Women in Engineering (WIE), a subsidiary of the IEEE had her representative Engr. Patience Enahoro, a female engineer with over 16 years experience, talked about the efforts being made globally to ensure there is better inclusion for women engineers in the industry. She gave statistics that showed the state of things for women engineers with only 10% of women being on boards, and 3% of women in executive levels of top engineering companies, globally. She stated that the association was created to encourage, support, and inspire women in engineering. She hinted on the International Leadership Summit (ILS) that would be holding in Nigeria for the first time, at the Obafemi Awolowo University on the 26th of November, 2019. She also implored students at the event to learn from the organized structure for succession currently present in OAU for their engineering association (WIE subsidiary), as the current executive committee already have an understudy for their last one year in school, this they have done to ensure that there is no gap, after they leave their post. Her statement concluded with highlights on the benefits of joining the WIE which she stated will help connect students to a global network of women engineers who can guide, mentor, and provide opportunities for female engineers.
Mr Ope Allen who is a Network Systems and Technical Operations expert gave a speech titled ‘Collaboration and Opportunities in Entrepreneurship Growth’. He stressed the benefits of collaboration with the growth and development of any business. He stated that to be a successful entrepreneur one must be a creative thinker, innovator of solutions that address societal and human needs. He spoke of the various channels through which this collaboration can be gotten, such as seminars, online platforms, webinars, and research. He also gave insight into some organizations that help with funding opportunities for small and medium scale enterprises such as The Tony Elumelu Foundation, SMEDAN, among others.
