By Henry Okonkwo
The Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) has announced plans for their ‘First Annual Advertising Industry Colloquium,’ a lecture and practical symposium intended at training students and bridging the wide gap between theory and practice in the advertising industry.
According to the council, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, will proclaim open the one-day colloquium scheduled for March 30th, 2023 at the prestigious Lagos Sheraton, Ikeja, Lagos.
Dr Olalekan Fadolapo, Director General of ARCON, disclosed this to newsmen recently in Lagos.
He said the colloquium is hinged on the need to bridge the gap between the academic and the professional. “We have a situation where students graduate from our higher institutions but cannot fit into the industry. This is so because the knowledge gap between theory and practice is wide. And as a regulator of the industry, there is an urgent need for us to bridge this gap.
“That was why we moved and set this committee to come up with ways to integrate the practitioners and the academics to bridge the knowledge gap,” Fadapo said.
Speaking further on the event, Prof. Rotimi Olatunji, Chairman of the Planning Committee, Advertising Industry Colloquium, revealed that the theme of the event is ‘Changing Trends in Advertising Education and Practice in the Era of Globalization: The Nigerian Perspective’.
Olagunju explained that the colloquium was organised to tackle the disruptions in the industry brought on by technological advancement and the unbundling of mass communication by the National Universities Commission (NUC).
He said, “The primary objective of the Colloquium is to provide the forum for academics and students of Mass Communication, Advertising and other components of integrated marketing communication (IMC) to interact with professionals in Advertising/other components of IMC; media practitioners, policymakers and regulatory agencies.”
According to Olatunji, the highlights of the colloquium would include a keynote address, a panel discussion on diverse areas of marketing communication theory and practice, and a creative pitch competition involving six tertiary institutions namely: Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Ebonyi State University, Babcock University, Ilisan, Bingham University, Abuja, University of Ilorin, and Lagos State University.
The keynote speech will be delivered by Mr. Idorenyen Enanq, President of the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria, NIMN while Professor Umaru A. Pate, Vice-Chancellor, Federal University, Kashere, Emmanuel Agu, Marketing Director, Jotna Group, Barrister Charles Odenigbo, Mr. Muyiwa Aleshinloye and Mr. Dozie Okafor, Vice- President of the Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria, MIPAN will be the discussants at the event.
The hybrid event is expected to be attended physically by students and lecturers from 10 selected tertiary institutions drawn from the six geopolitical zones of the country.
