6th Convocation Ceremony

A significant of first was recorded at the 2009 convocation ceremony of the Pan-African University - the graduation of the first set of students of the M.Sc. class of the School of Media & Communication (SMC).

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6th Convocation Ceremony

A significant first was recorded at this year’s Convocation Ceremony of the Pan-African University – the graduation of the first set of students of the M.Sc. class of the School of Media & Communication (SMC). It is noteworthy that the school within a month of receiving approval from National Universities Commission (NUC) for its establishment (in July, 2008) was able to admit a full class of students for the M.Sc. in Media & Communication. This is a strong indication of the confidence the society has in Pan-African University, as a centre of excellence in academic research and learning. Graduates of that class were part of this year’s Convocation Ceremony; the first time graduates of a school other than Lagos Business School were part of the Ceremony. The previous five Convocation Ceremonies had witnessed the graduation of members of the MBA classes of the Lagos Business School.


Referring to this during his speech the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Albert Alos said: “… a reason that makes this graduation unique is that today we will award the Master of Science of degree to the first set of graduates from the School of Media and Communication. There are 24 creative, innovative and talented young people who have successfully completed the 12-month Master of Science programme and are ready to make a positive impact in the media industry. Their colourful hoods (crimson red) have added some variation to the uniform colour of a single (business) school. .. Current trends in nations around the world show that the media industry has a major influence in shaping societal values and in affecting the way people work and live. We could well say that the future of Nigeria depends to a large extent on the quality of the media the country has. The establishment of the School of Media and Communication is therefore a response of Pan-African University to the needs of society and a contribution to building the future of Nigeria”


He also took time to congratulate the Dean and the faculty of the School of Media and Communication for the successful take off of the Master of Science programme and for their commitment to deliver and excellent premier Masters course.


Another significant first was the role of Dr. Christopher Kolade. As Pro-Chancellor, this was the first convocation ceremony over which he was presiding.


The third unique aspect of this ceremony was in the words of the Vice-Chancellor “a very personal one, since this will be for me the last graduation ceremony of Pan-African University I will attend as a Vice-Chancellor… it is time for me to step aside. In December, I will pass the baton to another person who will continue leading and developing the university until it is his turn to pass the baton to someone else.


In his turn, the Pro-Chancellor Dr. Christopher Kolade congratulated the graduating students on their well earned success but also to time to pay tribute to Prof. Alos. In his words “Where we (Pan-African University) are now is good and incontrovertible proof of the strength and qualities of Prof. Albert Alos”. He then addressed himself again to the new graduates saying “I congratulate the graduating students. You are joining a long line of distinguished alumni and if you grow at the PAU pace, Nigeria itself is in for fantastic growth”.


The guest speaker at this year’s convocation ceremony was the Executive Secretary of Nigerian Universities Commission Prof. Julius Okogie, represented by Prof. Jubrila Amin, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Private Universities.

A total of 96 candidates were awarded the degree of Masters of Business Administration: 62 of them had undergone the rigorous 24-month part-time Executive MBA programme while 34 had done the intense full-time MBA programme. A further 24 candidates were awarded the Master of Science degree in Media and Communication having successfully confronted the challenges posed by the demanding 12-month full time M.Sc. programme.