The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has reaffirmed its commitment to talent development and stronger industry-academia collaboration through the platform of the Executive Industry Immersion Challenge (EIIC) programme that was conducted in partnership with the Nile Business School, Nile University of Nigeria, Abuja.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 4-day programme at the Corporation’s Head Office in Abuja, the Managing Director/Chief Executive of the NDIC, Mr. Thompson Oludare Sunday, described the initiative as strategic in addressing the widening gap between the academia and the business community.

According to the NDIC Chief Executive, the rapidly evolving global work environment requires professionals who possess both theoretical knowledge and practical insight into the realities of the corporate world.  In his words, “the Executive Industry Immersion Challenge has provided the NDIC with the opportunity of a practical platform to expose participants to real-world experience in policy formulation, institutional governance, and public sector management.”

The Managing Director reiterated the commitment of the NDIC as a critical financial safety-net institution, to the promotion of financial system stability and enhancement of depositor confidence in the financial system. He urged participants, who are students of the executive NBA programme of the University, to embrace the positive values that will be learnt during the programme and adopt them as guiding principles for leadership and national development. He stressed that institutions can only command public confidence when their actions consistently reflect honesty, sound ethical conduct, good governance and transparency.

The Project Coordinator of the programme for the NDIC and Director, Research, Policy & International Relations Department, Mr. Ibrahim Aliyu, explained that the EIIC had been consciously designed as an experiential learning initiative aimed at bridging the gap between theory and industry practice.

In his remarks, the Dean of the Nile Business School, Prof. Hauwa Lamido, represented by a senior faculty member, Dr. Festus Ekechi stated that, the choice of the Corporation for the Industry Immersion Programme was informed by its footprint of sound corporate governance, professionalism and integrity in the nation’s financial landscape. He assured that the School would take conscious steps toward integrating all the learning points from the exercise into its curriculum with a view to ensuring practical application the knowledge by the participants in their places of work.