Funmi Olaitan, Ibadan

National Universities Commission (NUC) has approved 14 programmes for the commencement of academic activities of the Technical University (Tech-U), Ibadan.

A release made available to journalists by the media office of the university, said the approval cleared the way for the institution, the first technical university in Nigeria and West and Central Africa, to proceed with the admission of students beginning from the 2017/2018 academic session.

It would be recalled that a five-member resource-evaluation team of NUC, led by Dr. G. B. Kumo, visited the university mid last month to assess its human and material resource readiness before take-off.

The release stated that the approved courses are to run in the seven departments and two faculties, Natural Sciences and Engineering and Technology, which the university is taking off with.

The release disclosed that the courses given full accreditation by the NUC include Microbiology, Industrial Chemistry, Physics with Electronics, Software Engineering, Computer Science, Cyber Security, Mathematics and Statistics.

Others are Agricultural Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Food Science and Technology, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, and Petroleum Engineering.

Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Ayobami Salami, expressed delight with the approval, noting that the university would operate in a way that ensures that higher education lives up to its highest potential to ennoble the human spirit and advance human society.

He said, “Technical University is a unique institution that is committed to training its students to create tomorrow today by giving them access to a broad range of knowledge that allows them to develop the capacity to innovate. Through unwavering commitment to the time-honoured principles of impactful innovation, first-rate research collaborations, exceptional services, unalloyed integrity, and unyielding quest for excellence, we seek to develop hands and minds that will meaningfully improve the human condition in Nigeria and beyond.

“As a technical university, we have an abiding obligation to efficiently and responsibly use theoretical and practical knowledge of science, technology, and engineering in engaging societal problems, while maintaining a culture of entrepreneurship anchored on quality programmes that are responsive and financially suitable and sustainable. It is in that connection that we provide entrepreneurial and vocational trainings to all students.”

According to the release, part of the uniqueness of the university, is that, regardless of their areas of study, all students will undergo trainings in two vocational programmes in which they will be certified before graduation.

Students will also be required to sign in for French Language and undergo immersion as a prerequisite for graduation while they are to learn one other Nigerian language apart from their mother tongue.

The release enjoined applicants, parents and guardians to visit the university website for information on application procedure.