbing. However, the programmes developed so far are unique in the sense that they are structured along the lines approved by the NUC in tandem with its curriculum development pattern. We are also going to ensure that skills acquisition is emphasised along the line of entrepreneurship.
What we are saying is that if you are, for example, in public health, you do not need to be a job seeker. You can create jobs in that discipline.
That is our selling point. We will make sure that we develop the critical thinking in our graduates such that the Amadeus University product’s or graduate can within the context of his or her degree programme, develop jobs and be an employer of labour, a job creator rather than a job seeker carrying envelopes everywhere.
We are practically oriented with a high level of entrepreneurial culture. Amadeus is offering all the opportunities a student needs for self-development and self-actualization so as to become useful to society once out of the confines of the classroom.
Do you have a presence in the Faculty of Arts?
No, we dont have a Faculty of Arts. Possibly in the near future, we are going to have a Faculty of Arts but as earlier stated, law, medicine, and, to some extent, agriculture, will be the list of programmes we shall explore. We recognize that we are in an agrarian zone, and there are a lot of opportunities that will be open to students of agriculture, who are willing to venture in this direction.
We are looking at areas where the emphasis will be on the developmental challenges of the country.
Our healthcare challenges in the country are enormous, just as our food crisis is also very glaring. Both challenges are here with us. The agriculture programmes will help us to look into those areas of immediate and future needs. Agriculture will be introduced after we have introduced law and medicine programmes.
Do you offer English as a course to the students?
Yes, it comes under the General Studies curriculum; we have the Use of English Language as part of the GS course. The idea is that English is a medium for transmitting knowledge. We expect that people should have a good grasp, be well grounded in the use and command of English language.
They should also be able to read, write, do their research programmes, write their thesis in English language, and be very literate generally in that area. We have the Use of English and the Use of the Library as courses which are essential for the student in his or her programmes.
Are there foundational model courses in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics in the engineering faculty right now?
In our Curriculum Development, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics are fundamental in our Engineering programmes. AI is also introduced in our Computing and Science programmes, including Management and Social Science programmes.
In the area of standards and quality, where do you place your laboratories, other teaching, and educational materials?
In all the programmes we offer, our teaching and learning facilities and equipment are world class; they cannot be any less, considering we operate in an environment, where competition is keen and only the best and the brightest can survive.
Here, our laboratories are fully equipped. They are both marvelous and a wonder in the 21st century knowledge industry. The laboratories house modern scientific equipment. We also have computer equipment to aid our teaching and learning in the various departments. For example, in the Social and Management sciences, there are computer laboratories installed to assist the students in comprehending the dynamics of their programmes.
We also have laboratory technicians in place to ensure that all our programmes run according to the standards expected, both by the professional bodies and the National Universities Commission.
How would you describe the university in terms of the physical presentation of classrooms, the ambience of the college, and its landscapes?
Yes, the high-quality facilities are evident, and I can say they are world class. They have assisted us in advertising what we have here and are comparable with any high-profile academic institution in the global space. It could not be less. The academic and supportive staff rank high together with the learning facilities needed to deliver high content and the impartation of knowledge. For example, in all our classrooms, we have smart boards. Smart boards facilitate efficient teaching. They make teaching and learning less laborious. Here at Amadeus, we are advancing towards all aspects of e-learning; our facilities are e-learning compliant. We have an e-library and all the facilities that ensure that our standards compare favourably with those of the traditionally recognised great institutions.
As a private university, we have set the pace, and we are currently one of the best private universities in the Southeast.
You know the poor state of public universities. The decay has always been there.
Alternatively, we are setting the pace for an elevated, acceptable level of teaching and learning.
Very soon, it will be evident that we shall be the most sought-after institution especially for laboratory experiments by these public universities. That is our focus, because the equipment is available.
The quality of staff is equally something to talk about; it is part of our unique cutting edge.
Like I said, we had tested and experienced professors put in place starting from day one. We are not trying to manage our teaching corps or staff team. We brought in professors and professionals from various universities from the onset.
We provided the incentives and tools to ensure that there is emphasis on excellence. We have the experience, the tools, and we are research-oriented. Our aim is to teach research-based knowledge. We are not going to be churning out
stale knowledge. Our lecturers will research and teach research-based knowledge and findings; the aim is to search for something new that will be relevant to the
learning curve and experiences of the students, for decision making at all times.
This is what makes the difference between a low and highly-rated University.
Here at Amadeus University, let me restate for the sake of emphasis and clarity, we have good and efficient lecturers, and we are going to ensure that there is a continuous staff development programme within and outside the country through conferences, seminars, and workshops. The emphasis is on an upgrade of staff skills, proper motivation and the provision of good environment for scholarship.
What would you say about the Chairman and Founder?
