By Adesina Wahab  

President/ Vice-Chancellor of Babcock University, Ilisan Remo, Ogun State, Prof. Ademola Tayo, has said the focus of the institution is to produce well-rounded graduates and entrepreneurs who have the competencies and skills to contribute positively to the economy of the country.

He stated this during the inauguration of various infrastructural projects in the university as part of activities lined up for the recent convocation of the university.

Some of the projects inaugurated included the Senate Building named after the pioneer Vice- Chancellor, Prof. Adekunle Alalade, New Horizons Tech Hub, roads, staff quarters, staff’s children creche, the N70m solar-powered energy for Laz Otti Memorial Library, Sports arcade and paved walkway in the Law campus and a swimming pool donated by the graduating students among others.

Speaking in an interview after the event, Prof. Tayo noted that the institution in its curriculum had embedded computer and ICT to make the students proficient in computer skills.  

He said: “Well, my greatest achievement and I want to say to the glory of God is that we have been able to innovate in terms of our service delivery. We have been able to collaborate with so many organisations and we have enriched degree programmes that we deliver.

“For example today, our law graduates, many of them not only graduated with LL.B but they have professional certifications from Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Chartered Secretaries. We do not want our students to be caged with only degrees, we want them to have competencies.

“Again, Babcock graduates are proficient in computer skills and they can use Excel, they can use everything. They have the ability to speak more than one language, because we have embedded French in so many of the courses.”

Talking about entrepreneurship, he said: “Today, we have so many of our graduates doing well in various businesses. One of them is a law graduate who is a big player in rental business – she rents out helicopters, ships, yachts and so many other things. I want to inform you that the business started here.

“We want to make this university an entrepreneur university, we encourage our students to have their own businesses.”

Prof. Tayo also talked about the New Horizons Tech hub, which he described as Information Technology hub of the institution which has facilities for robotics, Artificial Intelligence among many others.

He said this offers unique opportunities for the academic staff and the students to explore the possibilities the new technology offers to advance new inventions and produce creators of new inventions that could move the world forward.

And to make the doctors, nurses in the Babcock University Teaching Hospital and other members of staff to concentrate on their duties, Prof. Tayo said the management just built the creche where they would leave their   children while at work.

Prof. Tayo who said he had no regrets whatsoever as his tenure gradually winds down, noting that he feels fulfilled having recorded huge successes and landmark achievements for the institution.

He disclosed that a College of Pharmacy would soon be added to the Colleges in the institution to add to the body of knowledge.