Towards broadening its spectacles and horizons with a view to creating unlimited global pathways for its students, the Landmark University School of Postgraduate Studies in collaboration with the Cademix Institute of Technology, Austria held her 2nd webinar tagged “Postgraduate Pathway Programs – A Springboard for International Impacts and Industrial Engagement” on Thursday 13th August 2020.

The webinar had participants drawn from Nigeria, Austria and the United State of America with over a hundred participants in attendance including the Vice-Chancellor Landmark University, Professor Adeniyi Olayanju and the President and Founder Cademix Institute of Technology, Vienna Austria, Professor Javad Zarbakhsh being the guest speaker. 

Professor, Javad Zarbakhsh, in his presentations, explained the kind of seamless flow that should exist between the Industry/Technology and the Academia/Science. Using a graphical illustration, he expounded how resources flow from the citizens to the governments through taxation and how the government, in turn, funds the traditional universities. Professor Zarbakhsh who did a comparison between what is obtainable in European Countries and the Developing Countries in terms of linkages between industries and academia noted the urgent need to synergize both. 

He added that most of the developing countries still operate within the levels of theories with no industrial linkages yet. He asserted that, “the students in these developing countries are highly skilled in the fundamentals but the industries are not interested in engaging them as they see them as not ready for industries”.  According to him, the technical knowhow is important; it’s far below the requirements for employment, reiterating that a fresh graduate has just 15% chances of getting a job in the absence of relevant industry experience. 

Professor Zarbakhsh, identified the importance of postgraduate pathway programs in bridging the aforementioned gaps and challenges. He stated with optimism the readiness of his institute to collaborate with Landmark University on such pathway programs certification to complement the University degrees. 

Speaking earlier, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Adeniyi Olayanju stated that the programme is organized to expose the postgraduate students in particular and Landmark Community in general to the available Postgraduate Pathway Programs and International Resources that can prepare them for postgraduate research engagement and accomplishment. “In Our Context, meaningful exploration starts at Postgraduate level where need-driven and translational researches are carried out. The roles of research faculty members are closely tied to exposing these students to international resources that will speed up their quests of “Breaking New Grounds”, he accentuates. 

The Vice-Chancellor also stated that the commitment level of Landmark University towards Students, Alumni, Faculty, Staff, and Local Partners, specifically in terms of financial and organizational support for international exchange is very high. Professor Olayanju gave assurance that, “Our Institution is ready to offer some kind of non-technical/non-academic support for a Pathway Programs, international training, or Career Autopilot programs, especially since the costs of a pathway program are much higher than standard degree programs. Therefore, we may be exploring the possibility of signing an MoU with Cademix Institute of Technology”. 

The Dean School of Postgraduate Studies, Professor Charity Aremu who expressed profound gratitude to the Management for supporting the School urged the participants especially the postgraduate students to explore the opportunities the webinar offers. Professor Aremu pledged that the school will remain committed to mentoring and empowering her postgraduate students to compete with their counterparts globally. 

Responding on behalf of the School, Miss Faith Okunola a Master’s postgraduate Student appreciate the Management of Landmark University for their thoughtfulness in organizing such a resourceful webinar. She added that the impact which cannot be quantified will aid their research endeavours as well as increase their horizons globally.