The foremost construction giant, Julius Berger, has opened its door wide to Engineering Students of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) tounderstudy Julius Berger Operations, undergo their practical works with the company and study in Germany with a view to making them real and robust professionals upon graduation.
Through this arrangement, which is coming vide a partnership arrangement between the construction giant and the university, its Managing Director, Mr. Stockhausen Heinz, who spoke at the just concluded UNESCO retreat in ABUAD retreat, said the experience will expose the students to quality engineering and global best practices.
Heinz said the four year old university was chosen for the pilot project because of the palpable discipline inherent both among the students and the Faculty and particularly because of its stable academic calendar and noticeable character and discipline.
part of the partnership arrangement, the Managing Director promised that ABUAD will be linked with reputable Universities of Technology and industries in Germany which are vital to the training of engineers.
This way, the society will be able to stem the ugly and unacceptable trendofthe preponderance of collapsed structures in Nigeria which he attributed to low quality Engineers who have no regard for quality and standard in their construction efforts.
Speaking at the commencement of a four-day retreat by the Multi-Sectoral Regional Office of the UNESCO in Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) yesterday, the Vice Chairman of Julius Berger, Nigeria, Mr. Stockhausen Heinz, who described this phenomenon as unfair and criminal, said this ought not to happen as Engineers are duty bound to give the best value for what the owners of structures are paying for.
According to Heinz, who came with the Managing Director of Julius Berger, Engr. D Lubasch, Saubairu Bayi, if Engineers follow standards and specifications, structures and roads will last.
Through this partnership which will be on a pilot project basis, Heinz said Julius Berger will be able to influence the university’s curriculum positively having seen the need of the four and half year’s old university and pleased with that it has seen therein.
His words: “Although this is my second time of coming to this university, but today I am here with the Managing Director of Julius Berger, Engr. D Lubasch, to see the university, to see how it is managed and to see what assistance we can offer as a construction company and particularly to see how ABUAD’s Engineering graduates can work with us after leaving school”.
He added: “ Under this partnership, your students will be able to understudy us and see the right ways of doing things because here in Julius Berger, we do not only pay attention to details, we are highly disciplined and focused and always strive to do the best when it comes to quality and standards. We pay particular attention to quality assurance. It is therefore no small wonder that roads in Abuja are very good”.
In his comments, the Founder and Chancellor of the university, Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, thanked the visiting Julius Berger team, stressing that their coming was timely as it would enable them see and appreciate what the university is doing to raise the bar of excellence in tertiary education in the country.
The Director, UNESCO Regional Office, Abuja, Prof. Hassana Alidou, commended Heinz for the partnership with ABUAD with a promise to do everything humanly possible to ensure the success of the Berger/ABUAD partnership.
Babalola pointed out that both Julius Berger and ABUAD possess a common ground (engineering) on which partnership could stand to positively impact the construction industry in Nigeria in particular and the world in general.
Commenting on the partnership initiative, the Director of the UNESCO Multi-Sectoral Regional Office, Abuja, Prof. Hassana Alidou, stressed that any university that does not have partnerships with the industry is bound to produce low quality graduates.
In her view, the ABUAD/Julius Berger partnership will not only help the development of curriculum but also go a long way in enhancing quality.
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