FUTIA VC Tasks Students on Entrepreneurship and Innovation for National Development

The Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Ikot Abasi (FUTIA), Professor Leo Daniel, has charged students of tertiary institutions, particularly students of FUTIA, to harness their entrepreneurial skills and individual passions to champion innovative and groundbreaking research outcomes capable of driving national development.

Professor Daniel gave the charge on Monday, August 10, 2026, while declaring open the maiden Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) Entrepreneurship Programme for students and some staff of the institution at the Women War Memorial Centre, Ikot Abasi.

The Vice-Chancellor disclosed that many remarkable technologies, manufacturing innovations, products and services currently in use globally were designed and discovered by students while studying on campus.

He listed some of the groundbreaking innovations as the Global Positioning System (GPS), used for aviation and transportation navigation, and the email system, used for global communications, among others.

Professor Daniel urged FUTIA students to take the entrepreneurship training seriously and challenged them to think outside the box by applying the knowledge and skills acquired from the programme to develop innovative products and services that would position the institution prominently at the national and global levels.

The Vice-Chancellor pledged the commitment of the institution, as a specialised university of technology, to champion innovations geared towards national development.

He expressed appreciation, on behalf of the University Management and staff, to the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) for sponsoring the intervention programme for students of the institution.

Professor Daniel also commended the FUTIA Directorate of Entrepreneurship and the facilitators for their professional delivery of the training components to the participants.

The training commenced on Saturday, August 8, 2026, with a boot camp tagged “From Ideas to Impact” and featured different training modules, including:

• Pep Talk: “From Problems to Profitable Ideas”
• “Idea Discovery and Customer Validation”
• “Designing the Business Model”
• “Building the Brand with Canva”
• “Building the Ordering Platform with Lovable Mantra”
• “Connecting the Digital Business System”
• “Digital Marketing and Live Launch Preparation”
• “Product Demonstration”
• Other inspiring sessions.

Among the facilitators at the training was the Lead Resource Person and Managing Director of WeBuild Innovation Labs, Mr Daniel Essien. Other facilitators included Mr Sylvester Ebhonu and Mr Emmanuel Samuel.

The 1st FUTIA Entrepreneurship Development Series is aimed at instilling an entrepreneurial mindset, boosting entrepreneurial skills, optimising talents, aligning students’ passions with profitable ventures, and upscaling innovation, research and technological ideas to drive national transformation and development, among other objectives.

The University Librarian, Professor Philip Akor, also attended the event.

Other members of staff who accompanied the Vice-Chancellor to the event included the Provost, School of Computing and Information Technology, Professor Ime Umoren; Director of Entrepreneurship, Engr. Dr Bassey Okon; Acting Dean of Students Affairs, Dr Columbus Udofot; Acting Director of Information and Public Relations, Iris Emmanuel; and Head of Petroleum Unit, Engr Inuaeyen Inuaeyen, among others.