United Nigeria Airlines and Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), have formalised a strategic partnership aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s aviation talent pipeline through structured industry training for students in aeronautical and aerospace engineering.
The collaboration, sealed through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), will enable engineering students of ABUAD to participate annually in the airline’s Student Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES)—a hands-on programme designed to provide real-world exposure in aircraft maintenance, aerospace systems, and operational safety within a commercial aviation environment.
Speaking during the signing ceremony, ABUAD Vice-Chancellor, Prof. E. Smaranda Olarinde, described the partnership as a major step toward deepening experiential learning and aligning the university’s engineering education with global best practices. She noted that practical industry immersion remains critical to producing graduates who are both technically competent and professionally competitive.
Founder of ABUAD, Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, reaffirmed the institution’s long-standing commitment to academic excellence, innovation, and industry relevance, emphasizing that collaborations of this nature are essential to national development and youth empowerment in highly specialised sectors such as aviation and aerospace engineering.
On his part, Chairman of United Nigeria Airlines, Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, OFR, said the initiative reflects the airline’s deliberate investment in indigenous capacity building. He disclosed that the SIWES training opportunity will be provided at no financial cost to the university, as the programme is fully funded by United Nigeria Airlines to support the growth of skilled Nigerian professionals in the aviation industry.
Stakeholders view the UNA–ABUAD agreement as a forward-looking model of industry-academia synergy, capable of bridging the gap between theoretical instruction and operational expertise while positioning Nigeria to compete more strongly in the global aerospace space.
Beyond immediate student training, the partnership signals a broader commitment to sustainable human capital development—ensuring that the future of Nigeria’s aviation sector will be driven by homegrown knowledge, innovation, and technical proficiency.
United Nigeria Airlines, ABUAD Partner to Provide SIWES Aviation Training for Engineering Students
United Nigeria Airlines signs MoU with ABUAD to deliver hands-on SIWES training in aviation and aeronautical engineering, with Prof. Afe Babalola, Prof. Smaranda Olarinde, and Prof. Obiora Okonkwo leading the partnership.
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