When Skyline University Nigeria went into the COVID-19 lockdown, following the statement issued by the National Universities Commissions in March 2020, the management of the university had to quickly switch to new ways to support students remotely. This was a challenge the university had to overcome, given the circumstances of remote teaching. However, through the support of the IT department as well as management expertise, the university was able to find unique solutions to enable continued student’s support in the lockdown. Some of these solutions are highlighted below. Professional Skills Development Programmeme (PSDP) Student soft and hard skills training has adapted rapidly to the COVID-19 situation in Skyline University Nigeria. Skills development is designed to prepare students to make a difference by creating opportunities for them to develop certain practical skillset on businesses and organizations alike. Students of SUN have responded to these training with positivity and resilience. Thanks to the students who remain committed to their projects and have shown a determination to learn it through for their career benefits. Engagement with a virtual Instructor In the past months, staffs and faculties of Skyline University Nigeria have been working together to develop engaging and meaningful materials through online seminars, training, webinars and other activities that have helped maintain students’ motivation amidst the lockdown. These virtual activities usually involve using interactive images and videos demonstration for students understanding of a subject matter. This has been particularly exciting for its effectiveness in the COVID-19 era. Creative Solutions to Responses With so much on the online platform, staff had to be creative with solutions to help students resolve their enquiries. The responses received has been exceptional and creative. As the management has observed that, the Lockdown has not really slowed down students of Skyline University Nigeria. But has helped them to continue to build their knowledge on the art of the platform through creative thinking.

Professor Sudhakar Kota, the Vice-Chancellor of Skyline University Nigeria (SUN) has revealed plans for collaboration with Bayero University Kano (BUK). The Vice-Chancellor made this public on 24th of August 2020, during an exclusive interview with officials of Bayero University Kano (BUK) FM 98.9, after a courtesy visit to the newly inaugurated Vice-Chancellor of BUK, Prof. Sagir Adamu Abbas. Having been the Vice-Chancellor of Skyline University Nigeria for the last two years and having a long record of winning great respect from the higher education sector in India, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Professor Kota looks forward to making the most of the potentials he sees in the university. While responding to an interview by the officials of BUK FM 98.9 Digital studios, Professor Kota stated that there were prospects for collaboration that will, in turn, foster quality education, based on international best practices, on skill-based and entrepreneurship approach that could boost creativity and innovation amongst the students of both institutions. Excerpts: Q: What interest do you have with BUK in terms of collaboration? A: We have heard about the excellent facilities in BUK and we have seen for ourself some of the facilities. Shortly we will be setting up our studios for the Mass Communication’s students and we will require some form of assistance from the team. Our interest in this collaboration is to see that students of both institutions benefit in terms of practical skill training. Q: Do you hope to maintain a long term partnership with BUK or this is for a short term? A: BUK is our mentor and we don’t see the collaboration ending anytime soon. Even after the whole mentorship process, we would like to keep the relationship running for simple reasons that BUK is the oldest university in Kano and also has a very excellent facilities. Skyline University Nigeria being a private university would like to collaborate with BUK for many research areas, such as social research, sciences and medicine. Q: Do you see the possibility of students exchange with BUK in the course of the collaboration?  A: We would like to extend our collaborations to include students as well as faculty members. We can use your expertise as well as contribute our expertise for the growth and development of both institutions. Not only for the growth of the universities but the benefits of the students community in Kano state and Nigeria at large. Q: BUK has recently inaugurated a new Vice-Chancellor. What message do you have for the new VC? A: We have meet with the new Vice-Chancellor and already given our well wishes. Our hope is for him to serve the university in the best of his capacity and wisdom. Being a centre of learning, all facilities and faculties in the university can contribute greatly to the National Economy of Nigeria. We wish him all the success.

