MY POST-GRADUATION EXPERIENCE

A REPORT PRESENTED TO THE

NIGERIAN SOCIETY OF ENGINEERS

BY

MARTINS OLATUNBOSUN BABATUNDE

ZARIA
APRIL, 2018
 MY POST GRADUATION EXPERIENCE

A REPORT PRESENTED TO THE

NIGERIAN SOCIETY OF ENGINEERS

BY

MARTINS OLATUNBOSUN BABATUNDE

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for registration as a Corporate Member of

The Nigerian Society of Engineers

ZARIA
APRIL, 2018

i
 CERTIFICATE OF SUBMISSION

This is to certify that I, MARTINS OLATUNBOSUN BABATUNDE have written this report

and it is a true account of my training and working experience.

……………………………… ……………………………….........
MARTINS O. BABATUNDE Engr. INUWA ZUBAIRU (MNSE)

ii
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE…………………………………………………………………………………..i

CEERTIFICATE OF SUBMISSION…………………………………….……………………ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. …..……………………………………………...………………...v

LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………………………vi

LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………………………….vii

SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS……………………………………………………….viii

SUMMARY………………………………………………………………………………...…ix

CHAPTER ONE……………………………………………………………………………….1

1.0 MY EDUCATIONAL TRAININGS INTRODUCTION…………..………….1

1.1 INDUSTRIAL TRAINING IN THE UNIVERSITY…………………………..2

CHAPTER TWO……………………………………………….………...…………….………4

2.0 WORKING EXPERIENCE WITH BUSINESS INITIATIVES AND

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT (BISM)

LIMITED…………………………..4

2.1 TRAINING AS A TRAINEE ENGINEER…...……………………………….4

2.2 ACTIVITIES OF SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT UNIT…………………….5

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 2.2.1 PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED……………………………………….6

2.2.2 SOLUTION PROFERRED………………………………………….6

2.2.3 LESSON LEARNT………………………………………………….6

2.3 COMPUTERIZATION OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL

BOARD FOR TECHNICAL EDUCATION (NBTE),

KADUNA………….7

2.3.1 PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED…………………….………………7

2.3.2 SOLUTIONS PROFERRED……………………….……………….8

2.3.3 LESSON LEARNT………………………………..…….………….8

2.4 NETWORKING OF ADMINISTRATIVE BLOCK OF FEDERAL

POLYTECHNIC, IDAH……………………………………..

……………..9

2.4.1 PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED………………………….………..11

2.4.2 SOLUTION PROFERRED……………………………….……..…11

2.4.3 LESSON LEARNT………………………………....…….………..11

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I wish to acknowledge the Almighty God who gives me strength to do all things, even making

me to be a registered Engineer.

I also wish to acknowledge all those that have contributed to making me achieve my dream. I

thank my parents, Mr. Boniface Idowu Babatunde and Late Mrs. Grace Olaitan Babatunde for

always believing in me and supporting me in every of my strides.

I also wish to thank my lovely wife, Juliana Ifekunmi and Son, Pius Olaoluwa for their love,

support and understanding.

Of worthy mention is the contribution of Rev. Fr. Pius Akande Babatunde - Arebiyi (C.Ss.R) and

Mr. John Afolabi Oseni to achieving my dreams.

I also thank Mr. Desmond Agbotuta who gave me the foundational knowledge I have in

Computer Engineering.

My acknowledgement would not be complete without mentioning Mr. Ayotunde Oni (FCA) that

gave me the platform to explore and grow myself I Software Engineering and Programming.

Lastly, I wish to thank Engr. Adewale Adedokun (PhD), Ebenezer Ogungbe (PhD), Alhaji Aliyu

Jibril Ibrahim (CIPSMN), Alhaji Abdul Garba (CNA) for being good bosses, and all my

colleagues and friends at Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai for being good

companions.

