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The Federal University of Technology, Akure has held its first ever Distinguished
Lecture as part of the global positioning of the institution. The lecture, which was
organized by the International Strategy Office of the University, was delivered by
Kufre Ekanem, a PR/Marketing practitioner and Corporate Affairs Adviser of
Nigerian Breweries Plc.
In his one hour lecture, Ekanem posited that the competiveness, productivity,
growth and reputation of Nigeria in the comity of nations will be tremendously
accelerated if we followed the proven track and ensured the upscaling of
collaboration and joint-impact between the academia and industry. Speaking on
the topic “Global Perspectives on Collaborations & Partnerships between
Universities and Industry” Ekanem, a culture advocate stated that “other
countries have worked hard to encourage and support knowledge exchange
linkages between academia and industries for decades, in order to strengthen
global economic competitiveness by building a “knowledge economy” capability.
By ensuring strong academia-industry linkage, industrialization has the potential
to usher in innovation in the country and help us catch up.”
In the course of the lecture, Ekanem shared an advisory framework for university-
industry interactions, types and priorities of industry-university partnerships, best
practices for University-Industry collaborations and partnerships; elucidated the
opportunities available with existing international organizations or associations,
highlighted 3 successful cases of industry-university partnership in Nigeria as sign
post to possibilities. He also delved into the modifying role of government for the
sustainability and propriety of the selected collaborations. Utilizing the
internationally recognized Triple Helix model, Ekanem further canvassed for
understanding entrepreneurship, the changing dynamics of universities,
innovation, socio-economic development and relations between the trio of
university-industry-government to evolve an integrated knowledge economy in
Nigeria.
In his opening comments, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Joseph Fuwape stated that
the essence of the Distinguished Lecture series is to build up the exchange of
ideas as part of the current global positioning of the institution which is already
the premier university of technology in Nigeria in line with its motto of technology
for self-reliance. Introducing the lecturer and the theme, Prof. Tom Ofuya,
Director of the International Strategy Office expressed his hope that the session
will spark a new era in collaboration between FUTA and other Nigerian
universities on the one hand and discerning industry operators to bring positive
impact to the society.
Chairman at the event, a seasoned human resource management professional
and Executive Director, NetConstruct Nigeria, Mr. Abiola Popoola, emphasized the
importance of collaboration between the University and Industry for national
development. According to him, the time for such lecture and topic is apt so as to
ensure effective collaboration between the town and the gown. He encouraged
students of FUTA to make the best use of what they learned at the lecture and
described Ekanem as someone who always walks his talk. “Kufre is not just a
talker. He has lived his life in the industry. He understands collaborations” he said.
In his concluding remarks, Ekanem clarified that the type of collaboration being
discussed is distinct from one sided philanthropy or CSR and also more beneficial
than short term infrastructural projects. “The common focus of the collaborating
entities must be on impact for society and aligned with the needs and purpose of
both academia and industry. We may be late in starting or we may have flagged in
recent years but it is critical to move fast and together in this globally proven
direction.”
