Executives of the Kano Rotary Club have paid a courtesy visit to Skyline University Nigeria (SUN) on Thursday, 10th May 2021. The President of the Rotary club, Mr. Kassim Yakubu, speaking on the purpose of his team visit, stated that, his organization would like to start up a club for students of the university, to give back to the community as well as develop their personal and professional skills. He added that it would strengthen the existing relationship with the university and upon availability. Mr. Kassim who gave a brief history of the club’s establishment stated, that the club was established on 14th May 1984 and had carried notable projects in Kano and its environments, such as polio campaign, establishing study centers for the less privileged, most especially for the children and women. The club according to him has also ventured into outreach Programmes, where they dig well for urban communities in Kano State. On behalf of the Kano Rotery Club, he appreciated the management of Skyline University Nigeria for the warm reception. The Vice-Chancellor of Skyline University Nigeria, Professor Ajith Kumar V.V in his remarks, stated that he has heard so much about the Kano Rotary Club and it gladdened his heart to formally welcome him to the university. He noted that Skyline University Nigeria is an initiative of the UAE, aimed at bridging the gap in education in Nigeria and the world over. The Vice-Chancellor added.  Prof. Ajith shared some of his personal experience as an active member of the Rotract club in India and expressed his happiness to experience a similar thing in Kano. He added that SUN Would be happy to have a rotary club in the University and urged his team to put all the necessary efforts together to make it happen and allowed the students to take ownership. Other members of SUN management who made contributions in the meeting were the University Registrar, Mr. Haruna Aliyu, the Director of Academic Support Service, Ms. Sarada Maganti, and the Head of Sports, Mr. Musa Mohammed.

To mark the World Environment Day on June 5th 2021, Skyline University Nigeria has organized a poster competition amongst participants across private secondary schools in the Kano metropolis. The competition which was held on Monday, 8th May 2021, was opened for all the artists from the competing schools who submitted an entry. The event with the theme ‘Our Earth Our Home’, involved presentation of posters and quiz competition. World Environment Day (WED) is celebrated on 5th June every year and is one of the university’s vehicles for encouraging awareness and action for the protection of the environment. First held in 1974, it has been a flagship campaign for raising awareness on emerging from environmental issues to marine pollution, human overpopulation, and global warming, to sustainable consumption and wildlife crime. 14 schools competed in the event. They include First Grade Comprehensive School, Kingswit International School, Lufaloy Grammar School, Asha International Model School, Andal Science Academy, Yandutse College, Hasyanda International School, Nigerian Tulip International College, Jofay International School, Nifolk International School, Intercontinental College, Swiss Cottage International School, Prime College and Zayyad Academy. The competing schools, being represented by students who meet all the terms and conditions of the competitions were assessed and judged on the basis of creativity, originality, composition, technical excellence, and how well they were able to communicate their ideas to match their posters. Nigerian Tulip International School, represented by Benjamin A. Emmanuel, scored 163 points at first place and received a HP laptop computer. Intercontinental College represented by Maryam Sani Mohammad had 160 points, took second place and received an IPad, while Yandutse College being represented by Yabawa Gana with 157.5, points took third place and received a mobile phone. Other consolation prices are standing fans. Earlier, while delivering his remark, the Vice-Chancellor of Skyline University Nigeria, Professor Ajith Kumar V.V, who welcomed the participants to the event stated that World Environment Day has grown to become a global platform for public outreach. He appreciated the team led by the university’s Event Coordinator, Ms. Nafisa Inuwa for organizing an impressive competition and to the judges, consisting of the SUN Director of Academic Support Service, Ms. Sarada Maganti, Prof. Sanjoy Pal (Department of Biology & Microbiology) and Ms. Jyoti Rajwar (Department of Microbiology).

