>
The management of Precious Cornerstone University(PCU), Ibadan, has announced that the institution would turn out its first set of graduands during its maiden convocation ceremony between Sunday, November 6, and Friday, November 11.
The vice chancellor of the institution, Prof. Julius Kola Oloke, disclosed this at the conference hall of the university, on Friday.
He said that the new set of graduands are well seasoned to positively impact the society as real change agents.
The vice chancellor also said the ceremony will witness the investiture of Bishop Francis Wale Oke as Chancellor and conferment of honourary degree and award of first degrees and prizes.
According to the vice chancellor, 96 students are graduating from the university. Out ff the 96 students, nine made First Class, while 41 came out with Second Class Upper. A total of 39 students made Second Class Lower, with seven coming out with Third Class.
Oloke said that the graduating students had been trained to have the mentality of eagles.
“They are, therefore, change makers who are being released to be blessings and not burdens. They have been trained to be employers of labour and not job seekers. Their training is also to enable them commercialize their areas of specialization. Each graduating student has an academic degree and entrepreneurship certification.
“During the entrepreneurship development programme, the university was able to assist over 98 students register their businesses with the Corporate Affairs Commission. Some of these businesses have been launched on social media and are in full operations.
“The investiture ceremony of Bishop Francis Wale Oke, who is President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, as the Chancellor of the University will kickstart the convocation on Friday 11th November, 2022,” he said.
Among other things, the VC, while listing some of the achievements of the PCU, explained that during the COVID-19 outbreak, the institution partnered with Helix Biogene Institute to gather researchers from other institutions to construct two COVID-19 vaccines.
The team, he said, also constructed vaccines for Lassa Fever, Monkey Pox Virus, Cholera and production of diagnostic kits for Neglected Tropical Diseases which attracted investors from Spain.
“These activities led to the publication of articles in highly rated journals which has boosted the image of the university both at home and abroad.
“The university, which took off with 12 academic programmes in 2018, now has 17 academic programmes, most of which have been accredited by the National Universities Commission. These programmes include Accounting, Microbiology, Cyber Security, International Relations, Software Engineering, Mass Communication and Procurement Management,” he said.
Oloke announced Omilani Aminat Omoniyi of Economics Department, as the best graduating student for year 2022, adding that she had been offered automatic employment by the university, effective immediately after the National Youth Service Corps scheme.
The convocation ceremony will commence with a thanksgiving service on Sunday, November 6, at the university campus, while convocation lecture will hold on Wednesday, November 9.
The investiture of the Chancellor and award of degrees and prizes will hold on Friday, November 11.
Those at the press conference include the Registrar, Dr Pedetin Afolabi; Bursar, Mr Festus Oladokun; and Librarian, Dr Afolabi Olajide.
Dignitaries from the academic community, business world and spiritual leaders are expected to grace the occasion.