Yes, the Chairman and Founder is a visionary leader. The vision to establish a unique University is even something outstanding. He had a vision, and he translated this vision into reality. During our recent first matriculation ceremony, we reeled out all the things that have been done so far. You can have a vision, and you sleep over it. But he did not sleep over the vision. He pursued it, mobilizing the material and financial resources needed to ensure that the vision represents a dream come true. The climax could be seen from the accounts reeled out during the ceremony. It became apparent that his vision has come to a significant realization or actualization. We appreciate that.
I am one of the people he has assembled, and I can assure you that I share in his vision. The game plan is for this University to produce top-flight graduates that will be relevant to society. They can only achieve this by having the right skills, the right knowledge, the right orientation, and the discipline to function in our dynamic society.
How are students guided to meet the expected high standards you have set for and the institution?
When the new students came in, we looked at our rules and regulations, and we conducted an orientation programme for them. Over a few weeks, we were able to inculcate in them the need to have a personal discipline that will help them to drive their academic growth. Here in Amadeus, we have outlawed various vices, like cultism and hooliganism. You know, all these things that trend in other public
universities. We have outlawed this deviant behaviour here. We have set up structures that will prevent these evil acts from taking a root here. Students must be committed to academics, which is the primary reason they are here. We provide opportunities for recreation, for them to have useful interactions, and then be able to develop themselves in a positive direction of body, mind, and intellect.
What laws have you put in place to make sure that cultism is not practiced here?
The university’s regulations on cultism, prostitution, yahoo-yahoo activities and all manner of cybercrimes are spelt out to the incoming student. They are unacceptable at Amadeus University. They are totally outlawed and punitive measures that include expulsion are in place. When we discover that a student is involved in, for example, cultism, we expel him and hand him over to the
authorities because he is a threat to society. We are not going to tolerate it. Students have advanced to ritual murder in some of our educational institutions. We are not going to tolerate any of this here.
The Dean of Student Affairs is setting a machinery to get early information on suspects. As soon as we carry out an investigation, we try the person and act promptly. This is to ensure that these things do not happen here.
Do you have any plans in the future to set up a standard primary and secondary school?
Yes, it is an ongoing thing. We are currently partnering with a secondary school here in Amizi. The proprietor has helped to upgrade a secondary school in Amizi to a level where it can be one of our feeder institutions where students can advance from to this place. It is being managed by the Catholic Church, and we have an arrangement with the management of the Secondary School.
What is the name of the school?
I think it is St. Peter’s Secondary School. We want to ensure that the students at this college maintain a high level of academic excellence acceptable as a basis for admission to Amadeus University, Amizi. We are not going to lower standards because of anybody, however.
Staff can also send their wards to that school?
Yes.
Do you have any kind of collaborative partnerships locally and abroad?
Yes, we are working on some collaborations with a number of universities here in Nigeria. We are working on a collaboration with Top Faith University at Mkpatak, Akwa Ibom State. We also have commenced talks on collaboration with Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, our mentor university. We have worked out a number of collaborations we want to have with them. We are also trying to have a Memorandum of Understanding with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) so that our Accounting programme is upgraded in such a way that our graduates will automatically qualify for the ICAN final examination.
Apart from the above, we have a number of proposals ongoing for collaborations with two foreign Universities. Let me not make an assertion out of context, but suffice it to say we have a Collaboration Unit, working out those things needed to be done, to roll out the collaboration arrangements. Very soon, we will get to the stage of signing MOUs and practicalising the academic relationships. This is very, very important. That means in between courses, students can travel for these exchange programmes? Yes, there will be student and staff exchanges between our University and the collaborating institutions. We are working on a collaboration of mutual interactions and benefit and that is our focus.
What about sports?
Our sports facilities are built to meet international standards. We have indoor and outdoor sports facilities, lawn tennis, basketball and a football field has almost been completed. I am sure you have seen these facilities here. We have swimming pool facilities too, and there is a gym, which is open to students. We reason that sports and athletics would sharpen the mental and physical abilities of our students, while those with hidden and undeveloped skills in these areas will discover and sharpen such skills.
Do you intend to set up a Teaching Hospital as an adjunct or essential part of the College of Medicine?
Exactly, our current medical facilities are among the best a university can offer. Our Medical Centre is very well equipped. You will be amazed at what is going on
there. However, at the appropriate time, we envisage that we shall expand our medical facilities to a full state of the art Teaching Hospital to complement the future Amadeus University College of Medicine.
Conclusion:
We just want to tell our prospective students and stakeholders that something amazing is happening here at Amadeus University. It is amazing in the sense that we shall be grooming graduates who would come out to be globally competitive and very knowledgeable to contend with the demands of economic development in Nigeria. That is our assurance.