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 LIST OF FIGURES

Fig Page

1.1 The Fette-Sapal Machine……………………………………………………..2

2.1 Admon Bursary Suite for IBB University, Lapai…………………………….5

2.2 Admon Pay Suite for IBB University, Lapai…………………………………6

2.3 Illustration of NBTE Network (Tree Topology)……………………………..10

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 LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

2.1 Script to import excel file to SQL database…………………………..……….8

vii
SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS

NSE The Nigerian Society of Engineers

SSCE Senior School Certificate Examinations

NYSC National Youth Service Corps

MDGs Millennium Development Goals

SDGs Sustainable Development Goals

IBB University Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University

NBTE National Board for Technical Education

IT Industrial Training

SIWES Student Industrial Work Experience Scheme

FPI Federal Polytechnic Idah

SQL Structured Query Language

RAM Random Access Memory

HDD Hard Disk Drive

TB Terabyte

TIA/EIA Telecommunications Industries Association and Electronic Industries

Association

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 SUMMARY

I graduated with a Bachelors degree (B.Sc) with Second Class (Honors) Lower division from the

department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos State,

Nigeria in September 2008.

After graduation, I worked with a Private Software development firm as a Trainee Network

Engineer/Programmer.

I presently work with a Public University as a Network Engineer and Programmer.

My experience as an Electronic and Computer Engineer has made me contribute a lot to

engineering practice in my discipline, which include:

 Networking and Computerization of IBB University, Lapai and Federal Polytechnic, Idah.

 Part of a team of Engineers that did the fibre-optic network cabling of IBB University,

Lapai.

 Configuration and Installation of Juniper and Microtik equipment in the ICT centre of IBB

University.

 Installation of 2KVA Inverter and 8-250W mono-crystalline solar panels with several

distribution outlets in IBB University, Lapai, etc.

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 CHAPTER ONE

1.0 MY EDUCATIONAL TRAININGS INTRODUCTION

I was born in Ojo, Lagos on 14th May, 1981. I had my primary education at Army Barracks

Primary School, Ojo Cantonment and St. Michael Primary School. Ojo between 1986 and 1992,

where I got my Primary School Leaving Certificate. I proceeded to Ojo High School, Ojo for my

secondary education between 1992 and 1998, and got my Senior School Certificate (SSCE) in

one sitting. I was admitted into Lagos State University, Ojo in 2002 and graduated with a

Bachelor of Science (Honors) degree in Electronic and Computer Engineering in 2008. I did my

National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) at Boys’ Secondary School, Igbo-Ukwu, Anambra State,

as S.S.S. 1 Physics and Chemistry teacher and J.S.S. 3 Integrated Science teacher. I also taught

all the students as a Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), now Sustainable Development

Goals (SDGs) facilitator.

I was employed as Engineer and Programmer at Business Initiatives and Strategic Management

(BISM) Limited in October 2009. I was posted to Ibrahim Babadamasi Babangida University,

Lapai, where I did the design and implementation of the Network in the Bursary department of

the University. I also customized and developed new modules on the Admon Bursary and

Admon Pay Software suite and also designed and managed their back-end databases. I also

served as Support-Engineer/Programmer to Federal Polytechnic, Idah, Kogi State and National

Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Kaduna.

Since February 2011, I have been working in the ICT department of IBB University, Lapai as a

Programmer posted to the Bursary department where I support two software applications

(Admon Bursary and Admon Pay) and also as a Database administrator and Network Engineer.

1
1.1 INDUSTRIAL TRAINING IN THE UNIVERSITY

I did my Industrial Training when I was in my Fourth year in the University between

January and March 2006 at Nestle Nigeria Limited Factory at Agbara, Ogun State,

Nigeria. I was posted to the Maggi Processing plant, where Maggi cube were packaged.

