By Nelson Oyawoye (300L), Olanrewaju Marvelous(400L), Joy Aremu(300L), Ayomide Ojo(300L), Adedolapo Adeyiwolu (300L)

Thomas Adewumi University recently hosted an insightful 2-day intensive program in collaboration with the people’s friendly university (Rossiiskii Universitet Druzhby Narodov University) on the 17th and 18th of February, 2025. It focused on the theme “Media Intercultural Communication in a Digital Age and Entrepreneurial journalism.” This intensive program expertly facilitated by Dr Muhammed Mustapha Jamiu, Associate Professor, Department of Mass Communication and researcher, institute geopolitical communications, faculty of philosophy, RUDN University, Russian federation.

The interactive sessions and discussions enabled participants to gain valuable insights into the intricacies of media intercultural communication and entrepreneurial journalism. The training program covered essential topics like: Understanding cultural nuances and differences; Effective conflict resolution and negotiation techniques; Developing a business mindset and Entrepreneurial skills in journalism, Identifying and capitalizing on niche markets and revenue streams; Leveraging digital platforms and social media for journalistic entrepreneurship and creating innovative and sustainable business models.

In further addition to the program, The Dean of his faculty, Mrs Natalia Ivanova joined via goggle meet and she discussed the concept of cultural differences, cultural theories, models and behavior, culture layer and other wide range of subject under this topic. Also, presentation was assigned to participants in groups with a short break in between.

On the second day, the program proceeded with a detailed discussion on the concept of entrepreneurial journalism anchored by Dr Mustapha. Apart from this, he discussed some communication strategy including E- marketing, branding, Social media marketing, search engine optimization and a lot more.

In the same vein, The first female editor in Nigeria, Mrs Joke Kujenya spoke explicitly of media ethics for entrepreneurial journalism practices, emphasizing the importance of ethical and responsible journalism practices.

Towards the end of the program, the head of Mass Communication department, Mr Ibrahim Ibukun commended the impact of the program. Stating, “it was a wonderful program, we all learn’t a lot.”

Similarly, another lecturer in the department, Mrs Amarachi Ezeakolam, said that the program was a good innovative from the management of TAU as it gave us insight on how to be innovative and creative in creating contents that can project us to the digital space.

Furthermore, a 300 level Mass Communication student positively made a remark on the program “It was a nice event, it was full of interactive activities, and I just wish it happens regularly’’ he stated.

The training program brought together staff and students from the Department of Mass Communication at Thomas Adewumi University, as well as participants from Landmark University and Radio Kwara Ilorin.

The course concluded with a sense of accomplishment and newfound knowledge among participants. The event also provided a unique opportunity for networking and building connections among professionals and students from various backgrounds. RUDN University’s professional scholarship courses aim to equip African professionals and students with the skills and knowledge necessary to excel in their fields. The success of this seminar underscores the importance of collaborations between institutions to promote academic excellence and professional development.