Skyline varsity to graduate 236 including 12 PhDs

Skyline University Nigeria (SUN) says it will graduate 236 students including 12 doctorate degree holders at its 5^th convocation ceremony scheduled for Nov. 14.

The Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Ajith Kumar, disclosed this at a news conference ahead of the graduation on Monday in Kano.

Kumar said the graduating students comprised 183 bachelor’s degree, 41 higher-degree and 12 doctorate-degree holders.

He said the conferment of doctorate degrees would mark a historic milestone for the institution, as it will be the first time the university awards such degrees since its establishment in 2018.

He said 30 of the bachelor’s degree graduates earned first class honours, 89 obtained second class upper while 64 graduated with second class lower division.

According to him, the university has also awarded 50 per cent scholarships to all its top-performing graduates to pursue postgraduate programmes at the institution.

The vice chancellor said the 2025/2026 academic session recorded significant achievements in technology-driven education, research, entrepreneurship and international collaborations.

He said the university had launched the HP Gaming Garage, the first of its kind in Africa, to equip students with practical skills in game development, Artificial Intelligence, design thinking and digital innovation.

Kumar said the National Universities Commission had approved three degree programmes for the institution namely Islamic Economics and Finance, Public Health Science and Artificial Intelligence.

He said the university was the first university in North-West Nigeria to receive approval to offer a degree programme in Artificial Intelligence.

The vice chancellor said the university had strengthened its curriculum by introducing industry-led teaching with 10 per cent of its courses to be delivered by industry experts.

He added that mandatory professional certification courses had been introduced for students every semester to enhance their skills and improve their career prospects.

Kumar said the institution had signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with universities in India, including IMS Unison University, Sikkim Sardar Patel University and RV Institute of Management.

He added the university had established partnerships with eHealth Africa, the Corporate Affairs Commission, PRAWA, Law GPT and Law AI to provide students with practical learning and professional development opportunities.

He said two academic staff members, Dr Musa Innocent and Mr Abdulsallam Mustapha, were recognised among Nigeria’s top researchers in the 2026 rankings.

The vice chancellor said the university’s second career fair attracted more than 43 organisations, some of which offered pre-employment placements to outstanding students.

Kumar highlighted the achievements of students, who established Gmingo Tech Solutions, a technology company founded by 300-level Software Engineering students.

He said the university had continued to promote entrepreneurship and innovation through its entrepreneurship, innovation and AI Lab.

On community development, Kumar said the institution had empowered 100 women through training in Artificial Intelligence and entrepreneurship under its corporate social responsibility initiative.

He said the school had completed two cohorts of the World Bank’s Innovation Development and Effectiveness in the Acquisition of Skills (IDEAS) Project, training 1,189 Nigerian youths in digital and technical skills.

“The first cohort comprised 572 participants, while the second had 617 beneficiaries,” he said.

Kumar said the training covered ICT, Microsoft Office, web design, desktop publishing, Artificial Intelligence, cyber security as well as machine learning and programming.

He reaffirmed the university’s commitment to expanding its academic programmes, strengthening international partnerships, promoting research and embracing emerging technologies to improve teaching and learning.

He said the institution would continue to produce graduates equipped with academic knowledge, professional competence and ethical values to contribute to national and global development.