UNIPORT Alumni Holds Symposium To Make Varsity Graduates Innovative

The University of Port Harcourt alumni association, Abuja chapter is set to host a one-day symposium which seeks to make university graduates innovative minds for job creation and not just job-seeking.

The event tagged “Gown To Town,” according to the organisers will bring together key stakeholders, policymakers and university administrators to deliberate on strategies for promotion of entrepreneurial mindset and marketplace readiness in the bulk of Nigerian undergraduates.

The inaugural edition of the Alumni Association ‘Gown to Town’ symposium is scheduled to take place on November 21, 2022 at the NAF Conference Centre, Jabi, Abuja with the theme, “Gown to Town: Strategies for Graduate Marketplace Readiness and Economic Growth.”

In a press statement issued on Wednesday, the Chapter President, Phil Biobele Okoroafor said the high number of graduates being churned out by Nigerian universities annually has further put pressure on the already saturated labour market, saying there is need for creative and innovative measures to orientate the minds of graduates towards delving into entrepreneurship.

“Nigerian institutions of tertiary learning should be fostering innovation and creative thinking among their students so when they graduate, they would be in the favorable end of the job market spectrum.

“The rationale of the Gown to Town symposium, therefore, is to bring together key stakeholders in tertiary education including the academia who educate the youngsters, the industry who require the services of young graduates and policymakers who design schools curricula, to deliberate on strategies for promoting entrepreneurial mindset and marketplace readiness in the bulk of Nigerian undergraduates” she said.

The symposium which will hold annually is a deliberate effort to bridge the gap between the academia and industry establish an entrepreneurship mentorship programme, encourage entrepreneurship development and incubation of startups within the University of Port Harcourt.

It is also aimed to sow the seed for the development of a more relevant, modern curricular for the various faculties of the University of Port Harcourt and serve as a platform for the reunion of the Alumni of the University of Port Harcourt resident in Abuja among other things.

She further said former President Goodluck Jonathan is expected to be the Special Guest of Honour while Emeritus Professor Nimi Briggs is the Chairman of the symposium which will also feature a keynote presentation by Dr. Alex Otti, and a panel of accomplished speakers who have distinguished themselves in various economic sectors to discuss the theme and proffer practical ideas.