There is something about entrepreneurs that distinguishes them; they always want to solve a problem and add something unique to the world.
Our #TheInspiredDream for the hour is a great man, an innovator, someone who loves education, whose school teaches robotics to young children, the, he is no other than Raphael Gbenga ADEDAYO.
He started as an entrepreneur while still working as an Engineer at Nestlé Nigeria PLC. He is an edu-preneur who started in 2013.
How did it all start for Raphael? Hear him, ‘I got a nudge to venture into education through an inspiration from my dad. He strongly believes in me based on my love for learning right from my childhood when I brought my secondary school colleagues home to share knowledge in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry which were my best subjects in secondary school then.’
The motivation became more intense when his father saw supposed school owners who did not have a good knowledge about education, he saw the potential in him which would later lead to the birthing of an educational institution with global recognition.
Raphael is the Proprietor of RHODANVILLE schools, which has a drive to change the traditional teaching methods which has made Nigerian pupils/students reactive and end users of global initiatives
He says ‘what I mean by this is that Nigerian graduates end up waiting for jobs after graduation due to our archaic teaching methods instead of being innovators, inventors and critical thinkers.’
How does his school do that. Raphael says, ‘we drive this through our STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Arts Mathematics) teaching approach. This involves hands-on activities in groups as well as individual work.
How did he come across this approach since it is not popular in Nigeria. He had this to say ‘I saw this in Kuala Lumpur last year as well as Dubai early this year. Science and Technology remains their backbone to their development. Hence,as a progressive institution, we put it upon ourselves to champion this in Nigeria.’
He has a great vision for his school. He sees RHODANVILLE bridging the gap between the education community and the society through this STEAM method. ‘Without mincing words, there’s a wide gap between the education community and the society.’ he exclaims!
Is the Government doing anything in this regard? Yes! ‘In recent times,the current government has written to encourage institutions to drive this kind of learning. About 2months ago, a state of emergency was declared by the Federal Ministry of Education on developing Science and Technology, so RHODANVILLE is on track.’
Raphael advises entrepreneurs to find their footing properly. He says, ‘entrepreneurship is a great venture for everyone. For budding entrepreneurs, there’s need for Passion. This is because there will always be challenges which they must face. It is their passion that will see them through.’
‘The place of mentorship is also key. There’s no need to fully reinvent the wheel, but they must not forget their niche which is key to remaining in business.’
For those that want to know more about STEAM and Rhodanville schools, you can check up their blog post below
https://www.rhodanvilleschools.com/my-first-blog-post
The school has recently been approved by the government and is ready to go for the new session. Classes has since commenced. If you want your child to learn STEAM technology, contact them.
It’s been a pleasure bringing to you this episode of #TheInspiredDream
Cheers!