My duty there was to work with the Maintenance Supervisor in charge of servicing the

Fette-Sapal machines, which were used to wrap the Maggi cubes. The Fette-Sapal

Machines is a combination of two machines that perform different, but complementary

roles. The Fette presses the content in a cube shape, and a conveyor belt moves the cube

to the Sapal, that wraps the content with the wrapping paper. The wrapping paper is

usually fixed in a large bundle to the Sapal machine, that role it out in the process of

wrapping the cube of Maggi seasoning. The Fette-Sapal machine is shown below: -

2
Fig 1.1 The Fette-Sapal machine Fette Sapal

My duty then was to repair and service either of the two machines whenever the need

arose. The major problem the Fette machines usually have then was “irregular formation

of the Maggi cube” or sometimes the cubes not forming at all. The corrective measure I

would usually employ then was to check and correct the alignment of the cutting blade or

check and clean the cube mold of any unwanted dirt.

The major problem with the Sapal machine was improper wrapping of the molded cubes,

which is caused mainly by the wrapping sheets not properly fixed to the machine or in

most cases, the rate of movement of the Sapal machine could be faster than the Fette,

3
therefore leading to improper wrapping of the cube or a jam. The solution I usually

proffer to the situation was to synchronize the movement of the machines together to

enable for efficient operations. I usually do the synchronization with a stopwatch to

adjust both machines to speeds that will ensure smooth operations i.e. wrapping of large

amount of cubes in one minute.

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 CHAPTER TWO

2.0 WORKING EXPERIENCE WITH BUSINESS INITIATIVES AND STRATEGIC

MANAGEMENT (BISM) LIMITED, IKOYI, LAGOS

2.1 TRAINING AS A TRAINEE ENGINEER

I worked with BISM Limited first as an IT (Industrial Training) student in April 2006, for the

period of six months as a Trainee Engineer. The company retained my services after my SIWES

programme through to NYSC.

My employment was confirmed after National Service in 2009.

The company’s head office was located at Falomo Complex in Ikoyi, Lagos. The company

specializes in developing business software solutions for tertiary institutions and private

companies, Building computer networks, database administration, software-support, computer

hardware procurement and repairs, etc. Some of the company’s products include Admon

Bursary, Admon Pay, Admon Registry, Admon Financials, etc.

The company has the following departments: -

a) Software development.

b) Network.

c) Database development and maintenance.

d) Hardware procurement and maintenance.

I was posted to the software development unit by the unit head.

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2.2 ACTIVITIES OF SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT UNIT

This unit is saddled with the responsibility of developing software applications for tertiary

institutions. The members of the unit get analysis from the company’s Accountant on the

operations of the various modules that will make -up the application and how they will

interconnect.

Some of the majors jobs we undertook were: - Computerization of Bursary department of IBB

University, Lapai, Computerization of Finance department of National Board for Technical

Education (NBTE), Kaduna, Computerization of Bursary department of Federal Polytechnic,

Idah.

Fig 2.1: Admon Bursary Suite for IBB University, Lapai

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Fig 2.2: Admon Pay Suite for IBB University Lapai

2.2.1 PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERTED

We noticed that the employee of the institutions did most of their processes manually. This led to

many errors and slow rate of completion of tasks.

2.2.2 SOLUTIONS PROFERRED

After the customization of the software application using Microsoft Visual Basic and Microsoft

SQL Server running on a network infrastructure, all the institutions processes were automated

and tasks were completed faster.

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2.2.3 LESSON LEARNT

I learned that processes could be made faster with the aid of customized software applications.

2.3 COMPUTERIZATION OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL BOARD

FOR TECHNICAL EDUCATIONS (NBTE) KADUNA

We started by having a meeting with the staff of the Board. After the meeting, we were taken

round the various units of the department. They include - Final Accounts, Payroll, Loans and

Advances, Store, Finance. While interacting with the staff about their work process and work

flow, we discovered gaps in the work process of the organization, that our Application Software

would solve. This now led us to automating their work process with our software application to

improve the operations and processes of the organization. The customization includes the

modification of the Microsoft Visual Basic source codes, design of a relational database for

proper management of data and training the users to allow them appreciate how the application

has improved their organization’s processes.

