Acting Vice-Chancellor, Trinity University, Yaba, Lagos, Prof. Clement Kolawole, has said the institution is researching ways to further bridge the gap in entrepreneurship skills in students.

Mr Kolawole said this during an interview on Wednesday in Lagos.

He said that the institution, established in 2019, had identified a gap in the area of entrepreneurship, noting that there was a bridge between what the students learnt in the university and the skills demanded in the labour market.

“Here in our university, we believe that once you have a degree, you should be able to do something else, along with the certificate. That is part of our research activities. This is because we have researched it and found out that such a need must be met and so we are leaving no stone unturned, to ensure that we prepare our students on that.

‘‘And in that regard, we are establishing a strong entrepreneurship centre, where our students can have hands-on experience to add to the knowledge they have acquired in the university,” he said.

According to him, the institution has also identified relevant researchable issues in Lagos to embark on, in areas such as water, population, transportation and environment. As a new university, we are still growing.

“Nevertheless, we have identified relevant researchable issues currently. For example in Lagos; we talk about the problem of water; population and transportation. These are real issues that are related to water and the environment.

“In our biotechnology discipline, our colleagues are currently embarking on some research activities, some in collaboration with universities in Nigeria, others with universities outside the country and some with existing universities.

“Also in the area of international relations, we have established a relationship with German University, to take the Nigeria-German relationship to a higher level.

“This will enable us to bring them here once in a year to speak to us on the new phase of that relationship and the challenges that are involved, being a research potential area for us,” Mr Kolawole said.

He noted that recently, vice chancellors of universities in Lagos met at the University of Lagos to rub minds and see how to foster work relationships in the area of research.

He added the group formed a body that would work toward identifying a common research interest in the state and then pull resources together to that effect.

“The committee has been set up, of which Trinity University is a member. Still on research, we are also brainstorming on what we can do with science at the elementary and tertiary school level.

“There is a committee that is working to see how that can transcend to research that can be funded, so that we can go on with that in partnership with the Lagos State Government. All of us as individuals are also focusing on what we can do to advance our scholarship,” Mr Kolawole said.

(NAN)