By Adeola Ogunlade
The Vice-Chancellor, of Covenant University, Prof. Abiodun Adebayo, has called on African youths to embrace innovation and creativity to attain global status.
Adebayo made the call yesterday at the ongoing Covenant Innovation Week 2023, with the theme: “Innovate 360-Navigating the Future…Converting disruptive ideas into ideas.”
The three-day event was organised by Covenant University in collaboration with Covenant Applied Informatics and Communication African Centre of Excellence (CApiC-ACE).
Adebayo said that the need to build and equip African youths with the right skills, talents and education that would position the continent in the global arena is apt and urgent.
He said the Innovation Week was significant and timely as it aligned with the institution’s views of creating knowledge and restoring the dignity of the black race.
He said, “Innovations create value, increase productivity, improve processes and ultimately create wealth”.
“It is creativity that brings life into ideas and transforms abstract concepts into tangible products. In addition, innovation creates values, increases productivity and improves processes, ultimately creating wealth,” he said.
The vice-chancellor stressed the need for a holistic, balanced and creative approach to teaching and research to meet the needs of the market.
He said there must be deliberate and conscious efforts to embrace innovation, creativity and research, as the global education and economic landscape has become dynamic, competitive and consumer-centric.
In her welcome address, the Chairperson of, Local Organising Committee, Covenant Innovation Week, Prof. Olubanke Ogunlana said the event was a professional development symposium, which brought together the academia, innovators and other participants.
Ogunlana said “Innovate 360” symbolised a complete revolution, urging the youths to think beyond the traditional boundaries of innovations.
Director/Centre Leader, CApiC-ACE, Prof. Emeka Iweala said the centre had developed a number of frameworks to drive innovations with a total prize of N700,000 for the programme.
Iweala added, “We are launching an initial modest funding purse of 15,000 dollars.”
In his keynote address, Co-Founder, of Opex Consulting, Musibau Lasisi said innovation was most effective when done with a heart geared towards helping humanity.
Lasisi said innovation served as the driving force propelling humanity into the future and the catalyst for progress and advancement across various domains.
He added that the role of innovation in shaping the future of humanity was profound for several reasons.