The customization of the software application depends on the organization meeting the

requirements: Software and Hardware, i.e. Computer system (Servers and Workstations),

Microsoft Visual Basic, Microsoft SQL Server, Seagate Crystal Reports, Network Infrastructure,

Printer and the software application itself.

2.3.1 PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED

The major challenge encountered on this project was how to transfer the backlog of data like

Staff Record, transaction record, Salary record, etc. that were in hard copies or in Microsoft

8
Excel spreadsheets to the new Software application, considering the short span of time to deliver

on the project.

2.3.2 SOLUTION PROFERRED

Most of the records that were in hard copy, we had to get more hands to do the entry manually

while we had to write SQL database scripts to import those data in Microsoft Excel and other

electronic forms to our Application’s database. By this, we ensured no data was lost.

Table 2.1 below shows the process of import data from Microsoft Excel to SQL database

Table 2.1: Script to import excel file to SQL database

SQL Script Explanation

USE ImportFromExcel; This script copies all the data in the excel file
GO named "Data" on the desktop to a table named
"Data_dq" in the SQL Server database.
SELECT * INTO Data_dq
FROM
OPENDATASOURCE(‘Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0
’,

'Data Source=D:\Desktop\Data.xlsx;Extended
Properties=Excel 12.0')...[Data$];

GO

2.3.3 LESSON LEARNT

Writing database scripts could facilitate transfer of files from various data sources to a relational

database like SQL Server.

9
2.4 NETWORKING OF ADMINISTRATIVE BLOCK OF FEDERAL

POLYTECHNIC, IDAH

We started by going to the individual departments that are in the administrative block to see the

amount of Computers available and also the amount that might be needed in future. Factors like

nature of work, reliability, geographical area, number of users, Bandwidth capacity, etc., will

determine the type of network topology to use. The Specification of the Server to be used for the

Application software is: - Hp ProLiant ML350 Gen 8 Server, 32GB RAM, 2TB HDD.

Tree network topology was used to connect computers on the network. A Tree network is a

hybrid network topology in which Star networks are interconnected via Bus networks. Tree

networks are hierarchical, and each node can have an arbitrary number of child nodes. An

illustration of a Tree network topology is shown below:

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 Legend
NBTE Network Diagram
Symbol Count Description
1 Router.10
1 Server.11
3 Switch.9
9 User.13
Wireless access
2
point
1 Gateway
4 Comm-link
6 PC
Laptop
3
computer

Fig 2.3: Illustration of the NBTE Network (Tree Topology)

The Server was connected as the root node to a 24-port Switch in the Server room. The network

was broken into segments, and connected with Switches that were mounted at strategic locations.

The Switches were connected by Crossover cables to enable them communicate with themselves.

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A category 6a (Cat-6a) was used to connect devices on the network.

In Computer networking, devices of the same type e.g. Workstation-to-workstation, switch-to-

switch are connected with a Crossover cable while devices of different types e.g. Workstation-to-

switch are connected with a Straight-through cable.

The TIA/EIA-568-B network cabling type was employed on the network. The various cables to

be used on the network were made and connected to the devices. The Server, Routers, Switches,

Workstations and other devices that will work on the network were powered on.

The software application was copied to a shared folder on the Server and was easily assessed by

all the workstations in the various departments.

2.4.1 PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED.

The major challenge encountered on this project was that lots of cables were used and laid over

long distances through the roof, as the offices were far apart. Some cables were damaged in the

process of laying them and could not be detected until when terminating them at both ends.

2.4.2 SOLUTION PROFERRED

A network cable tester was used to test for signal flow on the cable after laying them and

terminating them before connecting them to the respective devices. After doing these for the few

cable that had issues, the problem was resolved.

2.4.3 LESSON LEARNT

With proper laying, termination and testing of cables with a network cable tester, network failure

problem can be eliminated.

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