Matriculation, Tsunami, and Everything In-between
Matriculation in the University of Ibadan signifies the beginning of an academic journey that ends with either convocation or tsunami. The former is good news, and from the bowels of the other, emerges the dark joke “the returning students won’t return” which lightens the heavy reality of being ‘tsunamised’, which occurs when a UI student does not meet up to the academic requirements for a particular session and hence, is advised to withdraw for the university.
The University of Ibadan matriculated 3,792 students on Tuesday, September 12, for the 2022/2023 academic session. One of the numerous pieces of advice they received was one from the Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Adebowale, and it was that they have no excuse to fail. While this was a sort of encouragement to give their education their all to arrive safely at the final destination of convocation, it was also a warning that there are damning consequences for failing at the University of Ibadan and only you, the student, will be held responsible for it.
However, it is dishonest if we do not acknowledge that the success of a student relies on a number of many factors that may even be beyond their control as the learning condition is not entirely ideal. It is then important for you as a student to recognise these holes and understand how to patch them properly.
The most important advice is that being in the University of Ibadan is like survival of the fittest and you have to strive to be among the fittest to survive. Your first step to being fit in your academics would be to identify your own strengths and weaknesses which could be how quick you assimilate in class, how much materials you would need at a particular time to understand a topic, if you need to work on your writing or listening skill and so on. Then, you move to recognising the peculiarity of your faculty, department, and lecturers. Learn how things work in your department and other departments you take electives from, and the specific standards of your different lecturers. For instance, in the Faculty of Arts, storytelling is an important skill you must possess.
Another thing you need to realise on time as a student of University of Ibadan is that the world is at your fingertips with a smartphone and the internet, so you should be willing to explore and expand your classroom knowledge with different research papers, academic papers, and recommended texts which you can find on Google Scholar, Academia.edu, Research Gate, your lecturers recommendations amongst others. Also, ask questions from stalites, but also find out things as much as you can on your own to avoid being misled.
Be conscious of time and utilise it well. One way is to realise that attending classes is very important but missing them might be inevitable so it is important to make up for the lectures you miss. Your punctuality is another important aspect of attending classes. Also, try to avoid the last hour rush in your assignments because you are likely to make avoidable mistakes like grammatical errors which might be deemed unforgivable by your lecturer because this is the Faculty of Arts where words and how you use them in delivering your answers matter. It is also a practical faculty where creativity and thoroughness is mostly required, so you cannot afford the luxury of this if you approach your assignments and student work with haste and last minute rush.
Beyond making outstanding or great grades, another key is to make the most of your stay in the University of Ibadan by balancing your education well with beneficial extracurricular activities and acquiring diverse soft and hard skills. University of Ibadan boasts of a great community of students with great minds, pursuits, and actions; so while you have no excuse to fail at your academics, you have no excuse to be in this university for the duration of your course of study plus additional years inevitable ASUU strike might add to it, yet gain nothing besides high grades. Apart from training for the long term, these skills and activities become a way to also support, develop and build yourself and your mind.
Career crisis is very normal at this point of your life as a student, so research as much as you can and try your hands on different things. The reality is that all these won’t be easy, but the world is never easy; at the end, you will gain knowledge and worthwhile experiences. Do not forget to make good connections and network with people you admire, but do not be a social climber while at it. In summary, gain all you can from the University of Ibadan.
