The University of Jos (UNIJOS )has held its first oath-taking and induction ceremony for engineering graduates, marking a historic milestone for an institution that operated for nearly four decades without a Faculty of Engineering.
The ceremony, held in Jos on Wednesday, formally inducted a new batch of engineering graduates into professional practice and highlighted the university’s growing contribution to Nigeria’s technical workforce.
Delivering the keynote address, Prof. Stephen J. Mallo, pioneer Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, described the event as the culmination of years of persistence to establish engineering training at the university.
According to him, the idea of creating a Faculty of Engineering at the institution dates back several decades when the university stood out as one of the few second-generation universities in Nigeria without engineering programmes.
“Today, we celebrate not only your academic accomplishments but also the realisation of a dream that began many years ago to ensure that the University of Jos joins the league of institutions producing engineers for national development,” he said.
Mallo revealed that the university has so far graduated 663 engineers across five sets since the programme began. The institution produced 37 graduates in the 2018/2019 academic session, 67 in 2019/2020, 163 in 2020/2021, 133 in 2022/2023 and 263 in the 2024/2025 academic session.
He noted that establishing the faculty required years of curriculum development, infrastructure expansion, staffing and engagement with regulatory agencies before the programmes secured accreditation.
Earlier in his remarks, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Tanko Ishaya, described the ceremony as a significant milestone for the institution and the graduating students.
“It is indeed a very important moment for us as a university to witness this first oath-taking and induction ceremony. I remember clearly when we were part of the team that developed the curriculum that eventually led to the establishment of this Faculty of Engineering. Today, we are seeing the outcome of what began as discussions around a table many years ago,” he said.
Ishaya added that the university has continued to promote research and innovation within the faculty, including projects exploring how engineering and computing can be used to address national challenges.
He disclosed that researchers from the faculty recently worked on a project integrating artificial intelligence into intelligence gathering, noting that the drone used for the project was designed by engineers within the faculty and discussions were already ongoing with the National Security Adviser on scaling up the initiative.
Also, the President of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), Engr. Prof. Sadiq Zubair Abubakar, represented by Engr. Sani Lukman, Head of Engineering Regulation, Monitoring and Enforcement, emphasised the importance of maintaining global standards in engineering training.
He noted that Nigeria currently has about 114 universities offering engineering education with more than 500 engineering programmes, which could produce over 10,000 engineering graduates annually if properly managed.
Abubakar stressed that beyond graduation, engineers must pass through a structured professional pathway that includes industrial training, mentorship, certification, registration and licensing before practising fully.
He also highlighted COREN’s regulatory framework designed to ensure quality engineering education, including accreditation of programmes, regulation of admission quotas, student indexing and mandatory professional development for practising engineers.
The ceremony also featured the administration of the professional oath to the graduates by COREN and representatives of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, who urged the new engineers to uphold professional ethics, integrity and safety in their practice.
Participants described the event as a landmark moment in the academic history of the university and a significant step in strengthening Nigeria’s engineering capacity.
