By Isaac Lewu
The Faculty of Engineering and Technology, University of Ilorin, has hosted a capacity-building workshop aimed at improving students’ skills in experimental design and proper academic referencing.
The training, which took place at the NLNG building, was facilitated by FETUILS TechHub, headed by Dr S. A. Yahaya, the Deputy Director of the Centre for Blue and Regenerative Economy and former Head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering.
In his remarks, Dr. Yahaya said that the Workshop is part of a larger vision to digitally empower at least 1,000 students and staff members of the University by the year 2026, particularly in the areas of Artificial Intelligence and digital skills for research development.
He added that the training is focused on teaching the academic community how to design experiments systematically using Design of Experiments (DoE) techniques, rather than relying on random trial-and-error methods. He also said that they are also introducing tools like Mendeley and Endnote for proper referencing to curb plagiarism and promote academic integrity.
The Workshop attracted about 40 participants across undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Dr Yahaya revealed that the planning team consulted widely with students to identify their academic challenges before curating the training content.
He noted that previous trainings on Microsoft Word and Excel revealed that students often underestimate the depth of these tools until shown practical and research focused applications.
Dr Yahaya said that the core challenges students face is lack of structured guidance during their research process. Some supervisors are stretched thin, and students don’t get necessary feedbacks until they’re at the presentation stage.
Lectures at the workshop were delivered by Prof. Jamiu Adetayo Adeniran and Dr Zainab Yaqub of the Department of Chemical Engineering, who handled the Design of Experiments session, and Dr S. A. Yahaya of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, who1 led the session on referencing using Mendeley. Prof. Adeniran also covered the use of Endnote for citation management.
In his remarks, the Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Jamiu Kolawole Odusote, commended the Vice Chancellor for his support, particularly towards efforts to renovate the dilapidated training facility and provision of equipment.
He appealed for sustained institutional support to ensure the long-term success of the tech hub initiative, expressing hope that FETUILS TechHub, being the first of its kind in the University, will not fade out.
The training was heavily subsidised with participants paying only N2, 000 instead of the actual cost of N30, 000.
The initiative marks another milestone in the University of Ilorin’s digital transformation drive and commitment to research excellence.
