MESSAGE FROM THE PROVOST!

Dear FUTIA Engineering Community,

I am excited and honoured to begin serving as Provost of the School of Engineering and Engineering Technology at Federal University of Technology Ikot Abasi (FUTIA).

As Engineers, our responsibility is to solve problems that address the needs of society and the welfare of humanity. The impact of Engineering, and specifically FUTIA Engineering, can be seen in what we do, the results of our Engineering research, teaching, and innovation are nothing short of transformative.

FUTIA Engineers have to work to provide amenities  in our communities and  across the globe. We have to work and produce technologies to drive agriculture, healthcare, industries, aerospace, construction and transportation, information and communication technology, food and beverage industries, automotive industry, automated guided vehicles (AGV), robots for industries, artificial intelligence and machine learning, big data mining and technologies for weather pattern and predictions

Without a doubt, the technologies and breakthroughs that we are poised to make will support communities and place us on national and international map. As students come to the School of Engineering and Engineering and Technology, FUTIA, where most of their Engineering work will take place, we want them to feel welcomed and embraced by our Engineering community. Establishing a sense of belonging and connecting students to the places in which they produce will enhance their experience far beyond what we can teach them in classrooms and textbooks. By choosing to join our School of Engineering and Engineering Technology, they have found the right place where they belong. School of Engineering and Engineering Technology at FUTIA is where they will learn from their mentors and be challenged to think broadly about the social and cultural and technological impact of their work, and where they will make life-long friends.

Before students come to SEET and throughout their time here, we tell them they will become an Engineer and something more, and it is that which distinguishes our School from other Schools of Engineering across the country. Students who join our School are part of a large comprehensive university which has a long history of providing an education that merges the sciences, technology and entrepreneurship. By focusing on collaboration, and not competition, the successes of our students are defined not only by the completion of laboratories or scores on examinations, but also through project-based group assignments that mirror the kinds of teamwork that will be required in their lives beyond the university. From the start of courses such as Engineering problem solving ,our students must solve problem and innovate and work together as a team working towards a common goal of developing Engineering solutions that will enhance business operations, deploy ground-breaking technologies, and improve quality of life.

We will continue to build on the School’s reputation of producing innovations that will change our communities, nation and the world and delivering an education that will transform lives. As Engineers, we must recognize that it is our duty to make the world a better place by applying suitable technologies, recognition of Engineering ethics, and ensuring the our local communities,  nation that we impact are  made safe by our work.

I joined the School of Engineering and Engineering Technology at the take –off time, working together with our academics in Engineering to teach, research and provide community service. Our students will graduate as globally aware and socially responsible Engineers whose time at FUTIA will define their contributions to the communities, nation in which they live, work, and thrive. Importantly, we will continue to look to the wisdom and support of our friends, alumni in future, and industry partners as we produce the next generation of FUTIA Engineers.

Engr. Dr. Whyte A. Akpan, Ph.D (MNSE) COREN Registered