The Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; Bayero University, Kano, and the Benue State University, Makurdi, are now among Nigerian universities that have won grants in the ongoing World Bank-assisted Africa Centres of Excellence project.
This brings to 10 Nigerian universities involved in the ACE projects in Africa. There are 18 such projects on the continent.
The project that attracted the grant for the OAU is tagged “A Model for National Science Technology and Knowledge Park Initiative, STEM”, while BUK and BSU are involved in dry land agriculture, and food technology and research, respectively.
The National Universities Commission, which stated this in its Monday bulletin, noted that seven Nigerian universities had earlier emerged among the 15 African universities selected for the ACE projects.
The universities were selected after the bank’s Project Steering Committee, which met in Dakar, Senegal, last October 28, assessed their different proposals.
The other beneficiaries are the Redeemer’s University, Mowe, Ogun State; University of Ibadan, Oyo State; African University of Science and Technology, Abuja; Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta; Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; University of Jos, Plateau State; University of Benin, Edo State, and the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The governments of Nigeria, Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Senegal and Togo, alongside the World Bank, inaugurated the initiative in 2013 to promote regional specialisation among the participating universities.
It is also aimed at strengthening the capacities of the universities to deliver quality training and research.
The OAU Public Relations Officer, Mr. Abiodun Olarewaju, in a statement on Monday, confirmed that the university received $8m for the OAK Park project.
In the statement, Olarewaju quoted the university Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Bamitale Omole, as saying that the OAK-Park was to “create a nationally-recognised and internationally-acknowledged model for uptake and commercialisation of research and technology, which will advance the growth of the nation’s industry.”
Omole said the centre would ensure the systematic incubation of research ideas and products from the university and other partnering institutions in West African.
He said, “The objective is to annex the creative and innovative energy of the teeming youths into entrepreneurial endeavours by using appropriate skill-enhancing training and mentoring. Specifically, the OAK-Park facility, among other things, will aspire to stimulate creativity and excellence in research and innovation, expand learning opportunities for OAU staff and students and, indeed, other researchers from the region.
“The centre is also geared towards the developments of the next generation of scientists, researchers, teachers, entrepreneurs and product developers through appropriate practice-anchored capacity building measures. These include industrial immersion schemes, leverage on industry resource support for critical skills development of academics, students and researchers, as well as targeted status enhancement training for industry staff in the university system.”
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