Amidst the gradual easing down of lockdown in Nigeria as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Skyline University Nigeria has officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Centurion University of Technology and Management (CUTM) of India on Friday, 2nd June 2020. The MoU being entered, established friendship and cooperation in research, education and culture between educators and students from Nigeria and India. The CUTM Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Vineet Chatwal, speaking during the official MoU signing which took place in a virtual meeting, for the purpose of completing the MoU, explained that CUTM is well recognized globally as a pioneer in skill integrated higher education by the United Nations, World Bank, Niti Ayog, Central and State Governments and pledged that it will uphold the vision of the university to see the collaboration become successful. Sharing his thought on the occasion, the Head of Corporate Affairs Department of Skyline University Nigeria, Engr. Bashir Garba said he was happy to share that this was possible because SUN had taken additional steps in adopting e-learning through the virtual environment. “We have been able to do so because our IT team has been working on this model for quite some time, which enabled us to start virtual classes within few days of the lockdown. While making his remark, the Vice-Chancellor of Skyline University Nigeria, Professor Sudhakar Kota, appreciated the CUTM team for the confidence reposed on the university and expressed hope that the trust of the partnership will not be broken. He added that the relationship is for the mutual benefit of both institutions of higher learning. The high point of the meeting was the virtual signing of MoU by Professor Kota and the CUTM Registrar, Professor Anita Patra. Also at the meeting was the International Affiliation Manager of CUTM Mr. Mohanty Sekhar, the Vice-Chancellor of CUTM, Prof. Supriya Pattanayak, SUN Director of Operations, Mr. Abubakar Ismail, SUN Registrar, Mr. Firoj Kumar Rauta, the SUN Director of Academic Support Services, Ms. Sarada Maganti and the SUN Corporate Affair’s Executives, Ms. Nafisa Inuwa.

A healthy amount of manageable stress can lead to increased brain functioning, a boosted immune system and better preparation for life in post-COVID 19 pandemic. This was the submission of Ms. Stella C. Ekawu, the sports instructor of Skyline University Nigeria and speaker at the online Sports Seminar, held on Wednesday, May 2020. In her presentation at the online seminar with the theme, ‘Managing Stress’ Mrs. Stella said that the world is in the age of inactivity and individuals could no longer pride themselves in their everyday physical and health activities in fitness centres and other sports locations as a result of the lockdown. Hence, individuals must initiate a stay at home solutions to the myriad of problems caused by the lack of exercise, one of which is stress. According to her, unmanaged stress and brooding over stress, dis-balances our physical and emotional life and we end up in traumatic situations. She said findings have shown that all stress is not bad – some stress is essential for our progress. “This is true”, she noted. “Feelings of stress are normally triggered by things happening in our lives which involve being under lots of pressure or facing big changes”. While highlighting the importance of physical activities, Ms. Stella asserted that the coronavirus pandemic has turned the world’s attention to everyone’s immune system. Building our immunity levels becomes a good way to fight the pandemic. She highlighted some method of preventing stress that is translated to having an organized schedule, knowing one’s limit, practicing healthy eating habits, seeing a therapist when you can no longer handle the stress level and participating in regular physical exercise to build immunity to cope with stress-related problems. Ms. Stella, who acknowledged Skyline University Nigeria’s prowess in the area of building a healthy body and healthy mind of students through regular participation in sports activities in the university, said that most of all the training received in sports might end up on the shelf unless students take steps to motivate themselves to participate in these health tips. Earlier, while giving the opening remark at the online seminar, the SUN Director of Academic Support Service, Ms. Sarada Maganti, who welcomed the guests, stated that stress management can make people happier, healthy and more productive. Also at the seminar were the Vice-Chancellor of SUN, Professor Kota; The Registrar, Mr. Firoj Rauta; The Director of Operations, Mr. Abubakar Sadeeq; parents/guidance of students; members of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Secondary Schools (NAPPS) and other members of faculty and staff.