Facilitators at the recently held 2021 World Environment Day Webinar with the theme, ‘Resetting our relationship with nature’ have sensitized the public that protecting nature is vital in our fight against the current environmental crisis. These crises include Global warming, the depletion of stratospheric ozone, the acidification of surface waters, the extinction of species, the destruction of tropical forests and the precipitous decline of biodiversity. The webinar was organized by Skyline University Nigeria (SUN) on Friday 4th June 2021. Prof. R.Y Hiranmai of the Central University of Gujarat, Dr. Debashish Ghosh of CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dr. Dharmendra K. Dube of Bule Hora University, Ethiopia, Dr. Ameer Kalandra of Jigjiga University, Ethiopia, Dr. Shahid Khan, a Tourism expert and Dr. Iliyasu Garba of Skyline University Nigeria (Visiting), all Keynote Speakers at the webinar agreed amongst others that environmental crisis presents an immense challenge to policy-makers and to many other organizations and individuals who must find a creative solution to sustainable environment. Earlier in his welcome remarks, the Vice-Chancellor of Skyline University Nigeria, Professor Ajith Kumar V.V, stated that as part of the effort to promote a sustainable environment, which is aligned with the theme of the webinar, the university has deemed it fit to hold this webinar as well as the poster competition amongst secondary school in Kano. He thanked the participants and facilitators for honouring the call to be part of a Programmeme that will promote ‘mother earth’. He stated that the webinar served as a platform for generating awareness on the problems facing our environment such as air pollution, plastic pollution, among others. “Furthermore, we will be involving the student to helps drive change in sustaining national and international environmental policy” Prof. Ajith noted. He ended his speech with a note, “Take time for everything before time takes care of everything”. Sanjoy Pal, a Professor of Biology & Microbiology in Skyline University, gave the closing remark. He expressed appreciation to the Vice-Chancellor for his enthusiasm towards the event and appreciated the speakers for their wonderful presentations. “We will hold the next round on Monday, 4th June, 2021 on poster competition to spread more awareness”. Dr. Sanjoy stated.

Too often students placed more emphasis on making good grades and very little emphasis is placed on studies, building soft skills or building intelligence in school. But, there is no substitute for being able to think, solve problems, analyze situations, and understand social values, customs and norms, as required in the workplace without due intelligence. That’s what you get from going to school and learning the right way. Students who studied hard to pass an examination can succeed more in the workplace because they have learnt to manage a problem or situation from their participation in such examinations.  Being attuned to graduate work life is even more significant in analyzing the problems of cheating examinations in the undergraduate days. Here, you will be required to understand, express and manage your own emotions, maintain good social relationships as well as think clearly and solve problems under pressure. Let’s try this exercise. Recall a recent incident where you happened to cheat examination and still manage to get the desired grade. Visualise your knowledge of the course or subject taken as an observer and not a participant. This self-awareness will help you see that you didn’t remember anything from the semester in which you cheated. It is for these reasons that Skyline University Nigeria (SUN) has made it important for students to study intelligently, build relationship bond and be assertive, as well as to give back to society and be helpful. In addition to learning and develop the skill of impulse control, the ability to resist temptations to act professionally, etc. which are some of the core areas for students overall development. The sure way to think, solve problems, analyze situations, and understand social values, customs and norms, and competencies, is to work them. Just like strengthening your muscles through exercise, the only way to build these competencies required in the workplace is if you practice working them. If you want to build your biceps, you do need to do heavy weight lifting to improve them. The same thing applies to developing one’s intelligence. If you want to make an enviable grade and have the knowledge stayed with you, you will need to study hard. The more you commit to studying, as well as learning other skills as an undergraduate, the better your personal and professional lives will be. Take the advantage of the resources and facilities available in SUN to learn to solve problems and communicate your skills better.

