2024 Business Luncheon: Engineers should lead to transformation of country –Adedotun

CHINYERE IKEANYI

Chairman, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Ikeja Branch, Engr. Femi John Adedotun, has urged fellow engineers to lead to transformation of the country through entrepreneurship and innovation.

Engr. Adedotun stated this at the 2024 Business Luncheon/Public Lecture of the NSE Ikeja Branch titled:  The Journey of Business Engineer: Experiential Account of Shop Floor To Top Floor held at NSE Annex Office, Victoria Island Lagos on Friday.

According to Adedotun, leading to transformation of the country through entrepreneurship and innovation by the engineers was necessary because they are trained to manage materials, machines and men apart from being critical thinkers.

“Engineer should be a good Businessman” thus, the purpose of the topic is to awaken us to become Engineer Entrepreneurs. This is a good time to be an Entrepreneur. With the Globalization of business and uncertain economy, there are plenty of opportunities to evaluate and pursue, which makes global economy a target- rich environment for technology based entrepreneurs, Adedotun stated.

Stating that Engineers are excellent sources of high-growth potential entrepreneurial ventures with their creative product and technology ideas, in various disciplines, he, however, said academia in general has not effectively developed this resource.

He then said there should be urgent need for them to think business, turning papers to products, synergize to take design to market and become entrepreneurs.

“As Engineers, we have been trained through school and experience to break down the problem, control variables, measure, test, and verify. Let us translate our training and experience into business and social aspects that will be more impactful to our nation. Furthermore, we should start the entrepreneurial journey immediately by applying our problem solving skills and using these steps: Look for a profitable business idea;  Develop a product; Validate your product; Write a business plan; Secure funding ; Launch your business; and  Manage the business, Engr. Adedotun  further said.

He stated that: “The choice of the guest speaker is to showcase engineering entrepreneurship by sharing his experience. Engr. Dele Abioye stand out as his career progression depicts business success at all level which is exemplary, worthy of emulation, celebration, rewarding and recognition”.

President/Chairman-In-Council, of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Engr. Margaret Aina Oguntala, FNSE, represented by her Vice, Engr. Rose Madaki, in her speech, congratulated everybody on   the   consistent hosting of the annual Business Luncheon, which he described as “where we are opportune to enrich our knowledge on the nitty-gritty of empowerment and entrepreneurial growth”.

Engr. Oguntala said: “We have for many years effectively explored this crucial window of interactions between our Engineers and players   in the industry and such discourses have yielded fruitful results   to the amazement of everyone”.

She specifically commended the Chairman, Executive Committee and the entire members of NSE Ikeja Branch for the invitation extended to the Managing Director of BUA Foods, Engr. Dr. Dele Abioye, MNSE to deliver   the   lecture,  describing him as an engineering   colossus   and industrialist   “who   strongly   believes   in   the   development   of indigenous capacity  for  the socio-economic development  of  our country”.

The NSE President expected that Business Luncheon/Public Lecture would   enable   closer   ties   between Engineers and other stakeholders and equally serve as an avenue of comparing   notes  with   investors.

In his paper on Business Engineer: From Shop floor to Top floor, Engineer (Dr) Dele Abioye stated that while a shop floor engineer is the engineer in the production area, such as in a factory or another working space and is the floor where workers produce goods, a top floor engineer is a business engineer on an executive desk, the board room. “The room where business strategies and decisions are formulated for executive actions”, he added.

Dr. Abioye talked on what key concepts guide an effective leader, saying: Leaders must have vision, stating that “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams”, according to Eleanor Roosevelt. He also said leaders must have emotional intelligence, pointing out that “IQ and Technical Skills are important, but emotional Intelligence is the sine qua non of LEADERSHIP”, according to Daniel Goleman.

Quoting Plato that “All learning has an emotional base”, Abioye said leaders must have courage. ‘Accepting a position of LEADERSHIP imposes an essential duty to deliver on your targets/mandates., regardless of the circumstances. COURAGE is needed’, he stated.

On Career Transitions Amid Industrial Evolution, he submitted: Industrial evolution in human history which today is marked as Industry 4.0, was a journey that began in 1780 with the advent of steam engines and progressed through electrification, mechanization, and automation, now finds itself at the doorstep of the digital age, which has made adaptability a cornerstone of career success. As traditional job roles evolve and they are now becoming automated, individuals must pivot, upskill, or reframe their career paths to thrive in this new era.

Talking on a Business Engineer is, Dr Abioye stated: A Business Engineer is a hybrid between a business administration and technology expert, a person with the business acumen and engineering abilities to understand a complex organization, proffer solutions, and work as a liaison between commercial and technical teams.

.Business Engineering includes knowledge of business administration, technology (engineering) and information technology (IT) and applies it to create business models which take into account some technical and economic aspects as well as organizational, cultural and even political ones.

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