Skyline University Nigeria’s vision of becoming one of the top 10 universities in Africa, has received a boost, with the institution, taking a giant leap in her integration of virtual learning experience into the educational system amidst COVID-19, a catalyst that has led the university to rediscover new models of experiential learning and powerful digital experiences for students. According to reports from the virtual classes, Skyline University Nigeria had not only completed the semester with students online but also held several virtual training and seminars with local and foreign institutions of higher learning, as well as hosting the guest lecture series for students seeking to build a career in entrepreneurship. With these developments, the university is positioned amongst others, to champion the initiative of virtual learning in Nigeria. The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor Sudhakar Kota, stated that the university is using Microsoft Teams to provide remote learning to students. Microsoft Teams is a unified communication platform that combines workplace chat, video meetings, file storage, and file collaboration. A statement from Professor Kota pointed out, “students studying in different locations are consistently getting the benefit of virtual learning experience, including teaching/counselling/training etc… During the lockdown period, e-contents were prepared by respective lecturers and made available to students to enable them complete their course curriculum for the semester”. “Though this is an immediate response in the face of a crisis, digital learning as a tool has generated some level of curiosity and excitement by the students of Skyline University Nigeria. The starting point for this is sending out messages via mails to students and following this up with links of courses as per timetable schedule and student’s responses were very encouraging. Many of the students who received such learning have in fact find it an overwhelming experience”. The Vice-Chancellor added. He stated further that, “The implementation of virtual classes took effect as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic which saw the temporary closure of educational institutions Nationwide. There are many universities before Skyline University Nigeria but we are privileged to be counted amongst the universities in Nigeria that have achieved high growth in the advancement of digital learning facilities”. While reacting to the lessons learnt from virtual learning experience compared to the traditional classroom teaching, Professor Kota explained that “the question of which teaching methodology is better, virtual school or traditional school, is always a puzzling one. Traditional classroom teaching methodologies are well-tested, and the environment most of us grew up in. Virtual classrooms, on the other hand, are new and high tech. Yet they’re also pretty experimental”. He added that with virtual classes, students were exposed to the privilege of accessing course work from anywhere within their comfort zone, While increasing their academic knowledge and digital skills.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the dreaded Coronavirus may have given rise to accelerated evolution in the Educational Landscape on a global scale. While appraising the situation arising from the coronavirus pandemic, the Vice-Chancellor (VC) of Skyline University Nigeria (SUN), Professor Sudhakar Kota, said that the world had a critical situation in its hands such that when turned around, there are likely benefits that could change the future of education. He made this submission recently during a media brief on ‘Skills Development in post-Covid 19’. In his appraisal of the educational system, Professor Kota said that before COVID-19, there was already a growing demand from the labour market at a global level for more flexible and blended forms of lifelong learning beyond initial education in order to address the need to upskill workers for the digital economy”. “These days, when people talk about education, the conversation usually turns to virtual learning. Virtual learning is transforming the experience of the classroom by augmenting traditional textbook materials with online resources and content portals; by enhancing customary “chalk and talk” lectures through the use of rich multimedia and interactive content; and by extending student discussions beyond the walls of the classroom via a wide range of new communications platforms” he added. While the COVID-19 situations persist indefinitely, a lot of online education is currently delivered in Skyline University Nigeria, replicating more traditional forms of learning on-campus. This new approach has accelerated new forms of pedagogy and tremendous initiatives from individual academics in the area of skills development. In response to enquiries and testimonials gathered from feedbacks from successfully conducted virtual classes with students, seminars and workshops, the VC said “even before Covid-19, there was already high growth in the adoption of a digital learning platform amongst the students and staff as per the primary goal of the university to be recognized both locally and internationally as the citadel of academic excellence. This platform allows parents a more efficient means of assessing their children’s progress via online access to real-time student-information systems, while allowing students to access their coursework from elsewhere, rather than solely on school ground”. While gathering additional information on the impact of virtual education, Mr. Haruna Lawan Baffa, a 200 level students of Economics said, “The University’s Initiative to introduce a platform for virtual learning where we can continue from where we stopped while we stayed at home has help to improve our digital skills and will continue to be commendable. Lectures were delivered as per the syllabus and normal timetable schedule. I hope that one day, when the pandemic ends, we will occasionally get to look back and revisit the virtual learning experience”. Another student, Miss. Nihat Mustapha, a hundred level student of Biochemistry, stated that “the use of technology and online learning platforms was a very interesting and valuable experience worth learning. It has given us a good grounding in the basics of digital skills. It has improved my critical thinking and enabled me to interact with people through practical work. I have learnt so much from all of the constructive input and guidance throughout each lesson of the course. The online classes have helped me to understand where my strengths and weaknesses are, and what areas I need to improve”. For people desirous of education, wondering whether the adoption of virtual learning and the skills that comes with it will continue to persist post-COVID-19, the University’s Vice-Chancellor advised that the integration of information technology of all the initiatives taken for online education, in this trying times and if eventually will become an integral component of the university’s education would be depended on the approval from the government and the National Universities Commission (NUC).

