IUO student trains foreign counterparts in Rwanda

Nigeria’s Adeyemi Sylvester was one of the students selected to drill his counterparts from other parts of the continent during the International Pharmaceutical Students Federation Trainers Development Camp, which held at the University of Rwanda, Huye Campus.

Sylvester, who was the only Nigerian delegate at the workshop, which comprised pharmacy students from African countries, ended up being one of the few selected to make a presentation on project management.

The aim of the camp was to train undergraduate students of pharmacy to become trainers saddled with the responsibility of training others at the local, national and international levels in various soft skills necessary for leadership, management and policy making in the areas of healthcare delivery and general wellbeing of the people.

The Igbinedion University, Okada (IUO) student expressed delight at the level of exposure given him by the school, which according to him has distinguished him even in international fora.

He opined that learning demands more from the trainee’s personal efforts, in addition to the training received to get the desired effect.

“That is why in a class of 50 students; you see students making distinctions, you see average students and very poor students too,” he stated.

Sylvester said the international workshop afforded him the opportunity of interacting with pharmacy students from other African countries including Egypt.

“Although many of them appreciated my presentations, I, however, found something different about their training, which I think is lacking in our training in Nigeria. I found out that they were more practical oriented in their training, especially those of them from Rwanda. Their government’s policy lays much emphasis on practical training and this is reflected in their curricula, which creates opportunities for exchange programmes and other practical training to deepen their clinical skills.