Engineers commit to capacity development in emerging technologies

Towards improving its global relevance, the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) has reiterated its commitment to rebranding the society and training 10,000 members in modern engineering skills.

NSE President, Mrs Margaret Oguntala, stated this at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Messrs Techlytics Africa and BHM Group in Lagos, training engineers in emerging technologies. This, she noted, will keep practitioners abreast of the latest trends in the industry and equip them with skills to compete favourably in other parts of the world.

The forum attracted the NSE’s Vice President of Corporate Services, Dr Felicia Agubata, Chairman of NSE Presidential Strategic Partnerships Committee, Mr Tosin Ogunmola and other members of the committee including Mr Babatunde Odunlami, Mrs Nimot Muili, Mr Thomas Egbele, Mr Emmanuel Akinwole and Mr Babatunde James.

Oguntala explained that “Professional development is a core objective of the NSE; hence the partnership with Techlytics was to actualise its strategic agenda. She said the society has engaged the government on the need to patronise engineers in projects, adding that there has been an improvement in the government’s patronage in terms of appointments.

Ogunmola said NSE plans to train 10,000 members in two years. He further disclosed that NSE has signed other partnerships to improve inter-governmental, industry and academic collaboration, and membership development, among others.

The Founder/Chief Executive Officer of Techlytics Africa, Oluwatayo Winkunle, said the strategic partnership is a step in the right direction for national development, adding that if the nations’ human resources are well trained, it is the right growth path.

According to her, the training will include critical areas like technological and professional skills that will help engineers develop the country. “We are training them in areas such as data science programmes/data engineering, data governance, Artificial Intelligence, refresher courses like presentation skills, report and email writing and customer service,” Winkunle said.

Earlier, the Regional Manager of BHM Group, Njideka Akabogu, who acknowledged the huge contributions of engineers to national development in its 66 years of existence, expressed readiness to partner with the society and reposition it for greater relevance.