From Polytechnic to Technology University: FUTI Bets on Engineering and Practical Skills

The Federal University of Technology, Ilaro (FUTI) wants to be known for building things that work. The institution says the next phase of its leadership will put more weight on engineering, practical technical training and applied research, with the aim of turning knowledge into solutions that industry and society can actually use.

Acting Vice-Chancellor Dr. Mukail Aremu Akinde spoke as he marked four years in office. He said the school must develop an identity rooted in practical engineering and industrial problem solving, which he calls its "Engineering Identity." The goal, he explained, is to move research out of academic spaces so that innovations can be replicated, commercialised and put to work on real industrial and social needs.

Four years of fast growth

Akinde took office on September 27, 2022, as Rector of what was then the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro. Since then, the student population has grown from fewer than 10,000 to more than 27,000. Academic departments and programmes have risen from 34 to over 100, and the number of schools has gone from six to eight with the addition of the School of Agriculture and the School of Art and Design and Printing Technology.

The new programmes cover Metallurgical Technology, Automotive Technology, Auto Body Technology, Mechanical Engineering Technology, Mechatronics, Cement Technology, Welding and Fabrication and Renewable Energy. On the agricultural side, they include Agricultural Technology, Animal Health, Horticulture, Crop Production and Agricultural Extension.

Akinde said several of these courses were designed around Nigeria's industrial manpower needs. Welding and Fabrication and Cement Technology, for example, were developed to supply skilled workers to Dangote Cement's Ibese plant, other cement companies and the growing industrial activity around the Dangote refinery.

What the campus is already building

The practical focus is visible in current projects. FUTI is fabricating 11 electric and solar powered tricycles for transport around campus. Its Schools of Engineering and Pure and Applied Sciences have also produced equipment for gari processing, waste conversion, agriculture and printing.

Several of its inventions have been patented:

1. A three in one electric tricycle that combines solar and CNG technology
2. An IoT enabled solar egg incubator and hatcher with dynamic environmental control
3. An integrated mixer and extruder for mechanised kokoro production
4. A motorised digester for palm oil
5. A compact shredder for plastic bottles
6. A customised biometric system for staff and student attendance and access control
7. The institution has also started using some of the technology it developed in house.

"We haven't done anything yet"

Akinde was careful not to treat any of this as a finished job. Looking back on his four years, he played down the progress so far and said more work remains, to be done together with the Council, principal officers, deans, directors, heads of department and units, staff, students and the unions.

He said the change from FPI to FUTI is moving ahead, but it has to be handled strategically. Committees led by former University of Lagos Vice-Chancellor Professor Ramon Bello and Dr. Charlotte Bose Iro-Idoro are handling different parts of the process.

The road to university status

FUTI is aiming to begin university education in the 2027/28 academic session, subject to the required processes, including preparation for National Universities Commission verification.

Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics), Dr. Charlotte Bose Iro-Idoro, said the university plans to open with nine faculties:

1. Engineering Technology
2. Sciences
3. Environmental Technology
4. Communication and Information
5. Administrative and Management Sciences
6. Social Sciences
7. Computing
8. Agricultural Technology
9. Visual Arts

Registrar Mrs. Aderonke Folasade Babatola said the institution now has at least 80 PhD holders and has recruited 371 new staff in two batches of 146 and 225. She added that FUTI is seeking waivers so it can recruit more professors.