A total of 85 students made first class out of 2,079, comprising 1,660 undergraduates and 417 postgraduate at the 19th convocation ceremony of Babcock University, Ilisan Remo, Ogun State.
Okunola Temitayo of the Department of Mass Communication emerged overall best graduating student with 4.91 CGPA on a scale of 5.
The overall best postgraduate in the PhD programme was Olomojobi Femi with a CGPA of 4.81 on a scale of 5. Amarachukwu Peace of Public Health Department was overall best Master’s degree graduate with a CGPA of 4.77 on a scale of 5.
Okunola Teslimat Temitayo also won the President’s award for the best performance in leadership, academic, community and spiritual services.
Speaking at the 10th postgraduate second virtual convocation event, the President/Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Ademola Tayo, congratulated the students and the university community for their contributions to the achievements the school recorded.
He noted that the university’s academic programmes were fully accredited by the National Universities Commission, NUC; International Board of Education, IBE, and the Adventist Accrediting Association, AAA.
He added that the fully equipped Babcock University Centre for Open and Distance, eLearning Centre, was ready to provide opportunities for many desiring to advance their academic career outside the walls of the university as soon as NUC gives the nod for the Centre to commence academic activities.
Prof. Tayo said: “Again, the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences Classroom, offices and workshops are being prepared for NUC’s Resource visit to enable the commencement of the programme in environmental sciences.”
Tayo said the University would continue to pursue the path of excellence with passion and spirituality, urging the graduates not to keep their eyes on the things that were transient but on those wholesome values and virtues that they derived from the institution.
He stated that Nigeria’s developmental challenges awaited their contributions in the form of solutions.
“You are the solutions. Unleash your ingenuity and the knowledge you have acquired here on the world and make it a better place,” he said.
The vice chancellor charged the graduates not to stop learning as their learning which has just started would continue throughout their life time.
“You have a responsibility to use the knowledge acquired here in Babcock for creativity for yourself, your community, your country and Babcock University,” he added.
As no university would exist without research, Professor Tayo said the Office of Research, Innovation and International Cooperation which had been directly involved in the University’s research activities this year produced a team of researchers from Babcock and Loma Linda University, USA which received the Loma Linda GRASP International research grant award to conduct a randomized clinical trial on an indigenous nut.
The team comprised Dr. Nwachukwu Ifeanyi of the Biochemistry Centre for Nutrition and Healthy Lifestyles, Loma Linda University, USA; Dr Godswill Anyasor of the Department of Biochemistry, Babcock University, Nigeria; and Dr. Olutayo, S. Shokunbi of the Department of Biochemistry, Babcock University.
In his commencement speech, the Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), Mr. Laoye Jaiyeola, urged the graduates to go into the next phase of life with the mind to be independent, creative, thinking outside the box, learning to be resourceful and spending wisely.
Jaiyeola reminded the graduates that they were entering into a labour market where it was no longer business as usual, and that with the pandemic, many companies have embraced digital technologies hence those with acquisition of digital skills were the ones that would be in high demand across all sectors of the economy.
“What all these mean for you is that wherever you find yourself, you must constantly acquire digital skills to stay ahead of the game and make yourself productive.
“The future of the world is the digital economy and individuals that will make discoveries and contribute positively to the world are those that will embrace digital skills in whatever field they find themselves,” he said.