UNILAG Postgraduate student launches an educational technology platform designed to expand access to quality learning through engaging, curriculum-aligned digital content, adding to the university’s growing entrepreneurship ecosystem.
The Étude mobile application, developed by WalterSam Global Technologies Ltd, was unveiled on Friday at the Bank of Industry UNILAG Incubation and Co-Working Hub at the university’s Entrepreneurship and Skills Development Centre, Akoka.
Giving the welcome address at the event, Maruf Tunji Alausa, Minister of Education, represented by Adebayo Onigbanjo, National Project Coordinator of the Student Venture Capital Grant (SVCG), described the launch of Etude not merely as a private success, but as living proof of a national strategy.
‘Through the Student Venture Capital Grant (SVCG), forty-five students were identified as future innovators and founders in Nigeria.
‘And one of those companies was Waltersam Technologies, which received an investment capital fund of 50 million Naira equity-free grant fully funded by the Federal Republic of Nigeria’
Speaking on redesigning education for the next generation, Afolabi Lesi, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Developmental Services), said, ‘Reimagining education isn’t about replacing the classroom with technology. It’s about expanding what the classroom can become.’
‘It’s about creating learning experiences that are more accessible, more engaging, and more responsive to the diverse needs of today’s learners.’ He added.
Oluwatoyin Temitayo Ogundipe, board chairman, National Universities Commission (NUC), described the unveiling as proof of what happens when a young person refuses to wait for perfect conditions.
‘The idea you have now does not require you to be overly concerned about what other people are saying or thinking about it,’ he said.
‘What you need is the courage to run with it,’ he added.
He urged young people to prioritise developing valuable skills over money, stressing that building valuable skills and demonstrating potential would eventually attract the resources needed to grow.
Idris Ibikunle, board chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), urged that the launch celebration was only the beginning, and that true success would be measured not by applause but by Etude’s ability to endure, evolve, and remain relevant over time.
Samuel Olamilekan Johnson, CEO of Waltersam Technologies, shared how he and his team turned the personal struggles he faced after secondary school into a six-year journey of building a mobile learning platform designed to improve the quality of learning for students.
Oluwafemi Seun Paul, the chief technical officer, together with other members of the Étude team, delivered the product presentation and demonstrated the key features of the mobile application.
The launch brought together key stakeholders, including Agunsoye Olumuyiwa Johnson, dean of student affairs; Henrietta Ugboh, non-executive director, UBA; Sunday Abayomi, executive director of the University of Lagos Business School; and Bolajoko Dixon-Ogbechi, chairperson of the board of the International School, University of Lagos.
They shared a common commitment to advancing innovative solutions that can improve the quality of learning for the next generation.