By Thomas Samuel
Taraba State University (TSU), Jalingo, has commenced a five-day capacity-building workshop for its academic staff aimed at strengthening entrepreneurship education and enhancing teaching effectiveness.
The workshop, titled "Teaching Entrepreneurship Using Effectuation 2025/2026," is sponsored by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and is designed to equip lecturers with innovative approaches to entrepreneurship teaching.
Declaring the workshop open, the Vice-Chancellor of Taraba State University, Professor Sunday Paul Bako, represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), Professor Reuben Jonathan, welcomed participants and emphasized the significance of the programme. He described the workshop as a vital initiative that would not only improve staff capacity but also benefit students by preparing them to compete effectively with their counterparts in other institutions across the country.
Speaking at the event, the Registrar of the University, Mr. Joseph Bibinu, noted that the institution remains committed to maintaining high academic standards. He called on the Entrepreneurship Unit to continue providing training opportunities for both staff and students to enhance their entrepreneurial knowledge and skills.
Earlier, the Director of Entrepreneurship and Skill Acquisition, Professor Dauda Ishaya Suntai, expressed appreciation to the university management and TETFund for providing the platform and resources to host the programme. According to him, the workshop is aimed at enhancing the capacity of academic staff to improve productivity and effectiveness in entrepreneurship education.
In his keynote address, Professor Innocent Idoko of the Department of Business Administration, Taraba State University, commended the university management and TETFund for supporting the initiative. He urged facilitators to deliver quality presentations that would enable participants to gain practical knowledge and maximize the benefits of the workshop.
Professor Idoko identified poor motivation among teachers and learners, as well as the continued use of rigid and traditional teaching methods, as some of the major challenges facing entrepreneurship education in Nigeria. He highlighted several benefits of teaching entrepreneurship through effectuation, including student-centred learning, enhanced critical thinking, practical skill development, resilience, collaboration, and networking opportunities.
According to him, entrepreneurship education should go beyond the transfer of knowledge to the development of an entrepreneurial mindset that is resilient, adaptable, resourceful, and collaborative.
Some participants, including Julius Clement and Dr. Bomi Olu Ogundiran, expressed satisfaction with the workshop. They described the programme as educational, innovative, and inspiring, adding that it would help participants develop practical business and problem-solving skills.
The workshop featured presentations on topics such as Assessing Entrepreneurial Learning Outcomes: Tools and Metrics for Measuring Students’ Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Mindset, Case-Based and Project-Based Learning for Effectuation Analysis, and Practical Methods of Entrepreneurship Education, among others.
The five-day programme is expected to further strengthen entrepreneurship teaching and learning at Taraba State University while equipping academic staff with modern pedagogical approaches for developing future entrepreneurs.
