By Paul Chimodo
The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with a technology firm, Techlytics and BlackHouse Media(BHM) to upskill the capacity of its members and enhance its visibility.
NSE’s President, Mrs Margaret Oguntala, revealed this on Thursday in Lagos at the official signing ceremonies of the MoU, saying that NSE partnered with Techlitycs to train its members on emerging technologies.
Oguntala described engineering as an evolving profession, hence, NSE members must be kept abreast of emerging technologies and new ways of doing things.
She said this is to help the engineers based in Nigeria to compete favourably with their counterparts across the globe.
According to her, professional development is the core objective of the NSE, hence the partnership with techlytics to actualise one aspect of the society’s statutory agenda.
Oguntala disclosed that NSE had started work with techlytics with an ongoing training, noting that 279 of its members who benefitted from the first batch would graduate on Saturday.
The NSE president noted that only financially up-to-date members, in terms of payment of dues to the society, are entitled to benefit from the training, to reward them and encourage other members to pay.
She expressed optimism that the training would improve the expertise of its members, enhance their productivity and help them deliver on the infrastructure development of the country.
On the MOU with BHM, Oguntala said the partnership was geared toward reimaging the society for enhanced visibility.
“We realised that we needed to do a lot more in terms of visibility to position the NSE as a force to be reckoned with in the society.
“We are a brand already, but we need to improve on the brand. That is why we are partnering with BHM because they are specialised in branding and visibility for big companies, “she said.
On his part, Mr Tosin Ogunmola, Chairman, NSE’s presidential strategic partnership committee, said the MOU was entered into to reimage the NSE, membership development, and actualisation of the strategic agenda of the society.
Ogunmola said: “This is at the heart of the creation of the NSE; which is to support the growth and professional development of its members,” Ogunmola said.
The Chief Executive Officer, Techlytics, Ms Oluwatayo Winkunle, said the MOU is a milestone for both NSE and Techlytics as well as a step in the right direction for national development.
Winkunle said the best resource of a nation is its human development, and if this is well trained and knowledgeable, national development would surely be attained.
“It’s a big opportunity to strategically partner with the NSE to train the engineers in professional development which cut across technological and professional skills that would help them excel in their workplaces,” she said.
According to her, the training encompasses data science programme, analytics, engineering, governance, artificial intelligence, presentation skills, report writing, among others.
Ms Njideka Akabogu, BHM’s Regional Manager, said BHM would help to rebrand NSE and make it more visible because the society was doing a lot of great work and had a unique structure.
“The NSE has been in existence for 66 years but has not been able to tell the story of its achievements.
“BHM, as a reputation management and communication consultancy company, will help the engineers tell their stories to the society and properly position them,” Akabogu said.
Other members of the NSE’s presidential strategic partnership committee present at the signing of the MoU included Mr Babatunde Odunlami, Mrs Nimot Muili, Mr Thomas Egbele, as well as NSE’s Vice-President, Corporate Services, Mrs Felicia Agubata, amongst others.