The National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) has commenced a 14 day specialised training programme on electric vehicle technology for university students at the Toyota Nigeria Training Centre in Lagos, to produce a functional electric vehicle by the end of the exercise.

The council structured the programme into two batches of 15 participants each, with plans to expand enrolment to 45 students in total. Participants are receiving hands on instruction in vehicle assembly, battery management systems, electric vehicle design, project management, and manufacturing processes.

NADDC facilitator Engr. Simon Vandu Dzuwagu noted that the initiative was designed to close the gap between what students learn in lecture halls and what the automotive industry demands. "The purpose of this programme is to bridge the gap between academic learning and industry practice. The council wants students to gain practical knowledge so that after graduation, EV technology will not be new to them," he said.

Dzuwagu added that participants would also receive training on improving electric vehicle battery performance to match Nigeria's environmental and operational conditions, with the ultimate target being the production of a functional electric vehicle based on a design developed by the University of Benin during a previous EV competition.

Among the participants is Chikamso Chidiakoma, a Mechanical Engineering student at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, who was selected after his team placed among the top three at the NADDC Electric Bus Competition held last year. "There were some challenges we faced while working on the EV project. We tried to learn as much as possible about electric vehicles, but we still had some knowledge gaps. I hope this training will help bridge those gaps," he disclosed.

Leonard Oseghale, a 400 level Mechatronics Engineering student at the University of Benin, revealed that his team adopted biomimicry technology inspired by the boxfish to improve vehicle aerodynamics. "Our design at the University of Benin is unique because we adopted biomimicry technology. Our reference was the boxfish, which naturally has a shape that reduces air resistance," he explained, adding that the project would advance from training into full vehicle assembly in the next phase.

Toyota Nigeria technical instructor Mr. Saheed Soriola confirmed that Toyota partnered with NADDC to provide industrial exposure to the students, pointing to the company's history in electric mobility since the launch of the Prius in 1997, which is regarded as the world's first mass produced hybrid vehicle.