Barely a week after Skyline University Nigeria completed a 5-day e-workshop organized for Pre-varsity Schools in North East region of Nigeria. The university has on Thursday, 14th May moved to organize her first online CEO lecture, tagged ‘The role of National Board for Technology Incubation in the Commercialization of Research and Development (R&D) Results in Nigeria’. The objectives of the training according to Ms. Nafisa Inuwa, the Corporate Affairs Executive of the university, who delivered the opening remark, was to provide students of the university with the ability to recognize commercial and business opportunities, to build self-esteem, competencies, knowledge and skills needed in the journey towards self-employment by their interaction with successful CEOs who have made a remarkable entrepreneurial accomplishment. The Student Service Executives of the university, Ms. Hawwa Kassim in her introduction of the guest speaker, Engr. Dr. Mohammed Jibrin, FNSE, FAEng, FNICE, FIMC and Director General/CEO NBTI, she elaborated his achievements that goes a long way in building capacity of budding entrepreneurs in Nigeria and enjoined students to pay attention to the Guest Speaker so as to enrich their knowledge of what is obtained in the industry. While making his presentation at the 1st Online Edition of Students’ Entrepreneurship Workshop, the Guest Speaker, Engr. Dr. Mohammed stated that “Skyline University Nigeria within a short space of time has achieved so much and is carving a niche for herself as an established institution of higher learning in Nigeria through her strong focus on entrepreneurship development for students of the university”. Dr. Mohammed said, that with the National Board for Technology Incubation (NBTI), Nigeria has prided herself in being able to support business ideas of individuals coming up with tangible solutions to the countless of problems plaguing the country over the years. He added that “what qualified students/individuals to be considered as a member of the NBIT, is simple to conceive an idea… “Your proposal will be streamed lined and adjusted, afterwards, an interview will be conducted to ensure you have the capacity and time. When we are convinced that your idea is feasible, we ask you to submit the business plan and afterwards admit you into the technology incubation centre Programmeme”. he added. The guest speaker bemoaned the situation whereby the country is still dependent on imported products that have not been able to translate into meaningful wealth creation for Nigeria. On the manufacture and distribution of fake products in the market, he said such an act, is tempering with the safety of human lives. According to him, if Students of Skyline University Nigeria had to translate research and business ideas to tangible solutions, they will have to look at the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and not out of business curiosity without any plan for quality and commercialization. The vote of thanks was delivered by Haruna Baffa Lawan, a 200 level students of Economics, Skyline University Nigeria. In his words, “Thank you for taking the time to share with us your organizational structure as well as the fundamentals of entrepreneurship success. I’m sure the participants are well excited and this initiative will guide us through the monitoring, evaluations and mapping of a successful entrepreneurial journey. Thank you!”

In the fight against the further spread of Covid-19 outbreak, all institution of higher learning, secondary and primary schools are shut down nationwide. In a situation like this, it’s ok to feel bored, worried and confused about the status of your university’s graduation as scheduled in your application letter. While Skyline University Nigeria (SUN) has adopted virtual learning in the past months, students of the university have resorted to studying from home, via virtual classes. While schools are temporarily closed, we have anonymously gathered some testimonial from our students to help keep your study mood up and stay positive in this time of uncertainties. “Am studying from home and I have everything I need. Online classes start at 9:00 am the earliest. The lessons are taking place as usual and it is very convenient. Interestingly, it has helped in boosting our digital skills. I take classes in my room all day long but I just missed school because of friends and the encouragement I get amongst Skyline University community. I must admit, it is sometimes boring to sit at home all day but we have to cope with this for the sake of our safety.” “While taking lectures from home, I realized how much I got lost in the things I had to do to prepare for campus every day, attending classes, getting assignments done, following up on academic clubs and every other activity that keep students busy, while at the same time forgetting how important it is to spend time with family. I started again to tend to family needs to bring some colours back into my life. With some effort, I will put a smile on the faces of my family while I take classes online. These days, I keep my mind productive and put your thoughts and ideas into writing. Maybe this will be the beginning of a new desire to learn creative writing. Stay safe, stay indoors!” “The first week after Skyline University answered the call of the National Universities Commissions (NUC) on lockdown, not many places were closed and I could still go out and come back at will. Soon as the virus spreads to more states in Nigeria, all the places I could go out to became closed and sitting at home became boring. Usually, I would put on my phone or laptop and be entertained simply but my parents feel that is not a healthy way to keep going amidst the lockdown. So, when the university announced the adoption of a virtual class and lecture timetable were sent to students, I have found a much better way of entertaining myself, particularly connecting with coursemates on the virtual class platform, as well as discussing important projects and assignments. I also love reading and am reading now for my exams.” “At the campus, I could approach the Professors at any time if I have questions and I can also discuss with my classmates at will. Today, I miss my friends physically and staying at home for such a long time has become boring. But its been a relieve having the ability to log into the online platform while learning from home, using a digital device and an internet connection. When I first learned about the lockdown, I was happy, about the extended vacation but now, I just want everything to go back to being normal.” “I don’t see this as an extended holiday and I would not advise students around the world whose schools have been closed due to Covid-19 to do the same. There is a reason why we are out of school, which is to stop the further spread of the virus. It is not time for us to lose our mind and be unhappy. We are studying differently and if we stopped now, how are we supposed to remember where we left off before the closure of schools? I keep learning with online classes, through the university’s online platform. I read books, learning new catering skill online to keep my mood up because this is an opportunity to try new things. What I would tell other students going through the same situation around the world is to try and do the things you enjoy.”