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 The Faculty of Technology was established in 1970 with the following Departments: i. Department of Agricultural
Engineering The growth of the Faculty during the first ten years of its life may appear tremendous on cursory examination. It is therefore necessary to explain the philosophy and the need for the growth. At the time the Faculty of Technology at Ife came into existence, the University set itself the goal of developing areas of engineering and technology that were not adequately covered by existing University programmes in the country. This was why it started by first developing programmes I Agricultural Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Computer Science, Electronic Engineering, Food Science and Technology and Estate Management. It was however realised from the beginning that by the time the programme in Agricultural Engineering is fully developed, considerable amount of equipment would have been accumulated for teaching the science and practice of Civil and Mechanical Engineering. Furthermore for the development of postgraduate courses in Agricultural Engineering, it is necessary to have well developed Departments of Mechanical and Civil Engineering. It thus became clear that these traditional areas of Engineering needed to be developed. In 1977 the University decided to nurture Civil Engineering in the Department of Agricultural Engineering and Mechanical Engineering in the Department of Chemical Engineering. The Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering offered initially a programme in Electronic Engineering. It was decided that in order to strengthen this programme it is necessary to develop the heavy current Electrical Engineering programme. The demand for Metallurgical Engineers and Scientists in the country has increased tremendously in the last few years due to the very rapid growth of the metallurgical and allied industries and the progress in the industrialisation of the country. Also, the search for minerals in various parts of the country has gained momentum in recent years and the need for local expertise in the evaluation and exploitation of minerals has become very urgent. These needs informed the establishment of the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering in 1978. The Department cooperates with other Departments in the teaching and research on building materials and electrical/electronic materials. The Technology Planning and Development Unit was established in 1974 primarily to conduct policy research on how to harness Science and Technology for Economic Development. Its establishment underscored the critical need for research capability and advisory capacity to assist government and other policy making-bodies in reaching decisions about the allocation and monitoring of resources for the development of scientific and technological capabilities in Nigeria and in other less developed countries. By 1981/82 the then Department of Estate Management was developed into a separate Faculty of Environmental Design and Management, leaving the Faculty since then to be consisted of the following Departments and Unit: i. Department of Agricultural Engineering All the departments have now revised their programmes in line with
current needs of the nation and global challenges. |