The Vice Chancellor of federal university Kashere in Gombe state, Prof Umaru Pate has commended the faculty of Communication and Media Studies, University of Port Harcourt, for collaborating with Metronetwork Online Limited, owners of Metronetwork studio and Metronetworknews, to assist students acquire digital knowledge in media production.
The VC who made the commendation while addressing students and participants at a-two-day training workshop with the theme: ” Media Content Production Technologies”, organised by Metronetwork studio in collaboration with the faculty of Communication and Media Studies, university of Port Harcourt, said that practise of journalism, advertising, public relations has undergone changes and needed both the practitioners and the teachers to acquire necessary skills needed to embrace the changes.
He regretted that many institutions in Nigeria, including practitioners are still doing the analogue practise and wondered what would be the fate of students who graduate with analogue knowledge of journalism and communication practice.
Prof. Pate pointed out that such students do not have future and would end up jobless in the employment market.
He applauded the university of PortHarcourt for the initiative of collaborating with private organisations with know-how on digital skills, adding that government lacks the money and equipment to engage in digital overhaul of faculty of Communication and Media Studies in the country.
He noted that the cost of digitisation was expensive not only for the institutions but for the industry and that the best way is to collaborate with private persons who are willing to help out such as Metronetwork Online Limited.
He urged other schools to emulate UNIPORT by partnering private firms.
The VC also urged lecturers, students and practitioners to re-tool, re-kit and re-skill in order to adapt to the ever dynamic communication and media Studies and practice.
He said, “The most dangerous thing that can happen to any media owner is to have wonderful digital equipment plus poor analogue personnel. That one will be a disaster. What that means as you are investing in the equipment and bringing in these technologies, you must also invest in the capacities, knowledge, skills of young people who will eventually go in to manage the studios.
” For those of us who are already in the job, we have to re-tool, re-kit and re-skill so that we can go in tandem with contemporary equipment. You have to be dynamic. Dynamism is the keyword. The same thing with our lecturers in the universities. For the past 5 to 6 years, I have been sponsoring lecturers who work under me to conferences, attachment to media houses such as Premium Times and Daily Trust, where they have gone fully digital and also small media houses that are digital.
” As lecturers, you must also re-tool and re-skill for you now to be able to impact on the students because you cannot give what you do not have. You have to read new books. You have to understand the connections between platforms, power and politics in media business.
” It is our responsibilities in the universities to ensure that we are able to package you for the industry, in public relations practise, advertising, film, documentary making, development communication, strategic communication, broadcasting and journalism particularly in investigative journalism. You cannot talk about strengthening democracy when you do not have capacity of investigative journalism. Investigative journalism is risky, costly and dangerous. We have to equip you to be able to do that. Every job has its own risk. You cannot be a journalist and always insist on simply being a laptop journalist. You sit in the newsroom and wait for press releases; he said; he described; he lamented; he explained; he emphasised. That is not the kind of.journalists we should be training. We should be training journalists who can set agenda and you cannot set the agenda except you engage in investigative and data driven journalism”.
Earlier in his speech, the Dean of Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, UNIPORT, Prof. Walter Ihejirika, said they thought about the idea of collaboration when they found out that the faculty could not do it by itself, considering the high cost of digital equipment, including the skills.
He stated that the faculty therefore went into negotiations with Metronetwork Online Limited and commended the firm for their understanding, commitment in making the collaboration a reality.
He urged the company to always assist the faculty to meet up to global expectations.
Speaking further, the Dean thanked the Vice Chancellor for visiting the faculty.
He said, ” Today is a very important day in the annals of this faculty because apart from our Vice Chancellor, this is the first time we are having another Vice Chancellor visiting this faculty and that is Prof. Umaru Pate, the Vice Chancellor of Federal University, Kashere in Gombe state. Before he became the VC, he was the former Dean, School of Post graduate studies, Bayero University, Kano. Also, he was one of those who put together the idea of unbundling of mass communication. So, you are seeing one of the people who made it possible for us to be where we are today. We would have been struggling with mass communication department but through Prof. Pate’s leadership and in collaboration with other scholars, NUC was able to see the need to unbundle communication and so having him here today is a very important occasion for us.
“We never planned this collaboration to occur at the same time as his visit. We had planned this workshop with Metronetwork Online Limited as part of our on-going training for our students to help them gain on-hands practical experiences of media production so that they can become entrepreneurs tomorrow and after their studies and lo and behold on this very day we are having this important event, we are also having an august visitor. Prof Pate just came for another event but because of the love he has for communication and our faculty, he said that there is no way he will come to Port Harcourt without coming to the faculty of Communication and Media Studies”.
In his welcome address, the General Manager of Metronetwork studio and Metronetworknews, Mr. David T.J. Amusa, welcomed the participants and assured that the company has all it would take to revolutionise the digital practise in teaching communication and media Studies.
He said, “I want to say that the internet offers a big industry to our youths in creating content, skit making and so on. This big industry helps to empower our youths in the midst of the economic crunch facing the nation.
“Metronetwork Online Limited is committed in helping the youths tap from this huge industry and better their life. Also, help them to attain technological competence and dexterity in their professional training particularly for those of them in communication.
“The firm has an array of current technological devices necessary to engage in media production and I am sure the students will benefit from them.
“As part of our corporate social investment to complement the efforts of the government to have quality education, Metronetwork Online Limited has established a club for those in the tertiary institutions which will provide training for club members at a cheaper price compared to non members. I am sure that students of University of Port Harcourt will take advantage of it in obtaining training at a cheap cost in media technology.
“I thank the authorities in the faculty of Communicarion and Media studies and its departments for their collaboration in making this workshop a reality”.
The workshop featured practical sessions on camera handling, video editing, online digital platforms, content production and artificial intelligence, jingle production and voice over, live sound reinforcement, Cubase digital music composition, sound design and editing.
