Universities must combine Academic with Entrepreneurship in the Training of Students - Crown-Hill Varsity Prof. Muritala Awodun

A Professor of Business Administration and member of governing council of Crown Hill University, Eiyenkonrin, Kwara State Professor Muritala Awodun has advised that institutions like the Federal University of Technology Akure FUTA should try to repair social trust, set long-term holistic visions, incorporate diverse leadership, do more research, connect with the need and proffer solutions and innovate. He gave the charge at the maiden edition of the workshop tagged , “Acadapreneur” organized by the Centre for Entrepreneurship (CENT) on Tuesday 4th April, 2023 at the T. I Idibiye Auditorium of the University. He defined Acadapreneur as a means of commercialization which is the transformation of knowledge into products and services.

Awodun, who once served as Chairman of Kwara State Internal Revenue Services, said Acadapreneur is made up of ideation, creation, innovation, value addition, resource gathering and risk taking. He stated that institutions like FUTA must always live up to its mandate by proffering solutions to endemic technological challenges the country is faced with. Professor Awodun quoted Alvin Totter saying the illiterates of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write but those who can’t learn, unlearn and relearn. According to the don the moment an individual is aware that Acadapreneur deal with the spirit body and soul of an enterprise the better. He however said that challenges such as promoting self against service, syndrome of now against later, immediate gains against legacy, institutionalizing mediocrity against professionalism, patronizing ethnicity and religion against excellence and adherence to bureaucracy and status quo against innovation and advocacy can all be a deterrent to achieving Acadapreneur. He charged t participants to be ready to play their role as the journey to a successful Acadapreneur is not an easy road.

In her address, the Vice Chancellor Professor Adenike Oladiji restated that Acadapreneur which is the combination of two words, Academic and Entrepreneur, is the heartbeat of what FUTA stands for. Represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic), Professor Deji Ogunsemi, Professor Oladiji said the motto of the Institution, Technology for Self-Reliance says everything about the main objective which is to produce graduates who will be job creators and not job seekers.

Professor Oladiji said in order to further entrench the self-reliance philosophy; the University has Entrepreneurship courses for students at 100 and 300 levels respectively. The Vice Chancellor noted that FUTA is blessed to have a Professor of Business and Entrepreneurship who is going to shed more light on the theme of the program.

In a welcome address, Director, CENT Dr Oladunni Daramola d assured that FUTA CENT is committed to providing support and services to staff and students in practical oriented skills with the view to fulfilling the self-reliance mandate of the University and the lofty expectations of productive manpower. She said the Centre is open for collaboration in entrepreneurship and development. According to her the Centre has partnered various organizations to train people in different entrepreneurial skill. She mentioned that the Pontifical Mission Society, New York, USA chose FUTA CENT to train their reverend Fathers and sisters of the Catholic Mission, Nigeria in Agro business acceleration program.