Professors Without Borders (PROWIBO), yesterday, trained undergraduates and faculty members at University of Lagos (UNILAG) on wide-ranging areas, including working to improve equitable access to inspiring education experiences.

PROWIBO, a United Kingdom-based group, is poised to help students around the world to bridge the gap in subjects’ expertise that they gain from experts in varsities, and implement same in the workplace.
Importantly, the group is also averse to the soaring cost of education, stressing that education should never be a luxury, but a right.

The organisation during the five-day programme, trained 90 students, and 30 faculties of the university.

Speaking at the award ceremony at the Faculty of Law, UNILAG, the Lead Team and Director of Programme (PROWIBO), Rachel Warnick, said that the body is, among other things, concerned with working to improve equitable access to inspiring education experiences having consulted extensively on what needs it can help address, especially in the 21st Century.

Warnick said: “We are helping students’ bridge the gap in the subject expertise that they gained from experts in the universities and implementing it in the workplace. We are focusing on the skills. We are bringing in programmes that really tackle critical thinking, problem solving and leadership, all the skills that employers are looking for now.  We are also using a methodology that is very focused on the learners, whether it is the students or faculties. It is very engaging and interactive.”

Warnick, who expressed excitement at visiting the country again, said she had a positive experience last year and a great impression of the young people that she was here to work with.

“Last year we reached 75 students and 25 faculty members. This year we were able to reach another 90 students and 30 faculties.  So, it is building on what we are doing and increasing the effect. The content has changed. We have a new team and slightly different courses being taught by a different person from another background. The context is different from the first edition. Each programme is created bespoke for that moment, for that group,” she stated.

The Country Coordinator, PROWIBO, Titus Ayodele, described the body as a charitable organisation with a vision to ensure that education, training, and information reaches people wherever they are, and that it should not be for a select few.

He emphasised that the level of education the organisation brings to the table was different from the usual one that students receive in class, as it was more interactive.

Ayodele pointed out that the benefits accruing to the country are many, as young graduates only need guidance with their line of thought to emerge entrepreneurs and replicate it across the country.

“From the exercise that they did here last year, we have about three UNILAG students who have been doing things excellently, in different forms, and shaping the world in their way. This, we believe can go round to many Nigerians. So, we have decided that we will also extend the programme to Ekiti State University.

“We have been engaging the lecturers in the area of leadership, and how to engage students in classes in a more relaxing atmosphere,” he added.

He advised students to apply what they have learnt to real world issues, and avail the country of their knowledge.

He said PROWIBO in Nigeria aims to be self-sustaining and hold programmes across more universities.

The Deputy Vice Chancellor, Development Sciences, UNILAG, Prof. Ayodele Atsenuwa, said that faculty members and students benefited immensely from the first edition, last year, and it was a joy to welcome the body back to the institution.  She said the opportunities for self-actualisation were enormous.

She expressed satisfaction that the university provided the platform for the organisation to operate saying there exist gaps in learning in the country, hence the groups desire to improve the lot of both the learners and the teachers.

She said that as this continues, the quality of training and learning will progressively evolve.

Atsenuwa urged the students to replicate the training by teaching at least one individual saying that the multiplier effect would be tremendous.

The participants hailed the training as enlightening and thought provoking.

A 300 level student of the Department of Sociology,  Oreoluwa Abraham Filatei, said that the programme has been of great benefit to him, adding that information remains key to unlocking vast knowledge. He added that the training has impacted greatly on his knowledge on finance, entrepreneurship and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

He added: “For me, having a first class is not everything. There is something better than that, including giving back to society. I have a coaching class for secondary school students, and I can make an impact with this training and touch peoples’ lives.”

A 400 level student of Human Kinetics and Health Education, Olorunfemi Eunice Adeola, hailed the programme for its life-changing content, saying that she has received increased knowledge in financial literacy, investment, entrepreneurship, and how it can be sustained and improved on.

“There were a lot of things that I felt I knew before, but coming to this programme opened my eyes to other things that I didn’t know and would have been significant in the near future.  Under entrepreneurship, I now understand that there is no such thing as a small business, every step in business needs to be well-planned to avoid mistakes, and to ensure the business works out well,” she stated.

She urged the organisers to continue impacting the youth with knowledge saying that there were so many people still waiting to tap from the training.