The Director of Academic Support Service in Skyline University Nigeria (SUN), Ms. Sarada Maganti, speaking during the university’s maiden orientation for the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) courses, has suggested that Government and Private sector in Nigeria and Africa should invest in education as a solution to the problems of high unprofessionalism and unproductivity in the workplace environment. She made this suggestion on Friday, 28th May 2021. The ACCA Programmeme in Skyline University Nigeria is under the Centre for Continuous Learning (CCL), geared at providing short professional courses to the people of Kano and Nigeria in general. The maiden orientation for the ACCA Courses was organized to help participants discover a world of opportunities when they study with ACCA in the university. “When you take ACCA in SUN, you open doors to the best and most interesting roles all over the world as well as become one of the sought-after finance professionals”, Ms. Maganti added. While delivering the opening remark, the CCL executive, Mr. Kasif Iqbal, stated that the benefits of the ACCA Programmeme in Skyline University Nigeria include a rewarding and intense path that will support participants at every stage of their career. “When you join the Programmeme, you become part of a diverse body of more than 219,000 members and 527,000 students in 179 countries that will stand out to the best employers seeking out trained professionals”. Earlier in his remark, the Vice-Chancellor of Skyline University Nigeria, Professor Ajith Kumar V.V, while addressing the participants at the ACCA orientation Programmeme, stated that “All participants looking forward to joining the Programmeme at SUN are guaranteed continued support to build a strong professional network needed in today’s fast-paced business world. He congratulated the team for a successful orientation.

The world is moving so fast that it becomes mathematically impossible to know what skill set to acquire along with one’s career progression. So, even the smartest of students won’t have all the right answers yet. While a skillset is defined as a combination of abilities, qualities and experiences to be applied to perform tasks well, spending time on improving the right skills can help you achieve personal career goals and become an expert in certain areas. For undergraduate student, there are a number of skills to acquire along chosen disciplines. These can include soft skills such as interpersonal skills, communication, analytical, adaptability, problem-solving, planning, organizing and leadership as well as technical skills such as research, computer Programmeming, accounting, creative writing and more. So, it’s not about developing these skillsets randomly but making the right CHOICE as related to one’s specific disciplines and having SELF-AWARENESS, which will help students to adjust to this changing world. If there is one skill set that people can develop, is really in the ability to understand themselves. Giving all the change in the world, the advancement of technology, the change in the market place etc. Students need to be able to understand this change then understand who they are in this world that is changing so fast. Two points to consider here, which is Self-Awareness and Choice. Self-awareness will help the student to be better understand themselves, diagnosed problems, and therefore correct weaknesses. Choice, on the other hand, brings with it the need to lead your self-aware life, which so many people don’t know how to do. They don’t know how to see change and adapt to it. They don’t know what skillset fits their passion, they don’t know how to change the path they are on to now point at the change in front of them and make a lasting impression. 10 years ago, Ariel photography was possible with the help of a pilot and a helicopter. Today, both pilot and cameraman have lost their jobs due to the change in the world, and their job had been replaced by drones. It is important therefore to note that given the speed at which the world is moving, knowing what skill set to acquire along with one’s career progression will require the skill of Self-Awareness and Choice.

The Vice-Chancellor of Skyline University Nigeria (SUN), Professor Ajith Kumar V.V has called for greater participation of students in the activities of the university’s Toast Masters Club, as this would allow students to build skills they need to become more confident public speakers and better leaders in every spare of life. He made this call on Saturday, 22nd of May 2021, during a courtesy call by the executives of the Toast Masters Club. The executives were led by the Divisional Director, Ms. Omei Bongos – Ikwue. Having in mind, the many benefits that the Toast Masters Club brings, Prof. Ajith stated that a club is a place of happening, where students go to become part of something bigger. He added that though the university’s toastmasters club is just starting, a lot of changes are already being noticed amongst the students who make up the club. “We are beginning to notice a higher level of skill and self-confidence as well as a spark of new learning and leadership opportunities available through the club”. Ms. Omei Bongos – Ikwue who led other executives of the Toastmasters Club to the university, was pleased with the reception received from the university management. While making a speech, she stated that lots of other prospects availed for members upon joining. She extended heartfelt gratitude to the university management for being open and recognizing the benefits of the Toastmasters Clubs in Skyline University Nigeria, whose benefits she stated, extends beyond club activities to become champions in public speaking. The SUN Toastmasters Club was recently launched along with other clubs in the university, such as Music & Theatre, Arts & Photography as the latest additions to SUN Students’ Clubs. The SUN students’ slub is managed by the Students’ Service Department (SSD). All clubs in SUN are listed in the SSD department, which maintains a directory of clubs officially sponsored by the University. Students are welcomed regardless of their major, gender, sexuality, race or religion.