 The year 2020 is indeed a historical moment for Skyline University Nigeria (SUN) as the university in its 2nd year only celebrates the official launching of the virtual release of the maiden issue of International Journal of Business Review and Entrepreneurship (IJBRE) on Monday, 10th August 2020. The IJBRE journal will serve as a platform for the university to pride herself to explore new vistas of knowledge and add value to the existing body of knowledge. This forum enables researchers to actively participate in analyzing, evaluating and solving the problems of the society through their contributions. While speaking during the official launch of the business journal, the Vice-Chancellor of Skyline University Nigeria, Professor Sudhakar Kota, posited that academics and non-academics professionals will be able to publish their scholarly works and case studies that would enrich the body of knowledge in the field of Business, Entrepreneurship and other functional areas of the management and social sciences. In his words, “The Journal creates a research environment and provides opportunities for research scholars, academicians and industry experts to publish their research works or case studies that may provide a feasible solution through their models or findings from research works”. The Founder Chairman of Skyline University Nigeria and Chairman of SIGL Group, Mr. Kamal Puri as well as the university’s Vice-Chancellor, has commended Dr. Senthil Kumar, the Head of Research Committee and Managing Editor of the IJBRE and his team for their unstinted efforts in playing a key role in creating this journal. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Kumar informed the audience about the plans of increasing the acceptance and the credibility of the Journal in the International Academic Forums by enlisting in minimum Five International Indexing organizations (such as GIF, ISI, Copernicus, Directory of Quality Factor & Open Access Journal, Cite factor, Cosmos, EBSCO). This will facilitate IJBRE’s Journal abstracts listing and increase the citation ratings in Google Scholar and Research Gate. “We wish the Journal to raise the quality of research ladder in the region and the global academic platform, he added. The inaugural session was attended by the university’s Board of Trustees (BOT) Members the Pro-Chancellor, Mr. Nitin Anand, GC members, Vice-Chancellors, Professors, Academicians and Industry Experts.

Skyline University Nigeria has hosted key officers of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) Kano Area Office, on Tuesday, July 28th, 2020. The visit, which was the first of its kind since the establishment of the university was organized to foster collaboration on the ITF mandate, particularly the Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) for mutual benefits of both parties. The visiting team from the ITF includes the Area Manager, Mal. Quasim Abubakar, the Head of Training, Mr. Dauda Lawal and the Head of Admin, Alkasim Ahmed. While delivering the opening remark, the Vice-Chancellor of Skyline University Nigeria, Professor Sudhakar Kota expressed hope that the meeting will mark a turning point in the history of industrial attachments opportunities for the students of the university. “I believe this is a very important aspect of training for our graduating students to improve and enhance their knowledge and skill set, boosts the performance of students and help them to meet career objectives, as well as update and master their skills. The VC Stated. As a first time visitor, the Area Manager of the ITF Kano State chapter Mal. Quasim Abubakar posited that the expected relationship should cover the areas of Industrial Attachments, SIWES etc. as part of the mandate of the ITF to promote skills of students. In his words, the Programmeme provides hands-on work experience from day one, providing students with the opportunity to work directly with inspiring and experienced professionals. The insights and skills gained by the end of the Programmeme would be invaluable for future careers”. He added that every aspect of students’ orientation of the industrial attachments Programmeme will commenced with the approval & guidelines of the National Universities Commission (NUC), followed by application, students’ placement forms and an introductory letter from the university to the ITF. “We will be coming to give orientation to the students at the point of their departure for the SIWES Programmeme”, he assured. The Head of Corporate Affairs Department of Skyline University Nigeria, Engr. Bashir Garba appreciated the assurance by the Area Manager. He added that the Industrial Training Programmeme is designed for students to: Put theories and concepts into practice, Build work related skills required for the business environment through constructive feedback and supervision, Improve their general business/industry understanding, Gain additional skills in areas such as communication, team building, problem solving and analytical reasoning, Build valuable networks and contacts for professional development and finally gain insights into career options to support choice of specialized field area.

An expert from the Department of Petroleum Resources, Engr. Sarki Auwalu, MNSE has posited that “If we (the youth) all work together and can change the current mindset of short term gains and long term suffering, the Energy Sector would reach its fullest potential most efficiently”. He made this assertion on 28th July, 2020 at the recently held 3rd CEO Lecture & 2nd Online CEO Lecture Series Programmeme organized by the management of Skyline University Nigeria (SUN), where he was a Guest Speaker on the topic, ‘Energy in a Global Context-The Pivotal Role of the Young Generation in Driving Value and Sustainability’. While making his presentation, Engr. Sarki Auwalu who is the Director/CEO, of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR)-Lagos-Nigeria, described the youth as game-changers to the future of innovation. He stated that the youth are agents for social change, economic growth, environmental protection and technological innovation, through their increased involvement in the growth and development process of the country. According to Engr. Sarki, one of the fundamental areas of the Department of Petroleum Resources, is the continuous search for new talents, thoughts and ideas that will help drive innovation. He advised the students of SUN to prepare themselves while in school to be readily available with ideas that will change the narratives, maintain and uphold the ethics of what the DPR stands for. Earlier in his remarks, the Vice-Chancellor of Skyline University Nigeria, Professor Sudhakar Kota appreciated the Guest Speaker for making out time to come amidst his busy work schedule. He also thanked the members of faculty, staff, students and guest for their contribution to the reality of the day’s event. “As game-changers, the youth can appropriately make valuable contributions to the development of the country at large” the VC added. The 3rd CEO guest lecture series featured over 211 participants, including the Vice-Chancellor of Skyline University College (SUC), Professor Mohammed Inairat, the Dean School of Management of Centurion University of technology and management CUTM) Malaysia, Associate Professor, Umakanta Nayak, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Universiti Tecknologi Petronas (UTP) Malaysia, Professor I.R Dr. Hilmi B. Min Mukhtar, the Vice- Chancellor of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti Prof. Elisabeta Smaranda Olarinde.

