No fewer than 37 Engineering students of Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) arrived in China, at the weekend, on a 20-day Advanced Practical Training in Intelligent Manufacturing and Control Technologies under a Student Exchange Partnership with Zhejiang Polytechnic University of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, ZUME, Hangzhou, China.

Director of Corporate Affairs of ABUAD, Tunde Olofintila, disclosed this yesterday, in a statement made available to newsmen in Ado-Ekiti.

According to him, the students were accompanied by the Provost of the university’s College of Engineering, Prof. Moses Femi Onibonoje, and an Associate Professor of Mechatronics, Dr Imhade Okokpujie.

Olofintila said that the trip was a follow-up to a 2024 agreement between ZUME and ABUAD, adding that the students in Mechatronics Engineering, Mechanical and Electrical & Electronics Engineering would be participating in an intensive practical training programme in Intelligent Manufacturing Technology and Intelligent Control Technology.

He said that the exchange programme was designed to provide practical exposure to emerging industrial technologies and global best practices in engineering innovation.

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Smaranda Olarinde, who commended the Chinese University for the realisation of the partnership agreement between the two universities, said: “History is being made again in this university. We are particularly happy that the dream and vision of our Founder & Chancellor to provide quality, functional and impactful education has again assumed a new dimension with the trip of our students to China for practical training.

“This partnership, as usual, signals a remarkable handshake between our two institutions in the training of a new generation of graduates who will obtain not only academic certificates, but ones backed with practical industry exposure. This partnership is designed to develop their analytical thinking, innovation capacity and technical competence in modern engineering practice.”