A CASE FOR
CURRICULUM CHANGE
1. Introduction
The concern for
entrepreneurship orientation for the students of tertiary institutions in Nigeria has dominated the core of discussions by
the stakeholders of education in Nigeria . This, in particular is
viewed to be an intervention approach which would help to address
unemployment. Over the years, unemployment
‘crisis’ continues to deepen and government has continued to advocate for
partnership and collaboration from private sector in order to mitigate the
trend.
Put succinctly,
the new approach being canvassed, is trying to encourage graduates of tertiary
institutions to embrace the culture of self-reliance as opposed to seeking
white collar jobs from the government.
The field of
architecture like any other disciplines is faced with this challenge. This
paper takes a look at teaching of business skills to architecture students in
response to the changing socio and economic situation occasioned by globalization.
The business skills in architectural context, is not restricted to ordinary
buying and selling but dwell more on
basic business ideas to get students to start their own business and
strategic inputs that aim to reward architectural design efforts into gainful
opportunities.
Architecture is
a vast discipline that encompasses art, science, technology and business
management. Its earliest definition is that it is the art and science of
designing a building. As the world advances, so also is this definition and
role changes. The trend now is that architecture is more of business enterprise
or what is known as enterprise architecture. The training of architecture
students has to reflect enterprenuership and basic knowledge of business. Adeyemi
(1990) has argued that the inclusion of professional and management courses in
to the curricular of architectural education in Nigeria would make whole the
comprehensive architectural education and the content of the education of architecture
students needs to be broadened to adequately cater for this important
area.(Chukwuali,2000).
In Nigeria
trade and markets have been unprecedented as a result of reforms in every
sectors of the economy which manifest in opportunities and challenges. This has
impacted positively on the business environment; the business of architecture
also continues to change over the years.
Vander (2001) asserts
that schools today face high standards, diverse learners, technological
challenges, and market pressures-issues that schools and school leaders were
not trained to confront. This requires a high expectation from all students to
meet the realities of the new economy. Technological changes especially in
information technology, the insistence on graduates of proven competence and
skills by the employers of labour have opened a new vista of learning opportunities
for both architect-educators and students. Thus the exploding education market
is proposing new service delivery scheme, new competition and expanding choices
to both the students and architect –educators.
2. Architectural
Education and Entrepreneurship
The required
duration of years to be spent in schools of architecture in Nigeria is
between five and six years of intensive training, both theory and practical
aspects of architecture which were greatly emphasised in the course modules.
This leading to the awards of B.Sc and M.Sc in architecture for contemporary
schools of architecture; and B.Tech and M.Tech degrees in architecture for the
universities of technology.
Olotuah (2005) affirms
that the attainment of architectural education in Nigeria is to contribute to the
realisation of a humane and responsive environment by equipping students with
skills which would enable them perform this feat. In trying to achieve this
end, schools of architecture through their aims and objectives set out to
impart skill and knowledge to the students to enable them contribute
meaningfully to the evolution of modern societies and transform the physical
landscape expressed in an orderly built environment.
However, each
school of architecture has its own philosophy and aims and objectives different
from other schools of architecture but all of them have a convergence – to
train people who will perpetuate the society manifesting in an orderly built
environment. For example, in Federal University of Technology Minna, the
philosophy of the department of architecture is “Creativity and Technology in
Cultural Context” if identifies the symbolic nature of the university’s
philosophy, the rich cultural heritage of Nigeria and places emphasis on
producing architects who should possess enough scientific, technical and
professional know how so as to be versatile in all aspects of protection,
management and responsive design of the environment”. Thus the high point of the training is that the students
should graduate to be job creators and not job seekers.
In order to
achieve this, there is the need for business entrepreneurship skills included
into the curricula of schools of architecture in Nigeria . A deep search into the
curricula reveals no inclusion of business management skills which could be a
fillip to becoming self-reliant after school.
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa
Univervity, Bauchi has its aims and objectives similar to that FUT minna but
emphasising leadership role. It states…. “a high quality of professional
education aimed at producing architects capable of understanding and solving
complex technical and coordinate other related professional inputs in the
development of the environment; … a graduate architect of the programme is
therefore trained to be a consultant capable of performing the following
functions in relations to the environment; brief development and feasibility
studies, project initiation and development, site analysis and development
planning, design and supervision, contract administration, project management,
rehabilitation and refurbishing, modification and material change in user,
restoration and preservation and maintenance”.
At Ahmadu Bello
University , Zaria the M.Sc programme is geared towards
resolving complex architectural design and building technology which in turn
prepares students for complex architectural problems and creative synthesis and
ultimately professional practice. At Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma, the aim is
to produce man power need for planning, design and management of the
environment for the benefit of man.
