By Mariatou Ngum & Abdou Mbye
The University of The Gambia Applied Science, Engineering and Technology (USET) today paid a courtesy call on Vice President His Excellency Mohammed B.S. Jallow at his office in State House, Banjul, to formally invite him to the institution’s upcoming second convocation ceremony and to discuss wider matters concerning the university’s development.
Speaking to journalists after the closed-door meeting, Professor Nazmat T. SurajudeenBakinde, the Vice Chancellor of USET who led the delegation, said the visit served a dual purpose: extending a personal invitation to the Vice President and briefing his office on the university’s progress and resource mobilisation efforts ahead of the graduation.
“We came to pay a courtesy visit to the Vice President, to inform him, invite him and intimate him about our upcoming second convocation ceremony for our second cohort,” Professor Surajudeen-Bakinde said, adding that the team also used the occasion to discuss other institutional matters.
The Vice Chancellor said she was pleased with the reception they received. “He gave us a very warm reception, listening and he attended to us very well,” she told reporters. Professor Surajudeen-Bakinde confirmed that H.E. Jallow had not only agreed to attend but had also pledged that his office would provide positive support in the convocation ceremony.
The delegation was drawn from the university’s resource mobilisation team, a subcommittee of the convocation steering committee, which has been visiting government agencies and potential partners who stand to benefit from USET’s graduates.
Professor Surajudeen-Bakinde noted that the Vice President identified several partners his office would engage on behalf of the university, and also pledged to convey the purpose of the visit to His Excellency President Adama Barrow, who serves as Chancellor of USET.
The professor also acknowledged the contribution of the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps (NTAC) to the university’s growth, noting that 18 Nigerian experts, including her, were deployed to assist in transforming the former Gambian Technical Training Institute into a fully-fledged university. “He sent his appreciation to the government of Nigeria for funding this task,” she said of the Vice President’s remarks.
The second cohort graduation is scheduled for 20th June 2026 at the Brikama Campus exactly one year after the campus was commissioned by President Barrow. “Those are our second set of students that were trained on the soil of The Gambia, who are engineering students and technicians and technologists,” the professor said. “Come 20th of June, it’s going to be a great day.
