By Blessing Oladunjoye
Media experts have offered tips on how students can utilize and miximise communication skills to enhance their career.
They spoke at the 9thedition of The Academic Summit organized by Students of Mass Communication Department at the University of Lagos.
Among others, the speakers stressed the need for appropriate use of new media, redefining interests, staying focused and making impact.
The Summit organized under the auspices of Communicators for Christ Fellowship of the Mass Communication department featured speakers from all aspects of communication who spoke on the theme ‘Create. Glocalize’.
Femi Odugbemi, a film maker said money should not be the main goal of aspiring media professionals but creating solutions and redefining how, where and why things are done.
Odugbemi who urged youths to be innovative despite the huge opportunities that technology has provided stressed that “technology has given the space and technology is driving disruption.”
“ If technology is driving disruption, technology is also asking questions from everyone, whether you are an artist or film maker or TV producer. It is presenting you the opportunity to be global.
“Those questions surround excellence, those questions are saying don’t do what everybody is doing because they are already doing it. So, if you are going to be different, you have to be innovative.”
Odugbemi noted that “innovation is a state of mind, not with the intention to do what has been done, but to redefine what has not been done because that is how an industry expand and how you will get rewarded for it.”
Social media expert and CEO, the Alpha Reach, Japhet Omojuwa spoke to the students about having a unique brand that will be appealing to the public even among competitors.
“ You need to be great at what you do and that’s how you can make your brand more appealing.”
On the use of social media which could be distracting but useful, Omojuwa said “students and every young individual need to be focused despite the distractions from the new media and capacity of our phones.
“They need to be mindful of what they learn from these platforms and set their priorities right. The most important thing is to find a balance between wanting to have fun and wanting to use the platforms to advance yourself. You also have to ask yourself, the time I’m spending on these platforms, is it worth it?”
Highlighting the importance of the program, Adeyemi Oluwamayowa, a final year student and head of the organizing committee of the summit said the programme was organized to bridge the gap between what is taught in school and what happens on the field. Adeyemi said it is expected that the students would have the urge to research and know there is more beyond the fore walls of the classrooms.