Because of the
seemingly lack of enterprise orientation for the undergraduate architecture
students, the students often find it tough securing employment after
graduation. Thus the purpose of being job creators as enunciated in the aims
and objectives of the schools of architecture is defeated. Aladekomo (2000) has
argued that the concern for acquisition of knowledge and skill in Nigeria ’s
tertiary institutions was enormous to the almost neglect of its implication for
employment (or unemployment). Aladekomo affirms that it is nowhere suggested in
the university curriculum course content that a very possible outcome of the
programme may be self employment.
Chukwuma-Uchegbu
(2006) identifies that the Nigerian economy and world economy is competitive – driven
whereby performance and high standard give the job out which is why
architecture students need to take in their stride these new realities with a
view to c should be challenged to be abreast of development in the world. This
is consistent with Abdulkarim et al (2004) that for architectural profession to
be responsive to the changing times and demands, architecture has to be
equipped with business-oriented skills to go along the traditional basic
services offered by the profession.
The goal of
architectural education as practiced in schools of architecture is to train
students who will become practitioners of the profession. Olotuah and Adesiji
(2005) affirm that the programme of study leads to the production of
professionals who are sensitive to human needs and aspirations and who are
creatively and intellectually equipped to proffer solutions to the problems of
the built environment.
3. Architects in the Business
Environment
The
unprecedented business environment continues to expand bringing huge markets
and opportunities to exhibit talents and skills. For practitioner architects,
who engage in the practice of the profession and get commissioned from it the
knowledge of the business environment is very important. Architects must be able to perform their
professional services within the ambit of the business environment. The
environment is becoming more and complex, with almost every task performed with
using technology innovations. The vigorous studio training is now to be seen as
a lively business for wealth creation and utilisation.
With the advent
of globalisation, more healthy and keen competitions for jobs are emerging in
the business environments. In seeking to achieve this, the architect has to be witty
and intelligent to cope with the rising challenges in the business circle. The
implication is that architects cannot afford to know less on a subject, the
training and the methods through which he received this have been overtaken by
event with the use of high-tech application software’s for presentation and
communicating ideas across to clients.
4. The Need for IT Skills in Architecture
“IT
Architecture” and “IT Architect” are two terms which have been variously used
but poorly defined terms in the IT industry. There are used basically to
classify a variety of practices and skills applied in a wide variety of IT
domains. An IT architecture practice is a formal programme of development and
certification, by which an enterprise formally recognises the skills of its
practicing IT architects, as demonstrated by their work. Such a programme is
essential in order to ensure the alignment of staff skills and experience with
the IT architecture tasks that the enterprise wishes to be performed.
With the changing
role of architecture profession, schools of architecture should strive to equip
the students with IT skills which can be
subsumed into AutoCAD course to enable them undertake the various architecting
tasks
Generally speaking, five broad
categories of IT Skills could be of relevance to architecture namely:
- Generic Skills: These comprise leadership, team working, and interpersonal skills.
- Business Skills and Methods: Typically comprising business cases, business process, strategic planning.
- Project Management Skills: Typically comprising managing business change, project management methods and tools.
- Technical IT Skills: Typically comprising software engineering, security, data interchange, data management.
5. Revisiting Architectural Design Competition
Architecture
discipline generally is rooted in deep expressions of ideas, thought,
simulations and solutions to the problems of the built environment. To a large
extent, it is a process of mental thinking and meditation aimed towards a
goal(s) which is why at the end of the studio programme, every student is
required to present his/her scheme on the approved design topic to a jury
composed of persons in academia practicing architects and allied professionals .
In the past,
there used to be design competitions among architecture students from various
institutions in which the best is chosen and awarded with prize after passing
through assessors. This has proven to be very effective for the students to effectively
respond to design related - challenges after completing their programme. Today,
architectural design competitions are not organised as before and virtually has
lost its tempo in the schools of architecture in Nigeria.
In the
architectural practice, there is still a pocket of some architectural
competitions both open and selected. The competitiveness of the market informed
by information and technological advancement is so enormous that the job has to
be taken away by the top performers in the industry or given to some who have
managed to have achieved architectural excellence and who also have continued
to put in place strategies, management initiative to command respect and fame
in the industry.
There is the need to resuscitate architectural
design competitions among the schools of
architecture in Nigeria .
The responsibility lies with the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA) to be
re-awakened to the benefit that could accrue through promotion and organisation
of architectural competitions. This time competitions should take into
cognisance the trends in information and technology, business management
skills, IT architecture for performing architecting tasks and the use of
Computer Aided Design Drafting (CADD) skills. This will engender greater
performance from the students not only in architectural design but giving them
the advantage of sense of competitions and preparing them for self-employment.
