Western Delta University, Oghara, recently held a symposium on facing the Realities of Life after Graduation. In his Opening remarks, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Augustine Ikelegbe said India was a poor country in the 1970’s, but as at today, that Asian country is an industrialized nation, considering her exploits in various sectors of the economy, ranging from Medicine, Engineering, to Information Technology. He maintained that education got them to where they are. In his views, the world now rewards ideas and entrepreneurial skills. A good education should train students to be creative, dynamic and key into the use of the internet. He urged graduates to delve into entrepreneurship.
Thereafter, four (4) speakers took turns to deliver the symposium. Prof. Nathaniel Umukoro of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Western Delta University presented the first part. He laid emphasis on pursuing post graduate degrees after graduation and venturing into research. He said those with good first degree, can search for DAAD scholarship in Germany, Common Wealth scholarship in the United Kingdom, just to mention but a few. Such graduate programs are tuition free, with opportunities for part time work and post graduate work permit. He harped on the need for the graduates to network online, access and share such opportunities with each other.
Mr. Kehinde, a Senior Deputy Director, Information and Communication Technology Unit, University of Benin spoke on the relevance of hard and soft skills, irrespective of a person’s course of study. He was of the view that graduates should acquire professional skills in their discipline. In addition, they should obtain soft skills like communication, team playing, problem solving, curiosity, empathy and time management. For those who studied computer science, he encouraged them to choose an area of specialization such as: Computer networking, website development, database administration and machine learning. They should get training in these areas and obtain certification.
The third part of the Symposium was given by Honorable Walter Bayo, Chief Executive Officer of Aroma Foodland, Sapele. He is an alumnus of Western Delta University. In order to create business opportunities, the presenter said graduates should be creative, dynamic, disciplined and learn to do things differently. They should have passion for their business and make friends.
The final segment of the symposium saw Mr. Andrew Obioroma, Managing Director of Obioroma Group of Company advising the graduates on the way forward. He is also a graduate of Western Delta University. He persuaded them to learn skills that they have passion for and sell such skills to others in exchange for money. He advised them to look at their environment in search for services that people need and offer same. The event was attended by Lecturers, Staff and students of the Institution.