I-C-S-S Entrepreneurship Module is Game Changer in Entrepreneurship Teaching -Prof Emily Ayo-John, Dr. Baiyewu

By: Olufemi Orunsola 

As two leading tertiary institutions in Ogun state, the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB) and Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta (MAPOLY) converge to host a week-long Train-the-Trainers workshop on Entrepreneurship, the I-C-S-S Entrepreneurship module has been described as a game changing innovation in the teaching of entrepreneurship in Nigeria’s academic ecosystem.

OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News reports that this was the consensus opinion ventilated by a cross section of participants drawn from both tertiary institutions who interacted with our correspondent at the Salawu Abiola Memorial library E-Library venue of the workshop at Moshood Abiola Polytechnic Abeokuta on Friday.

In an exclusive interview with OTN News, the Director, Centre for Entrepreneurship Studies (CENTS), Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Prof. Emily John-Ayo stated that both the entrepreneurship curriculum and the teaching pedagogy operational in Nigerian universities were due for a review to suit the current realities of the digital world of today. 

According to Prof. Ayo-John, "The Inspire-Create-Start-Scale Entrepreneurship module code named I-C-S-S is a game changer because it is a learner-centric module that makes a paradigm departure from the conventional teacher-in-the-middle curriculum, teaching model and pedagogy."

She further clarified that; "The adoption of role playing, more visuals, brain storming sessions and learner ownership of the learning process are the unique strenghths and deliverables of the I-C-S-S module".

Prof. Ayo-John noted that the I-C-S-S Entrepreneurship module accommodates not just enterprise development and development of creative innovative mindsets but also prepares undergraduates for what it takes to build successful careers in various fields of human endeavours or careers, thus, providing a foundational leverage many undergraduates may explore to kick start their lives.

Similarly, the Director, Centre for Entrepreneurship Development, Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Arc. Dr. Olabisi Baiyewu emphasized that more than ever before, the horizons of  entrepreneurship teaching in technology-based tertiary institutions have been widened to accommodate expert views from critical players in the private sector and industries through the I-C-S-S module as facilitated by GOPA Worldwide Consultants GmbH, Hamburg, Germany, with the support of the German Development Agency (GIZ) in partnership with the Kaduna Business School.

Arc. Baiyewu stressed that the Train-the-Trainers programme goes a long way to equip selected facilitators and lecturers with the skills required to embed ICSS entrepreneurship modules into teaching and practice in tertiary institutions in addition to the entrepreneurship curriculum approved by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE).