In a move geared towards confronting the nagging problems of unemployment, poverty and the rising spate of criminality amongst the youthful population in the Nigerian society, the Federal Government in the year 2006 issued the directive that Entrepreneurship education be injected into the curricular of University education and for Entrepreneurship Study Centres (ESCs) to be established to co-ordinate the offering of entrepreneurship education courses to ALL undergraduate students effective from 2006/2007 academic session. Following the directive, the National Universities Commission (NUC) came up with ‟Guidelines for the establishment of Entrepreneurship study Centres in the Universities” and in April 2011 issued the “Bench mark Minimum Academic Standards for Undergraduate programmes in Nigerian Universities-GST Entrepreneurship’’. The establishment of ESCs serve the purpose of complimenting the theoretical aspect by putting theory into practice.
According to the NUC guidelines for the establishment of ESCs (2011): “An Entrepreneurship Study Centre is a place in the University where motivated students are encouraged and supported in launching and successfully growing an enterprise with the aim of promoting self employment”. It is a Centre that provides full range of business education and support services for the students and general university community in one convenient location. The NUC BMAS designates two benchmark courses- course 1, the theoretical aspect and course 2-the practical (vocational skills) aspect. In compliance with the NUC BMAS, entrepreneurship education was introduced in the Rivers State University in the 2011/2012 academic session starting with the teaching of theoretical aspects, EDC 211- Introduction to Entrepreneurship studies. Teaching of the practical aspects, EDC310 (Entrepreneurial practice) commenced in the 2016/2017 academic session following the establishment of the Entrepreneurship Development Centre in February 2016.
Name | Rank | Area Of Specialisation | |
---|---|---|---|
Prof. Bariyima D. Kiabel | Professor/Director | Accounting | Kiabel.bariyima@ust.edu.ng |
Owabie Ngozi | Admin Officer II | Ngoziowabie3@gmail.com | |
Akiniwor Ihuoma | Data Processing Officer | Ihuomaakaniwor1@gmail.com |
The main activities of the Centre includes:
As part of its mandate, the Centre is expected to organise events and workshops in respect of the following:
The Centre is also mandated to organize lectures and conferences as well as engaging on research activities that will bring about discovery of new developments of products and information economy.
The Entrepreneurship Development Centre is currently under the headship of Prof. B. D Kiabel, a Professor of Accounting, Department of Accountancy, Rivers State University, Portharcourt. Prof. Kiabel joined the Department of Accountancy in November 1990 as a Graduate Assistant and rose to the rank of Professor in August 2015. He was first appointed Head of Department in February 2006 – a position he held up to September 2007. Between November 2007 and March 2008 he served as post-graduate coordinator in the Department. In March 2008, he was re appointed Ag. Head of the Department. Prof. Kiabel had at various times also served as Departmental Examination Officer: Member, Faculty Examination Malpractice Committee: Departmental CCE Programme Co-ordinator; Faculty Examination Officer; Member, Faculty results Committee; Chairman, Faculty Quality Assurance committee; Member, Senate Business Committee; as well as Member and Chairman (at different times) of various University ad-hoc Committees.
Prof. Kiabel received his doctorate in accounting in 2007 from the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, PortHarcourt. He was the first to be awarded a PhD degree in Accountancy from the Rivers State University and the pioneer Professor of Accounting in the Department. In addition to teaching auditing and taxation at both the undergraduate and post graduate levels, Prof. Kiabel has been actively involved in teaching accounting principle to various levels of students both from within and outside the Faculty of Management Sciences. His research interest covers the areas of auditing, taxation and financial accounting.
Prof. Kiabel has published a total of eight textbooks in the areas of financial accounting, taxation, auditing and research methodology. He has written several journal articles in accounting and related business fields that appeared in publications including Journal of Taxation and Economic Development, Journal of Global Accounting, Journal of Accounting, Finance and Investments, the Nigerian Accountant; Nigerian Business and Social Review; International Journal of Economic and Development Issues; The Asian Economic Review; Nigerian Journal of Management Sciences; Journal of Business Studies; Journal of Contemporary Research; European Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Sciences; European Journal of Social Sciences; The American Journal of Scientific Research; Research Journal of Finance and Accounting; International Scientific Journal and many others. Prof. Kiabel was an Editor of the Journal of Accounting Sciences, published by Oxford Mosiac publication, Oxfordshire, England and currently on the Editorial Board of a good number of National journals.
Before joining the Department of Accountancy in 1990, Prof. Kiabel worked as a Trainee accountant in the firm of Allwell Brown and Co (Chartered Accountants). He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), full member, Nigerian Institute of Management (Chartered) (NIM), Associate member, Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) and Member, Institute of Entrepreneurs, Nigeria.
In February 2016 when the Entrepreneurship Development Centre, Rivers State University was established, he was appointed Director of the Centre-a position he has held till date.