One of the high points of the 2nd International Scientific Conference of the Faculty of Applied Sciences, KolaDaisi University, Ibadan, was the plenary lecture delivered by management and leadership consultant, Dr Funso Ayeni, whose presentation generated considerable interest among participants from academia, industry, research institutes and the wider professional community.
Dr Ayeni gave a plenary lecture on Leadership and Strategic Partnerships for Bridging Academia, Industry and Society, which was closely related to the conference theme, Bridging Academia, Industry and Society: Innovative Solutions for Sustainable Development.
Interestingly, members of the Local Organising Committee have said that the invitation for Dr Ayeni to serve as a plenary speaker was unanimously agreed upon during the planning stages of the conference. Committee members said his broad experience in leadership development, organisational transformation and community engagement was a natural fit for the conference.
A very emotional moment was when the Chairman of the Local Organising Committee, Dr Olalekan Bukunmi Ogunro, disclosed to the public during the opening ceremony that, aside from his professional achievements, Dr Ayeni was personally close to him because of his philanthropic disposition over the years and positive impact on the lives of many people. Dr Ogunro said the committee’s decision to invite Dr Ayeni was based on merit and the value his experience would add to the conference. But he said that many of the committee members did not know of his personal admiration of the speaker over the years because of the speaker’s humanitarian and mentoring efforts.
In his presentation, Dr Ayeni argued that sustainable development can only be achieved when institutions deliberately build bridges across sectors rather than working in isolation. He encouraged universities to move beyond their traditional role as knowledge generators and become active drivers of innovation, entrepreneurship and societal transformation.
He also stressed the need for industries, Governments, research institutes and academic institutions to enter into strategic partnerships based on trust, accountability and common objectives if meaningful development is to be achieved.
Participants at the conference characterised the lecture as insightful, practical and timely, especially given the mounting demand for greater collaboration among stakeholders to address national and global issues.
Apart from the technical content of the presentation, observers noted that the lecture reflected themes increasingly associated with Dr Ayeni’s public engagements – leadership, people development, collaboration and service.
The plenary provoked considerable discussion among participants and was frequently referenced in later technical sessions, reflecting its impact on the overall conference discussion.
For many in the audience, the lecture was a reminder that today’s societal challenges can only be solved through visionary leadership that unites people, organisations and communities around a common purpose, not by the efforts of individual institutions alone.
Dr Ayeni’s presentation was one of the most discussed sessions of the conference, reinforcing the conference’s key message: that the best way to achieve sustainable development is for academia, industry and society to work together to achieve common progress.
