The newly appointed Deputy Provost of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ), Dr. Adeboye Ola has heaped praises on the students following the display of their entrepreneurial skills in an exhibition on Friday.
The exhibition took centre stage in the school environment as the students put what they have learnt into practise by showcasing their items for sale and assessment from the lecturer in charge of entrepreneurial activities, Mrs. Bisi Bamishe.
Some of the vocational trainings the practicing journalists were exposed to in the course of the two months exercise include; blogging, catering, mobile photography and barbing.
Others are make-up, graphics design, fashion design and shoe making.
Meanwhile, Dr. Ola expressed satisfaction upon ‘inspecting’ every group, stating that the programme was better than that of last year.
The former Head of Department (HOD) of General Studies added: “You have all set a standard and those that will be partaking in the next edition will have to work harder to beat this.”
He further advised the students to keep practising, stressing that it will improve their respective skills in the pursuit of becoming a professional.
Meanwhile, the facilitator of blogging and a final year student at NIJ, Daniel Efeurhobo highlighted what he taught his students and the significance of the exercise.
Efeurhobo said: “We learnt how to use a blog, how to publish stories, things they need to know about blogging and keyword research. Words that people search for on the internet everyday.
“As a professional blogger, we need to make our research to know what people search for everyday before we can write articles on them.”
Similarly, National Diploma (ND) 1 of the institution, Chinweuba Wisdom, who enrolled for blogging disclosed that it was a wonderful experience.
His words: “It has been a wonderful programme and it has helped me secure a job already. I have been able to practise all the things I learnt; Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), how to write. Basically, it has helped in terms of writing, how to monetize blogging.
“I can now confidently say that I know how to use WordPress to publish content. I have learnt how to focus on a particular niche and I now know the difference between evergreen contents and the ones that will fade away after a while.”
Wisdom, however, revealed that he is still learning – and reiterated that it was a wonderful experience.
According to Higher National Diploma (HND) 1 student, Melody Ojimadu, who represented the facilitator of mobile photography, Mr. Gbemile Oluwatosin, mobile photography was chosen over digital camera photography because of its accessibility.
“Everyone has access to a mobile phone so you can see something newsworthy while you are walking and just bring out your phone to capture it but with camera, it will be obvious to all that you want to take a picture as people can sight you from afar,” Melody disclosed.
Commenting on what they learnt, she said: “From the beginning, we were introduced to the foundation of photography, how to take pictures in portrait and landscape with light sensitive materials. We were also taught parts of camera; the lens, IOS, aperture, shutter speed, shutter release button and how to handle camera.”
In the same vein, the facilitator of bead making, Lolade Ogunlenu revealed that the beading process was easy, however, she acknowledged that some students struggled at the beginning.
Lolade also mentioned that with more explanation and practicals, it became clearer, thus they eventually got it right.
The exhibition came to an end with students and lecturers purchasing items produced across all departments.
