Colloquium, Vital to Academic Life, Says FUNAAB VC

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Olusola Oyewole, has stressed the importance of a Colloquium in an academic environment, as it is capable of inculcating the University’s core values of excellence, integrity, global relevance, innovation, service to humanity and providing a veritable avenue for students to attain greatness in life.
The Vice-Chancellor made this observation during a 2-day Annual Colloquium, organised by the Department of Computer Science of the University, in a bid to harnessing the opportunities in Computer Science and information technology by providing a platform for interaction amoung the present and past students of the Department through networking, collaboration and sharing of practical experiences.
The theme of the Colloquium was, “Harnessing Opportunities in Computer Science and Information Technology”. Professor Oyewole appreciated participants at the occasion, which included guest speakers, who were former students of the University.
The Vice-Chancellor, who was represented by the Dean, College of Physical Sciences (COLPHYS), Professor Catherine Eromosele, commended the Acting Head, Department of Computer Science, Dr. Adesina Sodiya for organising the Colloquium, especially now that the rate of unemployment of University graduates was severe in the country. He observed that most of the speakers at the occasion were former graduates of the University that were giving back to the system while helping undergraduate students in the Department to understand better the challenges facing them in their various professions, adding that the Colloquium would equally help to eradicate joblessness in the country by instilling entrepreneurial skills in the participants after interacting with the resource persons. The Vice-Chancellor congratulated the students for the opportunity to be part of the programme.
Speaking on the topic, “Information Technology in Action”, Mr. Kayode Akintunde, Founder of Thecodec Systems Limited, Lagos, described information technology as a term which encompassed all types of technology used to create, store, exchange and use information in their various forms such as business data, voice conversations, still images, motion pictures, multimedia presentations, among others. Mr. Akintunde, an alumnus of FUNAAB, noted that information technology was applicable to every aspect of human communication such as the production of newsletters, magazines, cartoons, blogs, social networking websites, surveys, e-libraries, law reports, record keeping, finances, simulations and so on. This use, he noted, could be further extended to the sick, the physically-challenged, children and the aged. He added that nowadays, the level of advancement of a country depended largely on how well the Internet was incorporated into their day-to-day activities. The Keynote Speaker gave some guidelines for the students to use so as to move forward in life, urging them to always ”start from somewhere and don’t think of money first but apply your knowledge to solve any known problem”. According to Mr. Akintunde, the time for the students to start was now.
The Acting Head, Department of Computer Science, Dr. Sodiya, lauded the former students for honouring their Alma Mater by attending the Colloquium, stating that he was happy with the fact that they were making progress in their various endeavours. He further admonished them to make the best use of their time and available opportunity by learning as much as possible from the wealth of experiences of their senior colleagues.
Speaking during the Plenary Session of the Colloquium on, "What Next After Graduation: Work, Study or Marriage?", Mrs. Yetunde Awotona of the Computer Hardware and Maintenance Services (CHAMS) Plc, Lagos, said prospective job -seekers needed to dress well, smell nice and be self-confident. She said graduates were not supposed to grumble while doing their work saying, "whatever you find your hands doing, do it well". She noted the importance attached to  team spirit in the workplace, adding that "whatever you know, you share it with others". Mrs. Awotona, however, allayed the fear that it was not good to share ideas, saying that there was nothing bad in that only, that one needed to be very careful so as not to unnecessarily release one’s winning tactics. According to her, "you can release some information. But the information that distinguishes you better from others are not supposed to be released". "Your boss is your first customer and your customer is your king. Impress your boss, make your boss your friend as he or she would be the one to determine your progress in such an organisation", she stated.
In his presentation titled, "Opportunities in Information Technology: Pros and Cons", Dr. Olatunji Okesola of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), chronicled the metamorphosis of the University from the then University of Lagos (ULAB), Abeokuta Campus, to FUNAAB.Dr. Okesola, an alumus of the University, said eight of them (alumni) graduated in 1992 from amongst the 54 students that enrolled in 1987. He advised the students to develop entrepreneurial acumen in information technology as many opportunities abounded in the profession. The Head, Market Intelligent Unit of MTN Communications, Mr. Adewale Salami, who also graduated from FUNAAB in 2004, implored the students to always be online and never be offline, adding that this could help them into get relevant information from the Internet.
Reminiscing on his days in the University, he said, "I would have loved to have a first class. I was a first class material. If I have to turn back the hands of time, I would like to finish as a first class student". He was full of gratitude to the University Management for giving him the opportunity to study in FUNAAB. The event also had the presentations of Mr. Idowu Samuel from the Lulea University of Technology, Sweden and Mr. Samsideen Mustafa from United Kingdom, whose lectures were titled, "Sense Smart City" and "The Era of Big Data and Roles of Data Scientists", respectively.
Responding, the President, National Association of Computer Science Students (NACOS), FUNAAB Chapter, Mr. Oluwatobi Solomon, stated that the reason behind the Annual Colloquium was necessitated by the fact that the students also required other students to network with successful people in the field with a view to emulating and inculcating their ideals. He implored the students to overcome the challenges of entrepreneurship, saying that inferiority complex was a major challenge. Corroborating him, the Social Director, Miss. Yetunde Babalola, stated that the students had been exposed to the intricacies of Computer Science through past and successful students of the Department, adding that the students had added to their skills. Highpoint of the event was the presentation of awards to the Guest Speakers as  Ambassadors for the Department of Computer Science.