The Workshop, which is held at the start of every new academic session, is a time when the entire staff are reacquainted with their purpose as members of the University community. The theme of this year’s Workshop was “Creating a High Performance Culture.”

The 4-day workshop was divided into sessions, some of which all staff participated in; while other sessions were tailored specifically to the needs of either the Academic or Non-academic cadres.

In his welcome address, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Steve Afolami enjoined all staff to participate actively and work in unity, as the University prepared for the accreditation of her programmes. The topics that were discussed were in-depth and insightful.

Day 1

Augustine University is an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) compliant Institution, as many of the processes carried out in the University are automated. The first topic titled, “Ensuring User-friendly ICT Environment, including OER” was an Introduction to the basic ICT tools available in the University. Also, staff were walked through ways they could save and share their research work and other documents. The topic was presented by Mr. Babatunde Abiola of the ICT Unit.

Prof. James Oguntuase, the Head of Department, Mathematical Sciences, spoke on what was expected of staff during the accreditation exercise and the importance of ample preparation to ensure all programmes offered by the University were given full accreditation.

The Registrar, Mrs. Margaret Aziba in her topic titled, “University and the Committee System” said the Committee system was a democratic way of running the University, as it was a form of group decision making where everybody was involved.

Day 2

The second day was just as enlightening as the first day. Dr. Modesta Ofordile and Professor Chris Ogbeche of the Lagos Business School spoke extensively on the role of Staff towards students. Dr. Ofordile in her lecture titled “Staff/Student Relationship” said it was important for the lecturer to keep the students engaged and actively listening to lectures. She admonished lecturers to keep interactions with students professional.

Professor Ogbeche spoke on “Staff as Role Models for Students”. He said that values drove behaviours and behaviours became cultures. The Institution’s preferred values and culture could be driven or hindered through behavior, attitude, actions or inactions of staff.

Day 3

The Bursar, Mr. Sunday Alabi while speaking on the “Overview of Financial Regulations of the University”, broke down the various functions of the different units in the Bursary Unit. He enjoined all to work with the Unit to ensure accountability of funds spent by Departments and Units.

The Senior Librarian introduced Staff to Library facilities and walked staff through how best to take advantage of them, most especially the electronic library platform.

Mr. M. T. Oni, a Principal Assistant Registrar in the University of Ibadan lectured on the importance of records management in a world class university. He said officers needed to imbibe the culture of sound records management, so that even in their absence, retrieval of records should be easy. He also added that every staff should be able to carry out any duty within his/her unit.

The Registrar educated all on Report and Minutes Writing. Minutes and Reports, according to her, were records of proceeding or the transactions at a particular meeting. She enumerated the types of minutes and the formats they were written in. She said minutes were written in reported speech and that it was important that consistency was maintained in numbering and layout of the entire minutes.

Day 4

Speaking on the “importance of Personal and Professional Life Balance”, Barrister Ifeyinwa Awagu said that people must find a way to relax after work and that discipline was needed when unwinding as well. A balanced life improved productivity, health, happiness and joy and increased the chances of living a fulfilled life.

Dr. Grace Ikpa, while speaking on Health and Fitness in the Workplace told all staff that they must ensure they got enough exercise, adequate sleep and nutrition. She said a healthy body was essential for the workplace.

CONCLUSION

The workshop was rounded up with the Vice-Chancellor’s closing remarks. He thanked everyone for an enriching programme and hoped that all had a fulfilling period during the workshop.

He also used the opportunity to welcome new staff and hoped they would contribute positively to the University.

Each participant was presented a Certificate.