Ikeja NSE inaugurates new chairman Dec. 8, outlines innovative agenda for Nigeria, Lagos

Mr Tosin Ogunmola, Chairman, Ikeja Branch of Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), yesterday said the society was evolving collaborative and strategic partnership to revolutionize engineering practice in Lagos State and Nigeria.
Ogunmola, who would be inaugurated as the 14th chairman of the branch on Dec. 8, told newsmen in Lagos that his tenure would focus on development, engineering innovation and research commercialization in Nigeria.
He said Ikeja branch had “a rich heritage in building a viable engineering culture over its 27 years of existence’’ and was, therefore, prepared to take engineering to a new enviable height.
He listed his action plan to include using the society’s state-of-the-art Research & Development (R&D) center to build capacity of students, graduate and corporate members’ and develop their innovations to become commercially-viable products.
He promised a collaboration with technical and funding partners to raise funds for technologies and equipment required to accommodate the innovators till they perfected their inventions to industry standards.
“It shall be a refining hub to move the innovations from their raw state to finished products that are commercially viable. This will require taking the innovators in the numbers available funds could accommodate per time and working with them through the refining process alongside other components such as research and training, etc.
“The NSE Ikeja Online Engineering Resources Portal: The NSE Ikeja OERP is envisioned as an online platform hosted on the branch’s website to showcase and project the profiles of our members for employment, contract and consultancy jobs.
“Each profile is to give spotlights of each member’s curriculum vitae, past projects, competencies, etc.
“This platform would be given intensive publicity to partner organizations towards ensuring it becomes employers’ and contract-awarding companies’ first-choice one-stop shop for engineering talents, hires and vendors certified by the society and the branch.
“This is aimed at creating and widening opportunities for members,’’ he said.
Ogunmola added that technology would be deployed in selection and verification processes to improve chances of beneficiaries with employers and contract-awarding companies.
He said the Strategic Partnership Enabling Engineering Development (SPEED) initiative would ensure collaboration of individuals and institutional partners across the three stakeholders of the academia, industry and government.
He said that the SPEED initiative will ensure partnerships to bridge identified gaps in the different stakeholders’ sectors towards enhancing engineering development in Nigeria and it would have a secretariat headed by a Director General.
The chairman assured that the branch would change the narrative of engineering in Lagos State by initiating programmes to offer practical industrial solutions to challenges affecting various sectors in the state.
Ogunmola said Ikeja branch would lead engineering advocacy in collaboration with the other NSE branches, NSE Divisions and other stakeholder to organize programmes for engineering standards, industrial workshops and engineering education, among others.
He expressed hope of raising N100 million naira within nine months to change the face of engineering in Lagos State and Nigerian to meet up with the fourth industrial revolution requirements.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the theme for the inauguration lecture is “Engineering Development: The Catalyst for National Development“.
Prof Victor Oladokun of the University of Ibadan is expected as guest speaker while Dr Lambert Ofoegbu, President, Project Management Institute, would be the special guest of honour under the chairmanship of the NSE President, Mr Babagana Mohammed. (NAN)