Voice of Innovators: A Fireside Series ( First Edition, Part 1)
The Voice of Innovators series is being introduced to address a growing concern within our student community: the fading spirit of curiosity and innovation among undergraduates. Many students enter engineering programs with big dreams—to build, invent, and solve real-world problems. However, over time, the focus seems to shift almost entirely to passing exams and securing certificates. The culture of questioning existing systems and attempting bold solutions is becoming rare.
The Voice of Innovators series is being introduced to address a growing concern within our student community: the fading spirit of curiosity and innovation among undergraduates. Many students enter engineering programs with big dreams—to build, invent, and solve real-world problems. However, over time, the focus seems to shift almost entirely to passing exams and securing certificates. The culture of questioning existing systems and attempting bold solutions is becoming rare.
This program is designed to challenge that mindset. It will provide students with direct conversations with innovators—individuals who have faced similar limitations in resources, environment, and support but still found ways to build solutions that are making a real impact. The sessions will not be motivational speeches; they will be open, practical conversations that reveal what innovation truly looks like—the struggles, the failures, and the persistence required to succeed.
For the kick-off session, we have deliberately chosen Motunrayo Sanyaolu as our first speaker. As someone who was recently an undergraduate herself, she is relatable to our students in a way that seasoned professionals may not initially be. Her understanding of the current academic structure and the everyday challenges students face will help create an atmosphere where participants feel comfortable sharing their struggles and experiences openly.
This first session is intentionally designed as a listening phase. By hearing what students are asking and where their struggles lie, we will be better positioned to invite experienced professionals in subsequent editions to directly address those needs and guide students toward practical solutions.
The expected impact is clear and measurable: to increase student participation in external competitions, innovation challenges, and research showcases. By exposing students to real stories of innovation and encouraging them to ask bold questions, we expect to reawaken their curiosity and give them the confidence to attempt projects and present their ideas to external platforms.
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Motuntayo
Voice of Innovators Fireside chat: Way of a Maker
Biography:
Motunrayo Sanyaolu is an Electrical and Electronics Engineering student and an award-winning innovation leader passionate about hands-on technology education, computer systems, and hardware development. She currently serves as the Head of Training and Development at the UNILAG Design Studio. She is the author of the book "The Way of A Maker".
Motunrayo brings a strong background in electronics, mechanical design and fabrication, and the Internet of Things, having led and mentored multiple student teams through real-world design challenges and engineering projects. She is passionate about applying technology to solve pressing problems in the world.
She is inquisitive and loves to explore what is possible in the world. When she's not plotting how to take over the world, she likes to enjoy a good book, read comics and watch science fiction movies.
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Agenda
The Voice of Innovators series is our response to a challenge we can no longer ignore—students are losing the curiosity that drives true engineering and innovation. Many came into school with big dreams to build and solve real problems, but somewhere along the way, the focus has shifted to just passing exams.
This series is designed to change that. It will give students direct conversations with innovators who have faced the same struggles they are facing now and still managed to build impactful solutions. The sessions are interactive, not motivational talks, so students can ask real questions and get practical insights.
Over time, we anticipate a noticeable shift in our student community—a stronger culture of problem-solving, more student-led projects, and increased representation of our society in national and international innovation spaces.
The Voice of Innovators series, therefore, is not just an event; it is a strategic step towards repositioning our student branch as a hub for future-focused thinkers and builders.