Dipo Olowookere
By Dipo Olowookere
One of the leading financial institutions in the country, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, is planning big for the second edition of its annual education fair, Edu360.
Union Bank has been on of the backbones of the education sector in Nigeria. The company is known to always identify and invest in sectors that are vital to shaping a better, more sustainable future for generations to come.
The Edu360 is in line with the lender’s efforts to support education as a vital sector for Nigeria’s growth and development and the theme for this year’s three-day event is Education Beyond Walls.
A statement issued by the financial firm on Monday disclosed that the Edu360 2019 will take place at the Union Bank Sports Centre in Surulere, Lagos from Thursday, October 24 to Saturday, October 26, 2019, and will attract audiences across the education ecosystem including government officials, educators, parents and students.
It was disclosed that attendees will benefit from a robust programme lineup that includes talks, panel sessions, masterclasses, workshops and training sessions for teachers. There will also be immersive and interactive activities and learning sessions for students, including gaming classes, robotics and coding, acting clinics, and photography workshops.
The focus of the annual conference is to facilitate critical engagement between key stakeholders in the sector, provide essential teacher training for public school teachers and expose students across all education cadres to experiential and creative learning opportunities.
Chief Executive Officer of Union Bank, Mr Emeka Emuwa, while commenting on the Edu360 initiative, was quoted as saying in the statement that, “Union Bank has been a leading advocate for education in Nigeria. Edu360 presents a platform to express our robust support for this key sector.
“Following the successful first edition last year, we realise that great ideas and collaboration are key to moving the education sector forward. We hope that the discussions and conversations at Edu360 2019 will unearth new ideas that will help build this very crucial sector.”
Edu360 was established in 2018 by Union Bank as a platform to rapidly accelerate access, quality and learning outcomes for Nigerian children and youth. The inaugural event drew over 3,000 delegates.
This year, the event is expected to attract 5,000 delegates and will feature an exhibition where service providers in the education sector will showcase their products and services.
According to the statement, entry to the event is free and open to members of the public, with registration ongoing at www.edu360.ng.
In 2017, Union Bank made a commitment to drive private sector engagement in delivering Nigeria’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the Next100 initiative; highlighting SDG 4 – Quality Education as one of the areas in which it intends to drive impact.
Between April and June this year, hundreds of teachers and school administrators in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt benefited from free training sessions organised by Union Bank on the Edu360 platform, in a bid to boost the quality of education in Nigerian schools.
The bank also recently organised the EdTech Challenge to discover, showcase and support innovative, cutting-edge technologies with the potential to transform Nigeria’s education system.
During the entry period from July 30 to August 23, 2019, over 1,060 ideas were received. Finalists from the competition will be invited to pitch their ideas during Edu360, with the top three ideas receiving total funding support of N5 million.
Union Bank is one the oldest banks in Nigeria and was established in 1917 and listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in 1971. The bank is a trusted and recognizable brand, with an extensive network of over 300 branches across Nigeria.
