How Nigeria’s education system can address challenging job market, by VC Highstone Global University

Theophilus Aku Ugah, vice chancellor, Highstone Global University, (HGU) Texas USA, is passionate about harnessing technology and digital, online education to boost Africa’s economic and educational growth. In this interview with NGOZI OKPALAKUNNE, Ugah, who is a professor and a former oil and energy sector manager, stressed the need for Nigeria’s education system to focus on building, capability, adaptability, and value creation to address Nigeria’s challenging job market.
The professor also highlighted brain drain as a significant issue in Nigeria, citing inadequate working conditions, poor salaries, and limited career advancement opportunities as major factors driving professionals to seek opportunities abroad. To combat this, he advocated for improved working conditions, competitive salaries and investment in research infrastructures. Excerpts:

What informed your interest in academia after a successful career in the oil sector?

My transition into academia was not a departure from industry but a continuation of purpose. After decades in the oil and gas sector, working across operations, Health, Environment and Safety (HES), project execution, and leadership, I became increasingly aware that many of Africa’s persistent development challenges are fundamentally knowledge, governance, and capacity problems.

In Nigeria, I observed brilliant graduates entering industry without sufficient exposure to applied problem-solving, ethics, systems thinking, or sustainability frameworks.

Academia offered a platform to institutionalise lessons learned from real-life engineering failures, safety successes, climate risks, and organisational leadership.

Globally, institutions like MIT, Imperial College, and Stanford thrive because industry practitioners actively shape teaching and research. I was motivated to replicate that model, particularly for Africa by building academic systems that produce solution-oriented graduates, not just certificate holders.

How has your experience in the oil industry helped your present position?

The oil industry is one of the most structured, risk-sensitive, and performance-driven sectors in the world. My experience instilled discipline in systems thinking, data-driven decision-making, stakeholder management, and regulatory compliance. These competencies translate directly into university leadership.

For example, process safety principles now inform our institutional risk management and quality assurance systems at Highstone Global University (HGU). Project management skills developed on multi-million-dollar energy projects are applied in curriculum rollout, digital infrastructure deployment, and international partnerships. In Africa, universities often struggle with execution; industry experience helps bridge strategy and delivery.

What sets your university apart in Nigeria’s higher education landscape?

Highstone Global University is intentionally designed as a globally networked, digitally native, industry-aligned institution. Unlike traditional universities that emphasise physical infrastructure over learning outcomes, HGU prioritises access, relevance, and future readiness.

Our programmes integrate climate change, sustainability, entrepreneurship, AI literacy, and global competencies across disciplines. For instance, environmental management students engage with real Nigerian case studies, oil spill remediation in the Niger Delta, waste governance in Lagos, desertification in the North, while benchmarking against global best practices.

Furthermore, our governance model reflects international accreditation frameworks, ensuring Nigerian students earn qualifications that are globally competitive, portable, and respected.

What is the impact of university students prioritising phones over academics, and how can they get back on track?

Mobile technology is not the enemy, unstructured consumption is. Excessive social media use erodes attention, span, deep reading capacity, and reflective thinking. In Nigeria and across Africa, we see students more familiar with trending contents than foundational academic concepts.

The solution is intentional digital discipline. Institutions must teach digital literacy, not just allow device usage. At HGU, we integrate phones into learning through micro-learning, academic discussion forums, research alerts, and virtual labs. Students must shift from being consumers of content to producers of knowledge, using the same devices for research, collaboration, and innovation.

How do you foster industry–academic collaboration, given your corporate experience?

Industry collaboration thrives on trust, relevance, and mutual value. My corporate background enables direct engagement with industry leaders in energy, environment, technology, and consulting.

We design curricula with industry input, invite practitioners as adjunct faculty, and align research with real operational challenges, such as climate risk disclosure, ESG reporting, renewable integration, and environmental compliance.

In Nigeria, partnerships with consulting firms, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO), and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME)provide internship pipelines, while globally we leverage professional networks for joint research and executive education.

What is your take on brain drain in Nigeria, and how do you address it?

Brain drain is a symptom, not the disease. The real issues are limited opportunities, weak research ecosystems, and poor institutional support. Nigerians excel globally because of their resilience capacity and adaptability, not because they left home.

Our response is brain circulation. Through online and hybrid models, we engage Nigerian professionals in the diaspora as faculty, mentors, and collaborators without requiring permanent relocation. Students gain global exposure while remaining locally grounded. Africa does not need to stop mobility; it needs to convert mobility into national and continental advantage. Africa holds the rare knowledge currency that will liberate the world but the resources to fully explore and deploy these vast human resource are grossly limited.

How do you leverage international partnerships to promote academic programmes?

International partnerships are not ceremonial—they must be functional. At HGU, partnerships focus on curriculum co-development, faculty exchange, joint research, and dual certification pathways.

Take for instance, climate change and sustainability programmes draw from global frameworks such as IPCC, UN SDGs, and IRENA while contextualising them for African realities. These partnerships enhance credibility, attract international faculty, and ensure our students compete effectively in global labour and research markets.

Given Nigeria’s challenging job market, is university education still worthwhile? How can students maximize its value?

University education remains essential, but only if approached strategically. The era when a degree automatically guaranteed employment is over, globally. Education must now build capability, adaptability, and value creation.

Students must combine academic learning with digital skills, entrepreneurship, internships, and problem-solving projects. Take for instance, a graduate who understands environmental policy and data analytics is far more employable than one with theory alone. Universities must therefore act as talent accelerators, not certificate factories.

In what ways does your institution foster collaboration with Nigerian industries to establish job opportunities?

We engage Nigerian industries through needs-based programme design, professional certification pathways, and applied research. Industry partners contribute to curriculum review, guest lectures, and student assessment.

Additionally, we support students in building portfolios, consulting reports, data dashboards, sustainability audits, that employers can immediately evaluate. This practical orientation increases employability and encourages industries to see universities as solution partners, not just talent suppliers.

How can students balance leveraging AI tools while ensuring real understanding and critical thinking?

AI should be treated as an intellectual amplifier, not a cognitive replacement. Students must first understand concepts before using AI to refine, test, or expand their thinking. AI is fast creating a borderless e-learning global campus, taking knowledge to the doorsteps of learners through a huge e-library platform instead of learners chasing after analog information databases.

At HGU, we teach AI ethics, prompt engineering, and verification skills. Students are required to explain outputs, challenge assumptions, and cross-check sources. Globally, the most competitive graduates will be those who can work with AI, asking better questions, making informed judgments, and applying insights responsibly.