By Njodzeka Danhatu
Journalism and mass communications students, and students from other faculties in the University of Buea, involved in the field of business have been urged to value communication as a vital tool in business management.
They were drilled Thursday, May 02 2019 at Amphi 750 in UB during the JMC 2019 Corporate Communication Conference.
According to the Head of Department, HOD, of JMC, Dr Kinsley Ngange, the conference was necessitated by the importance that communication has in the corporate world and the need for students to get employment when they leave school and move into the job market. “Communication usually is an afterthought in every endeavour that we make. But it is time to remind our stakeholders that communication is what we do, so communication is not a stage in the process but the whole process. Communication is very important in creating businesses, communication is very vital in sustaining businesses. Know that communication has become business in the West; we want to position our students and our programme in a strategic position to aid our students as well as the end users of our products. That was the essence of the conference” Dr Ngange surmised.
The conference held under the theme “exploring corporate communication opportunity in emerging and established businesses in Cameroon”
The HOD said the feedback the department has is amazing. “The feedback has been wonderful from the private to the public sector and even in the independent businesses, our students are there. Now they are beginning to make a mark in the corporate world”
In front of over 500 students, the Chief Executive Officer of Next Digital Ventures, Budi Norbert Mbua encouraged the students to take communication seriously. “Communication is the foundation to every business,” he said.
While recounting his journey to success, Mr Mbua advised students to keep working every day as he says, one day an opportunity will provide itself.
Anchoring his topic on networking, corporate survival, and expansion, the Guest Speaker, Chief of Service for Research and Publications at the GCE Board, Mathew Takwi said networking is not what you know, but who you know. To the poet and playwright, no human being or a corporate body is an island. “Networking should be a win-win situation,” he said.
Students at the conference said they learned a lot from the motivating talks. Ndah Hop Ndeh and Emelien Makane Isabel, said they have learnt different ways through which they can create businesses. They believe courage, hope, and vision are what push a business forward.
