Igbinedion University is a Breeding Ground for the Next Generation of Movie Stars

Veteran Nollywood actor, director, producer, television personality, entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist, Mr. Ernest Obi, on Thursday, 4th May 2023, described Igbinedion University Okada as a breeding ground for the next generation of stars in the film industry. Obi disclosed this during a working visit by a group of Nigerian actors to the Vice Chancellor at the University’s main campus in Okada.

According to him, “My team and I are very delighted to be here today. For months, we have been shooting a television series titled Nana. “Nana,” a ROK TV series, is scheduled to be streamed globally. And in the course of shooting this movie in Okada, we have engaged several students of the University, some of whom are playing major roles. I was amazed at their level of professionalism. Indeed, this University is breeding the next generation of stars for the film industry. Ernest Obi revealed that in the course of filming, his crew has employed the services of over 150 people within the Okada community as part of the University’s plan towards uplifting the local community.

In his response, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Lawrence Ezemonye (FAS), expressed gratitude to Nollywood for partnering with the University towards producing future-ready graduates. He stated that “one of the philosophies of the University is to produce future-ready students, leveraging partnerships and collaborations anchored on the triple helix model (government, industry, and academia collaborations)”.

Professor Ezemonye reiterated the importance of the industry-academia interface which, according to him, birthed the infusion of ‘master classes’ into the University’s academic curriculum. “In line with our vision of delivering qualitative education across sub-Saharan Africa as well as producing future-ready graduates, we have introduced master classes into our curriculum. One of such master classes is the Graduate Code, a short course for all final-year students in the university,” he said.