U.S. don harps on mentorship for students’ development

 Dr Adekunle Okunoye, an Associate Professor from Xavier University, Ohio, U.S. has stressed the need to institutionalise mentorship programme for university students.

The don said mentorship would help them to benefit from the experience of industry professionals.

Okunoye made the assertion on Tuesday, at the inauguration of a mentorship programme for the Faculty of Communication and Information Sciences students in the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN).

The aim of the programme is to aid the students academically and professionally, under the Carnegie programme of the African Diaspora.

He said that the mentorship programme would help to guide the students on their various career paths, adding that guidance was important for students to set and reach their career goals.

The visiting don charged the first set of mentors to share their success stories with their mentees as a way of inspiring them within the bounds of ethical relationship and local best practices.

He also proposed an annual luncheon to appreciate the mentors for their contributions to the growth of their mentees.

“Normally, academics and their students are supposed to have a mentor-mentee relationship but this programme will extend that to include professionals from relevant fields.

“If you are guided, you will know where you are going. Mentors will provide insights and tools to help mentees make their career decisions because we have been at that stage before and we know the kind of opportunity that this presents.

“Through coaching and feedback, we would develop their creative and interpersonal skills and advise them on their personal growth,” he said.

In his address, Prof. Rasheed Jimoh, past Dean, Faculty of Communication and Information and the host of the African Diaspora Programme, noted that the programme was in recognition of the global trend of bridging the gap between the academic world and the industry.

He explained that this was a prerequisite for sustainable development, adding that the students were destined to be great even without help from mentors but mentorship would make the journey seamless.

Jimoh described the programme as a life
partnership because “it is the only way to guarantee sustainable development.

“We are going to take it further by bringing industry professionals to the faculty as mentors and even to lecture sometimes,” he said.

The don expressed optimism that by the time the mentees became great people as a result of the programme, they would remember where it all started but only the positive contribution of mentors would make the journey seamless.