EDITED
It also suggests to me part of my personal experience in at least one university in Nigeria and a number of universities in England, as well as the long running debates about public vs private school education in England.
The bottom line is this- having knowledge and being able to deliver knowledge, and for maximum value, in an interpersonal context are not mutually implied.
Scenario- one is at an interview. One is asked- what can you bring to this company?
Or one is asked- what is your vision for yourself?
Or- can you sum up what you learnt at university?
I have observed that one may refer, in one mode of classification, to four kinds of education-
the kind that encourages critical thinking and exploration by oneself
the kind that does not
the kind that cultivates the capacity to verbalize subtle and complex ideas, particularly in ways others outside one's field can understand
the kind that does not
the kind that encourages critical thinking and exploration by oneself and the kind that cultivates the capacity to verbalize subtle and complex ideas, particularly in ways others outside one's field can understand do not seem to be the norm in most parts of the world, but represent the best kinds of education and the kinds that are best suited to help one answer those qs i suggested as possible in an interview
With all due respect, Prof. Irele, it might not be trivial.
Uncannily, this summation echoes , almost to the exact words, the comments to me of a Nigerian student the University of Cambridge and who has worked in both Nigeria and the US.He also states that some companies in Nigeria are narrowing doing their recruitment cache even further to only graduates of Ivy League universities. He says one company has told him that in conversation, while from the composition of staff at some other companies he has made such deductions about them.
the kind that encourages critical thinking and exploration by oneself and the kind that cultivates the capacity to verbalize subtle and complex ideas, particularly in ways others outside one's field can understand do not seem to be the norm in most parts of the world, but represent the best kinds of education and the kinds that are best suited to help one answer those qs i suggested as possible in an interview
in most of my education in nigeria, even though we were encouraged to answer qs in class, training in oral self expression was not given. yet, oral self expression is not a cheap skill to acquire. i am still cultivating mine. i have been greatly assisted by the universe of public lectures and conferences at the university of Cambridge, where, if you draw attention to yourself, by asking qs, you will be invariably asked the equivalent of 'where do you fit in in relation to the world of learning?' a qs i have trained myself to answer as effectively as possible.i have also attended at least one superb workshop where we were trained in the elevator speech- how to deliver your business proposal or sum up your research in the time it takes one to ride in an elevator with the person one is speaking with. i have developed techniques for asking qs in public fora to make sure the qs are as effective as possible- i review the qs and its sentence structure in my mind, and take a number of deep breaths to steady myself emotionally, before asking the qs.
i am also learning how to present myself in environments in ways that will help one maximize the social opportunities those environments provide. opportunities vital for one's career growth. how to present oneself and what one wants without seeming needy or pushy. how to present oneself in a way that demonstrates genuine interest in the other person and encourages the person to be interested in one.
i am also learning the difference it makes when i dress in particular ways. if one is the director of the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities at Cambridge, and one's name is a global byword in one's academic field on account of one's achievements, one can dress as one likes, like the current director does. but if not is not such a personage, and one wishes to operate maximally in such circles, it might not be in one's interests to dress like that, except in particular contexts. i understand the people in the US information technology industry have reoriented that traditional conception, in making a culture out of casual dressing, but that culture does not seem to be widespread.
if one is well groomed in self presentation, in terms of how one dresses and how one speaks, one's appearance alone and even the first sentence one speaks can take one far.
the level of access to knowledge globally is rising steadily. increasingly, one's competitive advantage has to include and go beyond academic performance to include what one writer called 'going the extra mile'.On Sun, Jul 10, 2016 at 5:23 AM, Oluwatoyin Adepoju <oluwakaidara1@gmail.com> wrote:
the kind that does notthe kind that cultivates the capacity to verbalize subtle and complex ideas, particularly in ways others outside one's field can understandthe kind that does notthe kind that encourages critical thinking and exploration by oneselfI have observed that one may refer, in one mode of classification, to four kinds of education-Or- can you sum up what you learnt at university?Or one is asked- what is your vision for yourself?Scenario- one is at an interview. One is asked- what can you bring to this company?The bottom line is this- having knowledge and being able to deliver knowledge, and for maximum value, in an interpersonal context are not mutually implied.With all due respect, Prof. Irele, it might not be trivial.Uncannily, this summation echoes , almost to the exact words, the comments to me of a Nigerian student the University of Cambridge and who has worked in both Nigeria and the US.He also states that some companies in Nigeria are narrowing doing their recruitment cache even further to only graduates of Ivy League universities. He says one company has told him that in conversation, while from the composition of staff at some other companies he has made such deductions about them.It also suggests to me part of my personal experience in at least one university in Nigeria and a number of universities in England, as well as the long running debates about public vs private school education in England.
