Students of the University have been advised to put their creativity and productivity skills to work and to utilise the entrepreneurial opportunities at their disposal. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Felix Salako gave the advice during the Enterprise Education Workshop and Book Distribution Programme, organised by the Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YOUWIN) connect.
Prof. Salako, who was represented at the event by the Dean, Student Affairs, Prof. Babatunde Idowu, stated that Management, in a bid to promote entrepreneurship in the University, had been encouraging students to be creative by giving them a viable platform to showcase their entrepreneurial skills and thereby dictating the pace for other universities across Nigeria. He, however, told the students to be more focused on generating quality ideas, with an assurance that the money would come afterward.
Giving a brief talk on the YOUWIN Connect Project, Mrs. Bolatito Adebiyi stated that the project was an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Budget and National Planning, and powered by the Federal Government of Nigeria. Mrs. Adebiyi said YOUWIN Connect was centered on youth empowerment for graduates, undergraduates and those that have the skills to be innovative. She also encouraged students to create ideas that would make them independent while stating that Nigeria was making diversification possible in the enterprise sector.
In his presentation on “Plan, Start and Grow”, Dr. Ola Oyedele, a lecturer in the Department of Entrepreneurial Studies, College of Management Sciences (COLMAS) of the University stressed the need for youths to ignite, shift their mindset and stand on their own. The don said the YOUWIN Connect Project was a multimedia programme of the Federal Government aimed at addressing the core challenges militating against the identification and growth of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) among youths in Nigeria. The programme, he further said, targets agriculture/agro-processing, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), fashion, manufacturing/retail, and the construction sectors. He advised students to be unique at what they do and have a sustainable competitive advantage over others, stating that creativity was the bedrock of any business idea.
Earlier, the Deputy Dean, Student Affairs, Prof. Taofeek Shittu, while sharing ideas on how to identify lucrative opportunities, advised students to acquire skills that would help them manage their business ideas. He noted that there is an enterprise in everything that human beings do with lots of opportunities in agriculture and other industries. He encouraged students to acquire skills and see the enterprise in everything that they engage in.
