Adopt innovative teaching approach, Afe Babalola tells academics

Founder and Chancellor of the Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Afe Babalola, has challenged the university lecturers to abandon outdated teaching methods and embrace innovative approaches that inspire curiosity and deep learning.

Babalola spoke yesterday at a two-day Train-the-Trainer Workshop on Teaching Pedagogy, held at the Alfa Belgore Hall of the ABUAD. The legal icon underscored the enduring power of storytelling in education, as a method of impacting knowledge.

He said: “The best way to impart knowledge, stimulate curiosity, and capture attention is through storytelling. Know your subject, plan your lessons well, and teach in a way that leaves a lasting impression on the learner,” the Founder stated.

Delivering the keynote address, former Vice-Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University and former Secretary-General of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, Prof. Michael Faborode, provided a strategic roadmap for ABUAD’s continued rise as a world-class institution.

According to him, a 21st-century university must balance academic excellence with societal relevance, innovation, and impact. Universities are built on collaboration, shared vision, and collective responsibility.

“Every lecturer, student, staff member, and alumnus is a stakeholder in sustaining greatness,” he said Using Aare Afe Babalola as a case study, Faborode noted that one individual can change a national narrative, describing ABUAD’s founder as “one of the few Nigerians transforming education and humanity for the better, not only in Nigeria but beyond.”

He further highlighted the global shift from the traditional research mantra of “Publish or Perish” to “Publish, Produce (Patent), and Prosper,” urging academics to translate research outputs into patents, innovations, and commercial value.

Speaking at the event, the vice-chancellor, Prof. Smaranda Olarinde, described the workshop as a strategic intervention aimed at sustaining ABUAD’s leadership in higher education.

“Pedagogy is no longer a routine transmission of knowledge but a deliberate, reflective, and innovative enterprise. “At ABUAD, we are intentional about equipping our academic staff with the skills, mindset, and ethical grounding required to educate learners in a technology-driven, fast-changing world.”

Olarinde emphasised that the university’s greatest strength lies in its academic workforce, noting that continuous professional development remains central to ABUAD’s vision of excellence in teaching, research, and societal impact.

The Vice Chancellor urged participants to translate knowledge gained into action, saying: “Let the lessons learnt cascade into our lectures, laboratories, studios, workshops, and research ecosystem, because together we constitute ABUAD’s success story of a world-class university.”