The President of The Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN) Engr. Funmilola Ojelade who was inaugurated recently appreciated the efforts of the past administration especially on the ‘Invent it Build it’ program to primary school girls. She said APWEN started what the Eze Enugwu-Ukwu in Anambra State, HRM Igwe Ralph Ekpe, called “a revolution of girls opting for engineering as a career” of which the results of this revolution will be manifest in a few short years”.
She stressed that APWEN being the only division of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) consists of all disciplines of engineering has allowed the association to evolve into an educational and service organization. She mentioned that “we are one only in gender – we are all women, therefore our motherly instincts are brought to bear as we discharge our engineering duties.
She went on to reveal her roadmap for the next two years which includes the introduction of the ‘Town & Gown Mentoring Program’ which is aimed at “intensifying the efforts on graduating students and young engineers in the six geopolitical zones, to help them develop the skills required in the industry and make them employable”, an initiative that supports SDGs 4, 5, 8, & 10 of the UNDP. Other agendas for her two-year tenure include organizational structuring, capacity building, involvement and honouring of the remaining founding members and past presidents, and National secretariat building. To pledge and show commitment to taking the association to a higher level, the newly sworn-in president reiterated that “the association has attained significantly great heights and visibility impacting the lives of girls through scholarship awards and many more” but despite “the expectation being so high now, the high and strong pedestal will instead serve as a springboard to leap onto the moon, literally. Watch out for APWEN, we are coming, even more powerfully” she stated.
Also giving her speech on ‘Diversity of Expression’ the distinguished guest speaker of the event, the Chairman, First Bank of Nigeria, Mrs Ibukun Awosika, spoke passionately about the place of an engineer to the society which she believes holds great importance to societal development and not just infrastructural development in terms of bridges and roads. She emphasized on the need for engineers through their scientific processes and backgrounds “to look, assess, and understand things” in other to proffer practical solutions, which will happen when an engineer’s “mindset is taken from the technical field to the field of life”.
The event was held at Lagos Oriental Hotel at the Investiture Ceremony of the 16th President of APWEN, Engr. Funmilola Ojelade
