As part of the activities marking the Civil Engineering Week in Covenant University, students of the department recently got a rare privilege to interact with a dynamic practitioner in the industry and be acquainted with the fact of operations, real time practice and challenges facing the profession of Civil Engineering, Engr Kunle Adebajo, Managing Partner Ove Arup spoke on the importance of skill diversity.
Speaking on the theme: Engineering: the Future; Information, Exposure and Innovation, the guest speaker Engineer Kunle Adebajo, a Civil and Structural Engineer from Ove Arup and Partners Nigeria Limited said the profession of civil engineering has taken a new dimension where all aspect of the built environment is taken into account in maintaining, conserving and improving life on the planet.
Engineer Adebajo told the students not to see Civil Engineering as just about buildings, but going beyond that to the sphere of being involved in aviation, highways, mining, rail, sports, water, geotechnics, project management, environment impact assessment among others, and the ability to bring variety to bare on any project is the hallmark of a Civil Engineer.
According to him, “Its innovativeness, creative thinking, passion for the profession, ability to communicate, influence and impress upon clients to see things from your point of view, will determine the relevance of the 21st century compliant Civil Engineer.”
He told the Civil Engineers in training that the profession of Civil Engineering, by nature of the new world order, would remain eternally relevant. He challenged the students to ensure that when they start practicing, every of their engineering endeavours are geared towards relevance, functionality, pleasure and luxury.
Engineer Adebajo who is a member of many professional bodies including:Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers; Nigerian Society of Engineers; Association of Consulting Engineers of Nigeria; Fountain of Hope International, and Federal Roads Safety Commission, commended Covenant University for making the study of Civil Engineering appealing, which has attracted a lot of female students to pursue a discipline in that field.
He advised the students not to be money conscious at the initial stage of entering into the profession. According to him, even though the earning prospects are very low, the profession has the capacity to raise them beyond any measure, thus the need to choose the profession first. He stated that job satisfaction comes with doing what makes one feel good and you knowing that one is contributing to the advancement of the society.
Engineer Adebajo told the students that he expected the entrepreneurial spirit to be birthed in them. He stated that they should not confine themselves to the theoretical aspect of their discipline, but take opportunities related to the discipline and make the most of it.
The facilitator said the fact that Entrepreneurial Studies is a major part of Covenant University’s curriculum should put all civil engineering students on autopilot mode to metamorphose into the next big thing in the world of Civil Engineering.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Head, Department of Civil Engineering, Dr. Adebanji Ogbiye represented by Dr. David Olukanni told the students that the interaction was an opportunity for them to interact with industry.
Dr. Olukanni charged the students to make the most of the meeting with an active practitioner of civil engineering. This, he said, would help them anticipate what the industry expects of them, how to react to these and how to develop new capacities for the work environment.
The workshop drew attendance from students across all levels in the department, and it was organized by the Civil Engineering Students Association of the University.