Hot SourceOluchi Chibuzor
Education development experts have stressed the need for students to seek higher education where they can be better equipped as learners for relevance, innovation, and impact in today’s rapidly changing world.
Speaking at the second edition of the Global Education Conference, Country Director of StudyIn Nigeria, Mary Agbu, explained that the event was designed to create synergy among educational stakeholders and ensure that Nigerian students’ aspirations align with global academic and industry standards.
Agbu said that the conference, with the theme ‘Degrees with Direction: Building Career Pathways at Home and Abroad’, was meant to create a kind of cohesion that benefits students, institutions, and practitioners.
“We are pushing for deeper engagement and intentionality in how students approach their studies and career paths. So the conference will, in conclusion, bring students’ study aspirations at different study levels to industry standards.
“Because when you finish, the whole idea is that you are going to be ready for industry, and we’re not going to have industry saying the kind of graduates that are churned out these days don’t quite meet the expectations and aspirations of the growing industry, tech, HR, and growing areas in different fields, science and tech, all of that,” Agbu said.
In a keynote address, Olayinka David-West, represented by Henry Ogundolire, challenged students to bridge the gap between learning and doing, while underscoring that education must go beyond memorisation and performance to mastery, application, and real-world problem-solving.
“So, if you’re going to have a degree with direction, you don’t have to learn for exams. Learn to understand, connect, and create. Curiosity is your most powerful level of skill, and so be curious about confidence and mastery as opposed to performance,” said David-West. “So, performance can give you access to a place, but mastery and competence will do the job and ultimately add value to the system.”
She further encouraged learners to turn knowledge into service and transform study into impact, insisting that a degree is a door, not a destination. David-West urged students to apply their education to real-world problems, highlighting transferable skills such as creativity, adaptability, and collaboration.
“Every discipline carries within it a set of transferable skills that employers and communities are looking for in this century of AI,” said David-West. “Be intentional about turning your knowledge into competence.”
