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By Chinyere Anyanwu
The Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Lagos, has pledged that it will, in collaboration with all stakeholders, ensure the realisation of the mandate of the TETFund Centre of Excellence in Skills (CoE), Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Development.
The centre’s director, TETFund CoE, Sheriffdeen Ayodele-Oja, gave the assurance during the inauguration of the centre at YABATECH.
Ayodele-Oja, stated that, “YABATECH has the mandate to bridge the gap between the academia and the industry, with the aim of creating a sustainable innovation hub that can commercialise researched products.”
To attain the goals behind the setting up of the centre, Ayodele-Oja said the management of the centre would embark on a “critical robust and effective engagement of all stakeholders in the core mandate areas of the centre.”
He explained that a framework for the realisation of the centre’s vision would be put in place to provide a “structure that allows us in a transparent way to meaningfully and consistently consider stakeholders’ needs and interests in our processes and decisions.”
According to him, the framework will take care of stakeholders’ expectations, from interactions with the centre, interactions with beneficiaries, training, relations with funding bodies and policy groups.
The core areas of engagement with stakeholders, he explained, include skills acquisition, which will involve engaging stakeholders with proven skills willing to train beneficiaries to develop their competence; internship, where the centre will work with select organisations to provide internship opportunities to the trainees and beneficiaries; and grants/scholarships, which will see the centre partnering with individuals and organisations willing to grant indigent students scholarships and training grants to acquire skills at the centre.
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The inaugural training at the YABATECH TETFund skills centre, which is one of six such centres across the country, commenced on Friday, February 18, with the title “Tony Elumelu Foundation 2022 $5,000 Grant Writing Masterclass.”
The session is aimed at teaching the trainees how to write a winning proposal for TETFund 2022 application as well as expose them to ways of finding other grants to fund their dream businesses and projects.
In his welcome address, the YABATECH Rector, Obafemi Omokungbe, who was represented by the Deputy Rector, Dr. Titilayo Ukabam, expressed gratitude for the choice of Yabatech as one of the institutions approved for the TETFund CoE.
The Rector assured that YABATECH would provide the enabling environment that will ensure the centre achieves its set goals.
Omokungbe said, “the collaborative approach will not only address identified challenges but will also bring about the much desired national development. The Commonwealth recognise the activities of TETFund and they are working in collaboration with TETFund to ensure that there is sustainable development of all activities and encouragement of research and development in Nigeria in particular and Africa in general.”
Listing some of the means of achieving the centre’s goals, one of the panelists, Oduwa Agboneni, an accomplished female engineer, said managers of the centre must have a master strategic plan for the centre, a strong partnership with organisations, carry out a needs-based assessment for companies to identify their requirements from those they intend to employ, and provide global exposure for the trainees, and also partnerships.
She called for prompt commercialisation of approved projects from the centre.
The event played host to several dignitaries from the academia and industry, including Prof. Robinson Ejilah, Dr. Felicia Agubata, Dr. Funmilayo Doherty, and Ademola Olorunfemi, among others.
