2026 ODMT
Every year, as part of our institutional commitment to the core values of Godliness, Excellence, and Leadership, six exceptional students emerge through a rigorous seven-week screening and selection process that includes shadowing the principal officers to serve as the University’s One-Day Management Team (ODMT).
For 24 hours, these young, bright, and vibrant students assume the offices of the Vice-Chancellor, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Registrar, Bursar, University Librarian, and University Chaplain, respectively.
However, the ODMT initiative is far more than ceremonial pageantry.
These students do not merely wear & enjor the paraphernalia of office; they step fully into the realities of institutional leadership. They chair meetings, engage with strategic administrative matters, make decisions, sign official documents binding on the University, interact with staff and stakeholders, and receive the equivalent of one day’s salary attached to the offices they occupy.
This homegrown concept is intentionally designed to demystify leadership and governance for students. It exposes them to the rigours, pressures, responsibilities, and sacrifices involved in running a modern university system. It helps them understand that leadership is not simply about prestige or perceived “enjoyment,” but about service, accountability, discipline, and difficult decision-making.
Perhaps most importantly, the initiative teaches a timeless lesson: power is transient, and positions are temporary trusts that must be exercised with wisdom, humility, and responsibility.
The tenure of the 2026 ODMT officially concluded yesterday, after a rigorous and event-filled schedule that mirrored the lived experiences of Bowen University’s Principal Officers. By the end of the exercise, the students departed with a renewed appreciation for institutional leadership and a deeper understanding of what it truly takes to manage a university effectively.
We remain profoundly grateful to members of staff who wholeheartedly participated in the process by attending meetings presided over by the students, responding thoughtfully to their inquiries, and according them the dignity and respect befitting the offices they occupied. Such cooperation continues to strengthen the confidence, leadership capacity, and governance orientation of these future leaders.
At Bowen University, we believe leadership must be experienced, not merely discussed. Through initiatives like the One-Day Management Team, we continue to intentionally raise a generation of godly leaders distinguished by character, competence, excellence, and vision.