The Nigerian Society of Engineers, (NSE) Ikeja branch has disclosed plans to partner private sector organisations in its objective to empower engineers across Nigeria.
To achieve this objective, the NSE disclosed plans to create a network of partners across the different strata of the society, including the engineering industry, international professional associations, the media, technology hubs, indigenous professional and economic hubs such as the chambers of commerce, development partners, passionate individuals, amongst others.
The body says it intends to work with all well-meaning individuals and organizations to redirect engineering as the driving force for the development it desperately needs as a nation and as a people.
Speaking during a press conference occasioned by the forthcoming inauguration of the 14th Chairman of the Branch and the 2020/2021 executive committee, Tosin Ogunmola, president of NSE Ikeja branch said the branch had set out strategic action plan in realizing its objective of empowering engineers and elevating engineering in the country.
Some of the action plans he mentioned include building the Nse-ikeja engineering innovation hub, setting up the NSE Ikeja online engineering resources portal, implementing the Strategic Partnership Enabling Engineering Development (SPEED) initiative and advancing Engineering development in Lagos State.
Read Also: Nigerian engineers are doing a lot in designs, infrastructure space—Experts
Speaking on its Strategic Partnership Enabling Engineering Development (SPEED) initiative, Ogunmola said the SPEED initiative is envisioned as a platform to facilitate an intersection Integrated Engineering Development Plan comprising modules in engineering education, engineering practice and engineering policies.
He assured that the SPEED initiative shall bring to the table both individual and institutional partners across the three stakeholders of the academia, industry and government, adding that though it will be driven by the Branch, SPEED will have a stand-alone functional administration that will drive the SPEED action plan of activities as facilitated by the branch to include collaborative works on the identified gaps in the different stakeholders’ sectors towards enhancing specific parameters of engineering.
The president disclosed that the NSE Ikeja Online Engineering Resources Portal (OERP) is envisioned as an online platform hosted on the branch’s website to showcase and project the profiles of its members for employment, contract and consultancy jobs, adding that each profile is to give spotlights of each member’s curriculum vitae, past projects and competencies.
Speaking on the Nse-ikeja Engineering Innovation Hub, he stated that the hub is enabled to develop student, graduate and corporate members’ innovation projects into commercially-viable products.
“The Branch will be at the driving seat of advancing engineering development in Lagos State by developing indices around the engineering state of the State, developing practical engineering solutions to thematic challenges bedevilling the State and putting forward a compendium of the Lagos State Engineering State as a working tool of engagement with the State government and the private sector in actualizing projects to address the identified gaps and create a measurement framework to track progress in engineering development in the State,” Ogunmola said.
In addition to these flagship initiatives, he said the branch shall be spearheading engineering advocacy in collaboration with the other NSE branches, NSE divisions and other relevant organizations on engineering standards, state-of-art industrial workshops and Nysc-industry mapping.
