The Federal University of Technology, Akure FUTA hosted 400 level students of the Department of Social and Environmental Forestry, University of Ibadan (UI), in a practical training session from Sunday 15th of October to Sunday 22nd of October, 2023. Professor Shadrach Akindele, the lead faculty member for the training from FUTA's Department of Forestry and Wood Technology, commended the students of the University of Ibadan for their readiness to learn. He said the stint in FUTA focused on forest assessment training for the students which he described as key component of forestry programme in all training institutions.
He added that to manage the forest sustainably, one needs to take stock of what is in the forest.
He said the training entailed taking the students inside the forest with modern instruments and demonstrating how to make measurement on the trees and how to do calculation with those measurements to know the volume of trees in the forest and plan accordingly.
He said that the training has been about how to use forestry instrument to measure trees with the use of mobile app and data analytic practical session. Professor Akindele also appreciated the management for making FUTA facilities available for training.
The HOD of FWT Professor Gideon Adedayo, represented by Professor Victor Adekunle, appreciated the management and the staff of Soil and Environmental Forestry of UI, for making FUTA the choice of Practical training.
The Vice Chancellor Professor Adenike Oladiji paid a visit to the visiting students at their practical camp at the FUTA Plantation. She urged them to see the practical session as an opportunity to learn from a different setting from regular classroom learning. She told the students that whatever they have learnt should be taken back to school and practiced to make them better in their course of study.
Professor Oladiji said the main thrust of FUTA is to make its students self-reliant and confident in whatever they do. She commended the faculty members and students of FUTA’s Department of Forestry and Wood Technology, saying they are not just a department but a citadel of excellence with innovative ideas. She praised the department for developing an app that has enhanced the practice of Forestry and also for various wood related products and for promoting the cause of technology.
One of the students from UI, Femi Adeyemi said the camping exercise has been a great eye opener and he had had a good experience with the lead trainer Professor Akindele who provided a lot of insight on data analysis and practical use of forestry inventory tools.
He said visitation to the FUTA wood technology workshop and the wildlife sanctuary was a life time experience he won’t forget in a long time.
Similarly, Phoebe Kareem said the setting has been outstanding, the training awesome. She said she has learnt a great lesson in data base management and the use of application of excel in forestry. The student coordinator from UI, Dr. P. O Ige appreciated FUTA for creating enabling environment for people to come around to learn. On his part, Dr Onilude Quadri, a lecturer from the Department of Soil And Environmental Forestry, UI said the students have learnt a lot from the practical training they have acquired in FUTA under the tutelage of erudite and practical Professors like Akindele. He said the choice of FUTA for the training is because of its abundant human and practical resources that are highly valued
