Ahmed Ayinla, popularly called “the Creative Engineprenuer” is Deputy Zonal Coordinator SouthWest NICESA. He spoke with Isqil Najim on the forthcoming smatcity Summit organised by the Student wing of Nigerian Institution of Civil Engineers, South West, and other things.
Isqil Najim: Tell me a bit about you?
Ahmed Ayinla: My name is
Ahmed Ayobami AYINLA, I'm currently a fresh Civil Engineering graduate of the
prestigious Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta Ogun State. I love innovative
and creative ideas and I like to relate them with engineering and politics that
is why I was nicknamed “the Creative Engineprenuer”. I so much believe in the
influence of engineering in National development as it drives infrastructure
and thereby enhance the nation's economy. This is the reason why I have chosen
to be an advocate of engineering in politics, creative design thinking and
innovative solutions.
I have also attended series of programs and presented papers in this regard. Some presentations I have made in this regard includes; "the role of Engineers in Nigerian Politics" at the Nigerian Universities Engineering Students Association NUESA conference FUNAAB 2017 where I advised the Engineers to get into politics, Biogas renewable energy as an antidote to the Nigerian Power problem presented at the 2019 2nd Quarterly meeting of the American Society of Civil Engineers Nigerian Section and lots I cannot remember.
I have also held
and served different leadership positions which include the NICESA President of
MAPOLY 2017/2018, the NICESA National PRO 2017/2018, I'm currently the Deputy
Southwest coordinator of NICESA, the ASCE Students Campus Outreach ambassador
representing Nigeria Section and the chairman of the CEITSummit organizing
committee.
Isqil Najim: Tell us about NICESA..
Ahmed Ayinla: NICESA is the acronym for Nigerian Institution of Civil Engineers-Students Affiliates. The only organized and constituted body that coordinates the Civil Engineering Students in Nigeria under the umbrella of the Nigerian Institution of Civil Engineers which is a division of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.
Since 2009, when
the Affiliate was been formed, it has recorded a lot of ground breaking
activities to foster and enhance civil engineering education in virtually all
Civil engineering accredited institutions (Polytechnics and Universities) in
Nigeria. Most of these activities normally occur at the Students session of the
Annual General Meeting and International Conference of the mother body (NICE)
until the last AGM at Calabar where the Immediate Past National Chairman Engr
Hon Andem Ekpo-Bassey advised that each region should create their executive
council members so as to ease the affairs of the students affiliate and for
swift coordination.
In the Southwest
region, we have to some extent achieved enough than what's expected from us.
Part of the ways we have impacted positively in our colleagues includes but not
limited to securing IT and SIWES placements, providing technical support for
the projects students, organizing technical sessions with giveaways, and the
forthcoming mega CEITSummit, with the desire to do more.
Our future plans
is to create a unique and smart platform to network all Civil engineering
personnel (students, graduates and senior professionals) together to provide
networking, mentoring, job opportunities, technical supports and career
developments.
Isqil Najim: Your association, NICESA is planning a
Summit can u tell us what it is about?
Ahmed Ayinla: The Civil
Engineering Innovation Technology Summit is a platform to showcase innovations
and technologies through the use of emerging technologies, researches and
development as it applies to the built environment.
The CEITSummit,
in its maiden edition is going to be an annual event with the focus on exposing
Civil Engineering Students in the South-West region of Nigeria and beyond to
the various innovations and technologies in engineering as they break and
trend.
This edition of
CEITSummit is themed “Building your Smartcity” and is going to host the
Smartcity competition. The Smartcity competition is an inter-school competition
among Civil engineering accredited schools (Universities and Polytechnics) in
the South-West region of Nigeria.
How long has
this been in pipeline and how many institutions have indicated interest?
So far, we have
started planning for the CEITSummit for the past four months and we had 9
institutions that have signified interest in the Smartcity competition.
Isqil Najim: Talking about the theme of the summit.
What informed the choice of the theme?
There are other
developed and developing countries who have adopted the Smartcity systems, so we
feel with the bunch of talents we have in Nigeria, if we bring them together on
the CEITSummit platform, we should be able to also create our own smart cities
that works.
Isqil Najim: Any cost implications?
Registration and
entry ticket is absolutely free and can be obtained through the event website
at ceitsummit.nicesa.com.ng
Isqil Najim: How supportive are the senior Engineers? Especially
the NSE NICE.? What extent is their engagement in it?
Ahmed Ayinla: Those that we
engaged among the NSE, NICE and ASCE Nigeria has really been supportive, some
has given us their financial support while we still look up to getting
something from others. But they have been really amazing by being attentive and
giving us the platform to showcase the summit to the members.
Isqil Najim: What about Corporate organisations? How
supportive have they been?
Ahmed Ayinla: We have a very few organizations who
has offered support in the Summit, which is not really encouraging.
Isqil Najim: What way can government support the younger engineers towards job creation and enhancing
their Entrepreneurial instinct..
Ahmed Ayinla: One of the ways
in which the government can support the young and budding engineers is simply
by supporting programs like the CEITSummit. Because as far as Civil engineering
in Nigeria is concerned, it serves as the viable platform where all the Civil
engineering students and professionals come together to showcase innovations
and technologies which applies to the built environment.
Governments can
also organize similar programs and attract it with fascinating prizes and
reward, to awaken the can-do spirits in the young engineers for the purpose of
National development.
Thank You