the kind that encourages critical thinking and exploration by oneself and the kind that cultivates the capacity to verbalize subtle and complex ideas, particularly in ways others outside one's field can understand do not seem to be the norm in most parts of the world, but represent the best kinds of education and the kinds that are best suited to help one answer those qs i suggested as possible in an interviewin most of my education in nigeria, even though we were encouraged to answer qs in class, training in verbal self expression was not given. yet, verbal self expression is not a cheap skill to acquire. i am still cultivating mine. i have been greatly assisted by the universe of public lectures and conferences at the university of Cambridge, where, if you draw attention to yourself, by asking qs, you will be invariably asked the equivalent of 'where do you fit in in relation to the world of learning?' a qs i have trained myself to answer as effectively as possible.i have also attended at least one superb workshop where we were trained in the elevator speech- how to deliver your business proposal or sum up your research in the time it takes one to ride in an elevator with the person one is speaking with. i have developed techniques for asking qs in public fora to make sure the qs are as effective as possible- i review the qs and its sentence structure in my mind, and take a number of deep breaths to steady myself emotionally, before asking the qs.i am also learning how to present myself in environments in ways that will help one maximize the social opportunities those environments provide. opportunities vital for one's career growth. how to present oneself and what one wants without seeming needy or pushy. how to present oneself in a way that demonstrates genuine interest in the other person and encourages the person to be interested in one.i am also learning the difference it makes when i dress in particular ways. if one is the director of the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities at Cambridge, and one's name is a global byword in one's academic field on account of one's achievements, one can dress as one likes, like the current director does. but if not is not such a personage, and one wishes to operate maximally in such circles, it might not be in one's interests to dress like that, except in particular contexts. i understand the people in the US information technology industry have reoriented that traditional conception, in making a culture out of casual dressing, but that culture does not seem to be widespread.if one is well groomed in self presentation, in terms of how one dresses and how one speaks, one's appearance alone and even the first sentence one speaks can take one far.the level of access to knowledge globally is rising steadily. increasingly, one's competitive advantage has to include and go beyond academic performance to include what one writer called 'going the extra mile'.thankstoyinOn Sat, Jul 9, 2016 at 11:10 PM, Francis Irele abiolairele@gmail.com [WoleSoyinkaSociety] <WoleSoyinkaSociety@yahoogroups.com> wrote:This sounds trivial to me.IreleOn Sat, Jul 9, 2016 at 4:44 PM, Oluwatoyin Adepoju oluwakaidara1@gmail.com [WoleSoyinkaSociety] <WoleSoyinkaSociety@yahoogroups.com> wrote:---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Okwukwe Ibiam <o.ibiam@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Jul 9, 2016 at 9:14 PM
Subject: WHY FIRST CLASS GRADUATES FAIL JOB INTERVIEWS - UNILAG DONWhy first class students fail job interviews- Don--ON JULY 8, 201612:12 AMIN EDUCATION,NEWSCOMMENTS By Monsuru OlowoopejoThe University of Lagos, UNILAG, its counterpart, Lagos State University, LASU, and other tertiary institutions across the country churn out graduates annually, but a larger percentage of these graduates will not get jobs not because Nigeria's economy is bad, rather because they lack 'soft skills'.Dr. Olusoji George,, recruitment expert for multinational companies, disclosed to Vanguard in an interview ahead of the training for UNILAG students, that Nigerian graduates lack the final touch needed by multinational companies to hand them employment. George noted that the students could not be blamed for not having these skills, saying "it is not in the curriculum introduced by the Nigerian University Commission, NUC and, hence, the universities will not teach the students."What is in the curriculum introduced by NUC and adopted by each university were hard skills, that is, reading the theories and others and not the soft skills needed to win the hearts of multinational companies. "Any child sent abroad to study gets the best job on his return to Nigeria. It is not because they are more brilliant than those who studied in the country. But they possess the soft skills needed by these companies.This creates an unlevel playing field."It is sad that after four years of intensive studies in school, a student cannot get a job. It is pathetic that not all parents can afford the huge fund required to send their child abroad to study," he added. George who is also a senior partner/Chief Executive Officer, J.Soji-George, explained that soft skills are interpersonal relationship etiquettes that if exhibited, endears any job seeker to anyone recruiting for companies, Some of the etiquettes, he said were "how to answer questions during job interviews, what to wear and not, how they must sit especially for ladies and others. Don't forget, you will not find this in the curriculum."In abid to assist students in Nigeria, George stated that his organisation, Foundation for leadership and Education Development and ESSO Mobile Nigeria, will be training 110 students in first and Second Class upper category from faculty of Business Administration, UNILAG on Soft skills. His words, "we would have loved to handle all the students but the funds is not available. For instance, to train all graduating students in UNILAG on soft skill, it will require over N20 million for the exercise. And each faculty requires different soft skills which requires expert to coach them on it. "That is why corporate bodies are needed to assist in training these graduating students especially the indigents ones. With this training, they will be useful not only to the society but themselves. This training is expected to make Nigerian graduates employable.
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/07/first-class-students-fail-job-interviews-don/
OkonkwoNetworks..........Building NIGERIA of our DREAM
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