Mr. Richard Soyombo
Arrangements have reached advanced stage for the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), to lead an Agricultural Trade Mission to California, courtesy of collaboration with the Skyline College, San Francisco, California, USA.
This is expected to spur Californian investors, into bringing-in new technologies and ideas that could boost the various agricultural programmes of the University, as the two organizations are about endorsing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
The Director for International Trade and Investment, California, Mr. Richard Soyombo, who visited the University last week, disclosed that “I am here, courtesy of the Vice-Chancellor of FUNAAB and the President of Skyline College, to work-out the modalities of signing a Memorandum of Understanding and foster collaboration between FUNAAB and Skyline”.
He recalled that “this whole thing started way back in April this year when Professor Kayode Bamgbose, Dr. Olukayode Akinyemi and Professor Babatunde Kehinde came to Skyline to initiate the way we can collaborate”.
Disclosing the areas of collaboration, Mr. Soyombo said: “We have been able to identify Student and Faculty Exchange programmes, curriculum development and even sports and entrepreneurship”.
He stressed: “For example, hopefully, through our collaboration, an Automotive Engineering programme can start and that will benefit, not only the academic community, but the larger community, where they can come for training”.
Mr. Soyombo added: “We are also looking at other programmes such as cosmetology and early childhood education. We are equally talking in terms of FUNAAB’s mandate, as an agricultural institution that will be leading an agricultural-oriented trade mission to the State of California while Californian investors or companies can now look towards bringing new technologies and ideas to FUNAAB”.
He said the partnership will soon be yielding fruit and commended the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Olusola Oyewole, saying, “FUNAAB is very lucky to have an amiable Vice-Chancellor that is very visionary and that has been able to continue with those established principles, laid down by previous administrators”.