Igbinedion University has added five new departments to become the private university offering the highest number of degree programmes in Nigeria.
With the addition of five new departments, Nigeria’s first licenced private university, the Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State, has moved from 29 departments to 34, and from 38 programmes to 55 programmes.
This is the largest in any private university in the country. Similarly, the university has moved from 19 post graduate programmes to 24 programmes.
These disclosures were made by the Vice Chancellor of the university, Lawrence Ikechukwu Ezemonye, while speaking after the university’s 10th Entrepreneurial Day, a programme designed to encourage productivity among the students of the university.
According to the VC, the new programmes were digital and technology-based programmes, in line with the mantra of the university to produce “future-ready graduates.”
He said the programmes were with a view to affording the students the latitude for IT profiling and they include Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Engineering, Mechatronics; B.Sc in Cybersecurity; BSc in Software Engineering; BSc in Environmental Engineering; and B. Sc in Pharmacology.
The new post graduate degrees included postgraduate diplomas, doctor of philosophy (Ph.D) in Computer Engineering, in Mechanical Engineering, in Sociology, as well as Urban and Regional Planning.
According to the VC, all these newly introduced 11 programmes are already fully accredited by National Universities Commission (NUC) and all professional bodies that the university is affiliated to.
The VC pointed out that the programmes being introduced are to achieve an educational delivery status that suits entrepreneurial activities because they meet the demands of the time, in pursuit of the vision of the university to be a centre of academic excellence through teaching, research and knowledge production in response to contextualized national and global needs.
“Our students are excelling everywhere and in all disciplines. It is the vision that our founder, Sir Gabriel Igbinedion, that he should set up a centre, the full time job of which should be to produce excellence through teaching and research but in the context of national and international demands. Our students are all over the place now, working in every part of the world and have met international demands”.
The VC expressed joy with the cosmopolitan status of the university, saying “we did matriculation recently and I was so happy to let the parents know that the university is cosmopolitan in nature; we have students from every state in the country, including the federal capital. There was a time we had people from every local government in the 774 local governments in the country.”
He added that the university has already exceeded the 25 per cent threshold in the employment of women. He said based on four platforms, the university remains a top choice for students and intending members of faculty.
“These are qualitative educational deliveries; research development; digitalization; and internationalization and partnership.
“This university thrives on high class internationalisation and has succeeded in maintaining international partners. You see, every university that does not have a global outlook will not attract quality students,” he added.