6. Business, Advertisement and
Professional Ethics
Almost all
organisations world over thrive on one form of advertisements to promote and
sustain their corporate images. Architecture profession whose operations and
activities are performed in the business environment can not continue to be an
exception. In order to regulate and control unprofessional conducts by members,
Architects’ Registration Council of Nigeria ARCON introduced a set of rules
which aim to guide against unethical practices. Under this rule, advertisement
of services by architects is seen to be a contravention of the code of
professional conduct. What this means is that, an architect shall not engage in
advertising his professional services to a client, corporate individuals as the
case may be. Arguments on masking the architect have increased in recent times,
which many believe is a bane to the architect’s socio-economic status. The
result is that the true identity and where to locate the architect is not known
which gives impetus for clients using unqualified personnel to get project
done. In other professions of Medicine, Pharmacy, Law their services are
advertised either outside their offices or in print and media outfits. There
had been criticisms on the part of NIA and ARCON on the continued masking of
architects from the public.
However, to keep
work or to attract job coming in architect must be prepared to change gear and participate
in the business world. To do this he needs to sharpen his entrepreneurship
skill and demonstrate ability and talents for fair competition in the market.
Ironically, for
talents to be noticed you need an expression, an enabling environment for this
talent to be exhibited and demonstrated bearing in mind that every project
presents an opportunity for the creation of wealth.
The reality
today is that even the most juicy jobs or contracts that are won are subjected
to a serious and fair competition or what is known as due process. Architect has
the responsibility of going the extra mile to survive in the business climate.
7. Recommendations
1)
Curriculum Upgrade: the lack of business acumen of the architect
has been traced to the curriculum not having courses in business studies and
administration. So also is the entrepreneurship
skill which would prepare the
architecture students for self-employment since the grater percentage of
2)
Personal and Professional Skills: have strong communication and
relationship skills. Communicate complex technical information to all
stakeholders on the project, including those without a technical background.
Strong negotiation and problem – solving skills are also important.
3)
Knowledge of Information and Communication Technology (ICT): For
good performance in the architecture business, there is the need to have skills
in computer, Computer Aided Design and Drafting (CADD) including 3D rendering
and modeling. (IT Architecture)
4)
Social Interactions: Architecture practice thrives on good
relationship with people. Architects must socialise well enough with people outside
the field of architecture. Visitation to social gatherings, associations, clubs
would enhance more benefits to the architects.
5)
Investment in Other Businesses: Be prepared to occasionally, take
calculate risks by venturing into other businesses that are proven to be rewarding
such as stocks, telecoms and real estate.
6)
Skills and experience in more disciplines: Develop and be able to
organise and managerial ability and conversant with jobs of allied
professionals. This would enhance the confidence of the architect as the leader
of the building team. For examples, knowledge of project management,
architectural science (acoustics, lighting, heating and cooling) urban planning
and landscaping, coupled with the ability to interpret structural drawings and
bill of quantities.
8. Conclusion
The realisation of
the changing trend of the architect’s services occasioned by globalisation with
its attendant opportunities for competition has opened concern for the
architecture students to be armed with business skills . For a technology
driven world with its impact on every sector, architecture students need to
strive to remain relevant by taking in their strides current IT skills which
are needed in performing all the architecting tasks. The paper affirms that
architectural design competitions are vital tools for the marketing of talents
and ideas, thus it should be resuscitated in all the schools of architecture.
The paper concludes that business studies and
management must be included in the curriculum course content of architecture
which would prepare students for the reality of self-employment after school.
9. References
Abdulkarim, M. &
Badiru Y.Y. (2004) ‘Architectural Education and Practice in the 21st
Century: New Trends and Challenges’. AARCHES
J.,
Vol. 3, No. 1 pp. 44-50.
Adeyemi, E.A. (1990) ’Course
Programmes and Resources Development: A review on options and priorities’.
AARCHES J., 1 Nov, pp 26-32
Aladekomo, F. O. (2004) ‘Nigeria
Educational Policy and Entrepreneurship’. In Journal
of Social Science Vol.9, No.2 pp. 75-83.
Architecture Skills Frameworks URL:
http://www.opengroup.org/architecture/togaf
8.doc.
site
accessed on 10th October,
2006 .
Chukwuma-Uchegbu,
M. I. (2006)’ Improving Instructional Quality and the Implication for the Career of the Architect Graduate in Nigeria ’. AARCHES J., Vol.5, No. 2 pp. 21-28.
Dudley, H Jnr. (1994) American Institute
of Architect (AIA)
Olotuah, A. O. & Adesiji, O.S. (2005) ‘An
Appraisal of Architectural Education in Nigeria ”
Proceedings of the Built Environment
Education Conference, CEBE, London ,
UK
Parvner, N. (1975) The
Sources of Modern Architecture and Design, London :
Thames and Hudson .
Vander, T. A. (2001) “Rethinking
Our Education System” Business Perspective Vol.13, Issue: 3. Spring 2001 pp. 18
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