COPEN Group to Collaborate With ESUT on Capacity Building, Community Empowerment

Copen Group, a big-time Real Estate firm with diversified interests in Consultancy Services, Construction, Manufacturing, Human Capital Development, Banking among others has expressed willingness to partner Enugu State University of Science and Technology, ESUT, in a joint venture that would yield human capital and economic transformation for ESUT and the society at large.

Speaking when a strong delegation of ESUT Management led by the Vice Chancellor, Prof Aloysius-Michaels Okolie paid a courtesy call at his Enugu Office, the Copen Group GMD, Rev. Ugochukwu Obiora Chime lauded the energy and entrepreneurial drive of the current ESUT VC and his team and expressed optimism that they would take the university to lofty heights.

The GMD noted that “Nigeria is a land with abundant opportunities” which regrettably lack people with the right attitude to drive the opportunities for societal development.
He stressed that the major challenge in the university system was the issue of Collaborations and Partnerships and assured that Copen Group would collaborate with ESUT in order to impact meaningfully on the environment.

Earlier in his speech, the Vice Chancellor in company of all members of his Management team and some Deans and Directors, said that their mission at Copen Group was to extend hands of collaboration with the Real Estate giant in the areas of capacity and community development, stressing that ESUT was eager to collaborate with successful and willing private sectors in order to reinvent the core values of the University.

The Vice Chancellor maintained that the University had prospects of generating revenue through these collaborations, adding that the move became necessary given the poor funding of education sector in Nigeria.

“We came in about a year ago and the Management has tried to analyze our new environment and we found out that we needed to do a number of things differently to guarantee the sustainability of the University. To achieve that, we decided that we would work with the private sectors to explore several collaborations.

“Most universities may not be aware that the resources are drying up and that the traditional ways of doing things in the universities must be changed. Within the last six weeks, we have tried to discuss with vendors from the USA on automation in engineering, we are equally discussing with a firm in Canada for partnership and engagements among others.

“Our mission is to reinvent the values canvassed by the founding fathers of this University,” he said.

Prof Okolie also used the opportunity to thank the GMD for the services rendered in one of the Faculties of the university recently.

While giving the vote of thanks, the Director of Academic Planning, ESUT, Prof Chike Anibeze, described the visit as fruitful.

While appreciating COPEN Group for their positive disposition to ESUT, he added that the visit would mark the beginning of meaningful partnership between the University and the real estate firm.