Professor Ernest Izevbigie is the Vice-Chancellor of Mudiame University of Iluwa. In this interview, he discussed the university’s plans, competitiveness, and the need to train market-ready students for the industrial development of Nigeria and Africa.
How is this institution different from our existing universities in the country?
Although my answer is not exhaustive, it is as follows: First, the university’s vision is to carry out technological innovation, such as patents/intellectual property rights that make a positive contribution to economic and national development. The closely integrated vision and mission statement is to become the world's leading technological innovation university to meet the challenges of agriculture and food safety, energy, health, manufacturing, oil and gas, safety, and transportation at the regional and global levels. Our mission or reason for existence is to contribute to the sustainable welfare of society through scientific, technical and commercial expertise, as well as through teaching, research and community service. Second, MUI seeks to redefine Nigeria’s education standards. Therefore, it will narrow the academic/industry gap to stimulate employment and national development. The vision carrier of MUI, Professor SE Eromosele, is a shrewd visionary who helped redefine the forefront of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria and other regions by including standards and calibration measures that affect the bottom line and operations of the industry. The principal is a treat People who impart knowledge on the platform of the famous Oxford University in England.
The university plans to bridge the gap between the academic field and the industrial sector. What does this mean, and how do you plan to achieve this goal?
The "gap" is the emergence or graduation of students who lack the required employment skills. In other words, it cannot be employed. Employability is defined as having the transferable skills required for employment. Skills are provided by academia, and employment is provided by industry. Therefore, crosstalk between the two is required. MUI will conduct industry needs assessment and reflect it in its curriculum development and research and development activities. MUI is a member of a group (organization) composed of many companies and subsidiaries (Mudiame International Limited, Mudiame Welding Institute, etc.), with domestic and global partners. Mudiame Welding Institute is part of the university and is currently training students in welding technology, scaffolding, ridges, etc. sponsored by Shell Nigeria Ltd. The parent organization has successfully responded to the challenges in the oil and gas sector. They raised the standards of the construction industry and extended it to the aviation industry to provide calibration equipment for the Nigerian Air Force and other airlines. These backgrounds make it easier for the university to use existing and new local and international collaborations to supplement the materials provided in the classroom and to conduct hands-on training for our students in a work/practical environment. The motto of Mudiame University is "Innovative Spirit". This is our priority when Africa is looking forward to developing locally-appropriate innovations and technologies to enable the continent to process existing raw materials before export. It should also be recorded that MUI is the first university in the world to provide an Employment Guarantee Policy (EGP) for all first-class honors graduates, effective from the first graduating class. This is novel because it applies to all the many currently available worldwide. Therefore, I dare every qualified candidate who applies for admission to MUI to accept the MUI EGP challenge. MUI is fortunate to share the established and well-known surname "Mudiame". This name not only has special spiritual meaning, for us at MUI, it is synonymous with diamonds, because if there is no sequence of letters 3-6, diamonds cannot be spelled (diam ) In the first four letters of Mudiame and diamonds.
In terms of economy and national development, what will the university provide?
American writer Andrena Sawyer said, "We have no shortage of blessings, we have the ability to crisis." Although Nigeria has so many resources, capacity development is the room for maneuver for our prosperity. The Mudiame family has always been keen on the development of human abilities. Over the years, this has helped the country reduce skills imports in the oil and gas industry, increase domestic production capacity, ease the country’s pressure on foreign exchange earnings, and reduce the time required to provide jobs. These efforts explain at least to some extent why the local content of the oil and gas industry has risen from about 5% to 33% in 10 years. Employment brings service provision and product manufacturing. Both contribute to national GDP; most developing countries have high unemployment rates because of the inverse relationship between national development and unemployment. MUI will train students suitable for the job market; arrange work within other members of the Mudiame organization; and utilize our local, domestic and international partners and collaborators.
As the skills gap persists, do you think Nigeria needs more universities or quality education?
It seems that many people tend to assume that there is a positive correlation between the number of universities per capita and national development. Therefore, I yearn for more universities. Let us not forget that in the past ten years alone, the number of universities in Nigeria has increased significantly: between 2011 and 2021, 58 private universities, 19 state universities and 17 federal universities were established, for a total of 94 universities, representing 47 Percentage of all 198 universities currently in Nigeria. Another argument is that the number of universities in the country has almost doubled in the past ten years! Unfortunately, this kind of growth has not been able to develop and grow in a proportion of the country’s economy or country. what happened? I believe the best way to answer this question is to present the facts in front of you and other Nigerians for personal decision; your answer is as good as mine. The United States has the world’s largest number of universities per capita at 1:63,000 (one university per 63,000 people. She has the world’s largest economy with a GDP of approximately US$22 trillion; the number of Nobel Prize winners generated annually exceeds any The sum of other countries; and has a more stable economic and political system in the world. Very good, this seems to indicate that there is a positive correlation between the high number of universities per capita and these attributes? If so, that’s good, and we can continue to build more Many universities. But the contrast here is that Brazil and Mexico rank second and third in the number of universities per capita with 1:82,000 and 1:103,000 respectively. These countries do not have members of the G8 (the best economy in the world) forum. And without the attributes of the United States, Brazil and Mexico have more universities than Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, and France. They all belong to the Group of Eight. On the African continent, Nigeria has more universities per capita than Ghana and South Africa. I think this Answered your question.
Are you currently enrolling students for the 2021/2022 academic year?
Yes, the lecture will start in mid-January 2022. We strongly encourage students to apply for admission. We have 13 departments and 15 undergraduate courses. The College of Engineering and Technology consists of mechanical engineering, civil engineering, computer engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, food science and technology, materials and metallurgical engineering, and mechanical engineering. In the School of Entrepreneurship and Management, we provide accounting and finance, business administration and entrepreneurship and economics, and in the School of Science and Information Technology, we provide, chemical science, chemistry, information technology, computer science, software engineering, life science, mathematics, Physical science and electronics and biotechnology.
Part of the school’s plan is to connect outstanding students with the local and international labor markets. What are you going to do?
Our quality management system (QMS) requires us to identify and perform needs assessments for all stakeholders: such as students, the job market (student’s employer), host communities, etc. The implementation of these assessments will enable MUI to prepare students for the market. In addition, the Career Placement Unit (CPU) of the Human Resources Department (HRD) prepares students for job placement. In addition, through the Employment Guarantee Policy (EGP), we will bring our partners to recruit our students.
What are your safety plans for students and the general environment?
The Irua community is relatively safe. The take-off of MUI preceded its CSR, so it has received wide support from the community where it is located.
Do you have any suggestions for the education industry?
Review the selection process of the country’s vice-principals, especially the federal agencies! In the era of university globalization, Nigeria’s universities are being localized for political interests, insisting that university presidents must come from the host community or tribe. We have all witnessed what happened recently during the selection process of some vice-chancellors of some federal universities. This is a shame! In any case, for the purpose of fairness and transparency, the choice should be broadcast to the public for viewing. After all, the judiciary has public hearings.
How does MUI solve Nigerian students seeking overseas education?
At MUI, we will do our part to provide so-called Western education in Nigeria and so on. Western education is useful to the West. Western education will be customized according to the characteristics of Nigeria. These characteristics will be determined and resolved together with the industry.
What is the relationship between MUI and MWI? Can students benefit from it?
MWI has workshops for welding, manufacturing, and woodworking. These seminars will complement the seminars of the School of Engineering. There will be synergy and complementarity.