Even as many Nigerians openly lament the parlous state of education delivery in the country, there are still a few tertiary institutions which hold aloft the bright beacon of knowledge in the dark pit of mass ignorance. Bells University of Technology, Ota, Ogun State, which happens to be the first privately-owned of its type, certainly ranks amongst those few for more reasons than one. As this writer has consistently posited, Nigeria’s mass media should continue to project worthy achievements in all spheres of our national life with the same passion that we promote the ills of the society. Only that would inspire people and institutions to bring out the best that lies within them. Equally important are the lessons parents, educationists, governments at all levels and NGOs could glean from the university’s success story so far.
Founded some nine years ago by the Bells Education Foundation, with a mission “to discover, disseminate and apply the knowledge of science and engineering for human well-being and development of society”, it has lived up to that billing. There are six faculties (colleges) including Natural and Applied Sciences, Food Sciences, Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Management Sciences, Engineering and Environmental Sciences. Worthy of note is that the young university now runs post-graduate programme in the first three aforementioned colleges.
To start with, all the courses offered at the university have been fully accredited by the NUC and professional bodies such as Quantity Surveyors Board of Nigeria (QSRBN), Town Planning Registration Council of Nigeria (TOPREC), Estate Surveyors and Registration Board of Nigeria (ESRBN), Surveyors Council of Nigeria (SURCON), and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN). The university boasts of one of the best e-libraries in the country.
Interestingly, the university is the first in the country to produce graduates in the increasingly relevant and new fields of Biomedical Engineering and Mechatronics Engineering. It is also the first to secure grant from the international IBM, USA. The grant is for research on “improving agricultural outcomes for smallholder farmers in Nigeria and West Africa using wireless sensor networks”. The team includes students for IBM programme named ‘Students for a Smarter Planet’.
READ ALSO: Worldremit launches 0% pricing international transfer fees to Nigeria
The university has since become the destination of choice for top-rated international seminars and workshops in science and technology. It is fully in partnership with other universities from Ghana and South Africa as well as organisations that foster sustainable industrial production globally.
All these came to the fore recently as the erudite and highly resourceful Isaac Adeyemi, professor and vice chancellor, in the presence of members of his indefatigable management team reeled out the strings of achievements recorded by the institution over the past academic year during a pre-convocation press conference. It was encomiums galore from a cross section of journalists drawn from Lagos and Abeokuta axes.
Not done, he told the audience that the university is the first in Nigeria to introduce an innovative practical course starting with the College of Environmental Sciences where seasoned professionals provide the students first-hand experience and necessary know-how in the application of classroom knowledge to practice. The courses encapsulate Estate Management, Architecture, Building Technology, Quantity Surveying, Surveying and Geo-informatics, and Town Planning.
What makes it unique is that the series of similar practical courses will be expanded to all colleges such that no graduate from the university will come out looking for any paid job. Indeed, they will be their own bosses. This is instructive, considering the escalating wave of youth unemployment in the country conservatively put at 23.9 percent by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Many would want to know how far the students have performed in their studies. Right from the outset, attaining academic excellence has been BELLSTECH’s moving mantra. With a vision “to be world-renowned, committed to the development and transformation of society through environmentally-friendly technology and other innovations”, there is a rigorous selection process in place to attract bright young minds. It was not surprising, therefore, that even while the university was barely five years in existence, its students had started winning academic laurels. Its team of students came first at the National Computer Programming competition organised by the National Mathematical Centre, Abuja, in 2011 and 2012. Now the trend has continued.
In a similar vein, students from the university who participated in the 2014 ‘World Robot Olympiad: Robot and Space’ last month will be representing Nigeria in Russia at the world tournament at Sochi Exhibition Media Complex from November 21-23.
The success story could, therefore, be traced to a committed management team, a dedicated workforce, an enabling environment and great vision. It follows Steve Jobs’ concept of setting up an organisation: “We started out with a very idealistic perspective – that doing something with high quality, doing it right for the first time, would really be wiser than having to go and do it again”. As BELLSTECH prepares to celebrate its 10th anniversary come 2015, there is little doubt that it has moved in the direction of its pay-off message: Only the best is good for Bells.
Ayo Oyoze Baje