UNILAG Postgraduate Student Launches Edtech Platform To Expand Learning Access
A Postgraduate student of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) has launched an educational technology platform 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.
In a welcome address at the launch event, Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, represented by the national project coordinator of the Student Venture Capital Grant (SVCG), Adebayo Onigbanjo, described the launch of Étude not merely as a private success, but as living proof of a national strategy.
“Through the Student Venture Capital Grant (SVCG), 45 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,” Alausa said.
Speaking on redesigning education for the next generation, deputy vice-chancellor (Developmental Services), Afolabi Lesi 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.”
For his part, board chairman of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Oluwatoyin Temitayo Ogundipe 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. What you need is the courage to run with it,” he said.
Ogundipe 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.
Also, the board chairman of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Idris Ibikunle urged that the launch celebration was only the beginning, and that true success would be measured not by applause but by Étude’s ability to endure, evolve, and remain relevant over time.
Chief executive officer of Waltersam Technologies, Samuel Olamilekan Johnson 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.
In his brief address, the chief technical officer, Oluwafemi Seun Paul, alongside 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.
