Nile University boosts graduate employability with innovative practices

Friday, March 19, 2021 at 8:51 AM by Adunni Amodeni

The Nigerian job market is filled with graduates who have good results but are unable to find employment. Many employers have attributed this problem to the widening gap between the contents of academic programs and the demands of the industry. Simply put, according to employers, the knowledge and skills that students are being equipped within the university are not applicable to the industry. Fortunately, a number of universities have taken active steps to bridge this gap by ensuring that their students are provided with industry-relevant skills. Nile University of Nigeria is a good case in point.

One of the approaches that Nile University uses to equip its students with vital employability skills is the employment of lecturers with significant industry experience. A sizable portion of Nile University’s faculty comprises individuals who have accomplished industry professionals, who bring valuable real-world experience into the classroom.

Nile University boosts graduate employability with innovative practices — Photo: Nile University
Source: UGC

Case in point, one of the lecturers in the University’s Civil Engineering department is Engr. Aishatu Aliu Umar, FNICE, the current National Chairman of the Nigerian Institution of Civil Engineers (NICE). Engr. Umar’s vast experience and expertise in the Civil Engineering field makes her uniquely qualified to equip students with the skills required for success in the industry.

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Nile University also boosts its students’ employability through strategic partnerships with organizations in various sectors. The institution’s Memorandum of Understanding with the Cryptography Development Initiative in Nigeria (CDIN)—an organization that is dedicated to promoting the learning and practice of cryptography in Nigeria— illustrates this. Through its partnership with CDIN, Nile University has been able to leverage the organization’s IT expertise to provide its students in science fields like Computer Science, Software Engineering, and Information Technology, Cyber Security, to name a few, with important IT skills.

Speaking about the importance of strategic partnerships in equipping students with industry-relevant skills, the Vice-Chancellor of Nile University, Prof. Osman Nuri Aras, stated: “Providing students with an education that equips them with the tools for real-world success is a huge task that requires strategic collaborations. By entering partnerships with many reputable corporate and governmental organizations, Nile University has benefitted from expertise sharing that has enabled it to make giant strides in its quest to provide students with crucial 21st-century employability skills.”

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Furthermore, joining the Honoris United Universities network—the first and largest pan-African private higher education network— has allowed Nile University to access and leverage the network’s vast resources, dedicated employability programs, and regional and international experience in academia to boost its students’ competitiveness both nationally and globally.

Nile University’s numerous efforts to provide students with an education that prepares them for success in their future careers has produced several positive results as illustrated by the following testimonials of two of the University’s alumni:

“The knowledge and skills I acquired studying Petroleum & Gas Engineering at Nile University played a major role in my successes as a STEM Activist.” – (Hajara Kabeer, Class of 2019)

“I owe a lot of my success as a self-employed digital artist, illustrator, branding, and content creator who serves a high-profile clientele including Davido, DJ Spinall, and Justin Ug to the four years I spent studying Business Administration at Nile University.” – Joshua Tarfa (Class of 2018).