WOMAN CRUSH WEDNESDAY: OLUWAPEMIISIN AKINGBOLA.
There’s so much "good distraction" everywhere. Try to pick out an interest/course/skill and gain mastery in it, no matter how long it takes.
Happy resumption, everyone!!! The wait is finally over. WIE-UISB wishes you a very productive academic year! May your grades bloom and your mind be at peace.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Pemiisin, the former WIE-UISB chairperson. Here’s how it went:
Comfort: Good day, please could you introduce yourself?
Pemiisin: My name is Oluwapemiisin Akingbola, a 500 level ,graduate actually, of the Department of Electrical/Electronic Engineering.
Comfort: Congratulations! How would you describe your stay in UI in a few sentences?
Pemiisin: Hmmm, I would say it was a stretching period that brought more awareness about who I am...
Comfort: Interesting. What secondary school did you attend and why did you choose to study Electrical Engineering in U.I.?
Pemiisin: I attended The International School, Ibadan.
I come from a family of doctors, I noticed that although I passed Biology I wasn’t quite excited about it as I was about Further Mathematics or Physics.
I have no brother so I also got comfortable helping my dad to fix a lot of Electronics at home, so it all clicked that I picked Elect/Elect.
Comfort: That’s nice. Now you’re a graduate of the department- which according to someone I know, is the hardest department in UI- would you say it’s a tough department?
Pemiisin: (laughs) No, it isn’t!
Most of the courses are actually formed from the famous formula V=IR
I was in 200 level when I got a senior friend graphically explain this principle to me with some animation I might add. And afterwards I knew I could understand most topics.
Comfort: It’s great that you were able to discover this in 200 level.
Pemiisin: Haha, oh well.
It’s one thing to know, it’s another thing to put it to work.
Comfort: You were previously the WIE-UISB chair person, what was your tenure like?
What would you say you learnt during your time as chairperson?
Pemiisin: WIE was fun really! I had shuffled other leadership activities before that, so it wasn’t all new. But there were still so many lessons to learn there. Managing teams (my ladies were awesome too!), reaching out to professionals in Elect (that was new for me), then learning to patiently put structures that can be used for the future.
Comfort: How were you able to balance this with academic work?
Pemiisin: Well, school work and any activity for me had to be planned always.
It’s my norm to have schedules, and learning to sincerely ask myself, what should be prioritised for this day or weekend etc.
It wasn’t perfect but it worked because I didn’t lose sight of any of my leadership positions (I was the leading two organizations 500 level) and school work as well.
Comfort: Wow! What was the other organization?
Pemiisin: Bowels of Mercy, U.I.
A non-profit organization that reaches out to private and public homes in the Ibadan community weekly.
Comfort: That’s wonderful.
Now that the UI chapter has ended, what’s next? Where would you like to do your NYSC?
Will you start working immediately or pursue a masters degree?
Pemiisin: NYSC, exactly. Currently I’m into Product Design which has been quite interesting and learning a lot from it as well.
I definitely will be doing my masters. I hope to gain some more experience during NYSC before then.
Comfort: Interesting. That’s great!
Could you briefly explain what product design entails and what one would need to start?
Pemiisin: Product Design is a lot like User Experience Design which involves building digital and non-digital goods and service to suit consumers.
So part of it entails UI/UX (for the digital) but it goes beyond that, to furniture, branding and so much more.
I would advise anyone interested to probably read up on what it entails. But if you are good with designs or you have a foundation in design i.e graphics, visual designs, UI/UX, this would help as well.
Comfort: Thank you so much for this.
Pemiisin: My pleasure.
Comfort: What area of Electrical Engineering do you plan to specialize in?
Pemiisin: Telemedicine for now.
Comfort: Any words of advice for ladies in tech?
Pemiisin: There’s so much "good distraction" everywhere. Try to pick out an interest/course/skill and gain mastery in it, no matter how long it takes. Be patient, give yourself to the process of learning within and outside the school system. That’s how Gold is made.
Sincerely rooting for you ladies!
Comfort: Thank you so much, Pemiisin. It was great chatting with you.
Pemiisin: Same here, Comfort.
Pemiisin was the former WIE-UISB chairperson, she also led Bowels of Mercy, a non-profit organization. She is also a great writer.
Connect with Pemiisin on:
LinkedIn: Oluwapemiisin Akingbola
Instagram: oluwapemiisin
About Us
WIE-UISB stands for Women in Engineering, University of Ibadan Students Branch. A community dedicated to empowering ladies in Engineering and other STEM fields.
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Twitter: wie_uisb
Medium: @WIE-UISB
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