“Impossible is not a fact, it’s only an opinion” these were the opening words of Mr Salami Kadir, the Founder/CEO of TIIDELab Initiative and Techspecialist Academy Ltd as he constituted the assembly for 28 graduating TIIDELab Fellows.
TIIDELab fellowship is an initiative of Techspecialist Academy, poised to build and hone the skills of young technology innovators in Product design, software development and software engineering in readiness for the future of work in Africa. The fellowship was organized in collaboration with the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) and Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) as one of the ITF- NECA Technical Skills Development Program (TSDP).
This month marked the end of our five-month transformational programme for the current cohort of 28 fellows. The young enthusiastic fellows are now equipped with the knowledge and skills to build software solutions that solve real-world problems.
The well organized and well attended event was hosted virtually. The TIIDELab Initiative team had in attendance the graduating fellows, Techspecialist Academy Alumni, ITF and NECA representatives as well as distinguished guests from the Information Technology space. The ceremony was chaired by Mr Salami Kadir — Founder/CEO TIIDELab Initiative Ltd and Techspecialist Academy Ltd; Mrs Celine Oni — Director, Learning and Development, Nigeria Employee Consultative Association; Mr Oluwaseun Amigun — Project Officer, Nigeria Employee Consultative Association; Mr Bankole Oloruntoba — CEO, National Climate Innovation Center; Dr Ayodele Bakare of National Information Technology Agency among other dignitaries.
The keynote speaker Mr Bankole Oloruntoba gave an excellent speech highlighting the successes of the programme while appreciating the entire team of TIIDELab and the sponsors for their dedication and mentorship to see the programme come to a successful end. However, he admonished the graduating fellows never to stop learning. In his words “Professionalism is a journey, not a destination, thus you must constantly reinvent yourself.”
The chairman of the event, Mr Salami Kadir emphasized that the emergence of Covid-19 pandemic did not deter the fellows nor obstruct the quality of the fellowship as the team quickly adapted to the new reality by transitioning from the physical classroom flip board training to the virtual training. While reeling the successes of the programme, he mentioned that three of the fellows secured jobs even before the programme ended. He added that “learning is a continuous and ongoing process. We need to keep learning new skills and acquire new knowledge to live and work more productively and effectively. Today’s certification that you have received is unlikely to be your last. In a dynamic and ever-changing industry like Information Technology, you can expect to have to continually update your skills and knowledge in order to adapt as economic and business conditions change and evolve.”
Goodwill messages were delivered by Dr Ayodele Bakare, Mrs Celine Oni, Mr Celestine Omin and Mrs Aanu Rotimi who congratulated the fellows and admonished them to have an open mind for self-development. Mr Omin who was a mentor to the graduating fellows couldn’t hide his joy and how proud he was to have mentored the fellows, in his words “I always knew you would accomplish big things in life. You all are doing just perfect on your way of becoming a legend. I am happier than anyone else right now to witness this with you. Your talent and your ability to work hard will get you anywhere you want to see yourself in life. It’s just the beginning! Congratulations!”
A representative of the fellows presented a brief report about the impact of the programme as well as projects the various teams embarked upon. After which the Chairman awarded the meritorious certificate to the fellows in absentia.
Also, the valedictory address was delivered by the best graduating female student Damilola Kehinde Oladimeji.
It was an amazing occasion and a fantastic team effort for everyone in TIIDELab. The complete heartwarming recording of the event is available on our Youtube Channel.
Enjoy.
Written by: Mr Lanre Yusuf
(VP, Business Operations;Techspecialist Academy Ltd)