The year 2020 has been one of the most engaging years in online presence for Skyline University Nigeria (SUN). From designing courses with opportunities for students and faculty to engage meaningfully with materials and each other to conduct seminars, training, webinars and other online activities that have helped maintain students’ motivation amidst the lockdown, the university is committed to ensuring there are clear purposes and outcomes for any student-to-student interaction to meet course outcomes. It is noteworthy that Skyline University Nigeria had in the last 4 months since the lockdown improved on her Information Technology exposures with students of the university. The private institution of higher learning which made her debut in the National Universities Commission (NUC’s) listings in 2018, had since taken a giant step to overcome the slow pace at which students develops IT skills through online engagement. Some of these online activities recorded to have increased the overall exposure of students in IT skills include virtual learning – perceive by management as a key factor in predicting online course successes; Online seminars for entrepreneurship, industry update, sports, training etc; Online webinar amongst foreign institutions; Online competitions; MoU signing with local and foreign institutions of higher learning; Online International conferences, etc. Recent activities in the university, as well as feedbacks, showed that Skyline University Nigeria improved in her online activities. Skyline University Nigeria has also been beautifully praised in helping students to build accountability for the work they do in any discussions or collaborations. Assigning points for discussion posts reflecting in students’ reports with detail of their contributions and what they learned from the conversation, the university has provided students with options to post a summary of their work. The virtual learning environment may be new to some students of Skyline University Nigeria, but the university has with all certainty, established clear guidance to students by providing them with a clear purpose for collaborative online activities which in turn has helped keep group discussion and behaviour professional.

Skyline University Nigeria’s Library has organized its second live webinar on Friday 10th July 2020. The webinar with the theme, ‘Journal Selection Considerations: Complexities and Solutions for Researchers’ was aimed at developing the concept, rationale, and purposes of an academic journal; How to identify aims, scope, relevance and recognition of an academic journal and why there is a need to understand all these before submission; To highlight the ten indicators required to identify predatory/fake journals; Understand the parameters to assess the quality of a journal; the submission checklist – managing time, anxiety, and reputation during the submission process as well as identifying targeted journals by early and mid-career researchers – personal reflexivity. The guest speaker, Prof. Muhammad Kashif of GIFT University, Pakistan, While making his presentation at the live webinar, stated that An academic journal is an outlet/platform to publish latest, cutting-edge research in a particular field i.e. medicine, education, and business management as examples. “A distinguishing characteristic of an academic journal is the “scientific filter” while publishing research”. He emphasized. Some of the highlights made by Prof. Muhammad were that a well-recognized journal is listed in prestigious databases such as Emerald and is indexed by services such as SCOPUS, WOS and the likes; Regular Readership of publishing over decades has a readership that spans across multiple segments i.e. academic researchers and managers; Author encouragement is done through various Programmes i.e. author awards and information/coaching webinars; Intellectually stimulating allows editors to raise important questions to improve social living. Earlier while delivering the opening remark, the Registrar of Skyline University Nigeria, Mr. Firoj Kumar Rauta, acting on behalf of the Vice-Chancellor appreciated the participants for their excellent reception towards the second live webinar series. He urged the participants to pay keen interest as the event unfolds. The webinar featured over 196 participants including the Yusuf Maitama Sule University’s Librarian, Kano, Dr. Binta Farouk Ladan, Sule Lamido University, Kafin Hausa, Jigawa, Librarian, Dr. Abdulkadir A. Idris, Nigerian Defense Academy Librarian, Kaduna, Dr. Lawal Umar, Chairman of Nigerian Library Association, Kano State Chapter, Mr. Danladi Bala, Al-Qalam University Librarian, Dr. A.A Maidabino, Librarian of University of Africa Toru Oruo Bayelsa State, Dr. Okiy B. Rose etc. The Webinar Convener and Head Librarian of Skyline University Nigeria, Mr. Kabiru Danladi Garba CLN, who delivered the closing remark, extended his heartfelt gratitude to all the participants present for their valuable time and commitment towards the success of the webinar. “We urged you to keep in touch with Skyline University Nigeria as we deliver the third webinar series shortly” he stated.