By Samuel Abioye Akorede
The University of Jos, Plateau State hosted the first-ever LinkedIn Local event in the North-Central region of Nigeria on Wednesday, the 25th of October.
The event had as its theme: “Bridging the gap between education and employment”, one that aligns with the LinkedIn Local mission of creating a sensational awareness of the importance of digital skills and networking among young people.
The event focused on instilling a passion for personal development, networking, and learning digital skills among young people in Jos, especially among the students at the University of Jos.
Both students and panelist shared their takeaways from the epoch program and attested to having learned a lot from attending and hopeful of seeing the positive impacts in due time.
Sharing the event experience and take-away, Agene Victoria, a 400-level student of Law at the University of Jos, said her participation in the event has opened her eyes to see areas she needs to work on with regard to how she utilizes her social media accounts.
“I want to commend the organizers of the event; it was really thoughtful. I got the opportunity to learn a lot — like personally, my LinkedIn is just there but after this event, I’m going to be intentional about it. Also, I’ve learned some key points — for example my Facebook, I post a lot of things there, but right now I will find a niche for myself around there”, she said.
Similarly, a 200-level student of Mass Communication, Peace Isama, who attended the event considered It to be an exposure for young people to know the importance of maximizing the online space to learn digital skills that empower them.
“We had a lot of topnotch LinkedIn influencers that spoke to us on the importance of maximizing different social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and particularly LinkedIn — how we can connect with top executives in our field to learn from them and build a network for growth”, she said.
Furthermore, one of the panelists of the event, Johnstone Kpilaakaa, who spoke on the relevance of digital skill and networking, being an alumnus of the university and a renowned tech journalist, stated that the aftermath of the event will have a ripple effect on the University community.
He said, “Events like this which are extracurricular activities are insightful in providing students with the opportunity to learn from experts on the field to build capacity while still in the university as undergraduate students.”
Speaking about the positive impact of the event on the University of Jos students, Johnstone said the event is a reawakening of sort and he is confident that many of such will be hosted on campus.
“Even if LinkedIn Local Jos doesn’t do something similar again, someone within the audience who benefited from the event will start thinking of how to continue integrating these teachings into his/her department, and that way, it will create a ripple effect on the university community”, he said.
The event recorded over 300 participants which comprised of students at the University of Jos, members of the immediate communities and beyond.
