World Bank selects NOUN, 16 other varsities as African Centres of Excellence

ACE on Technology Enhanced Learning (ACETEL) was given to National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN);

The Lagos State University has been selected as a Centre of Excellence for Innovative and Transformative STEM Education by the World Bank, among other 16 universities across Nigeria.

The ACE award in Applied Informatics and Communication was also given to Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State.

Fifteen other Nigerian universities also bagged the ACE award in different areas of specialties.

Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun, disclosed this on Friday at the maiden Long Service Award for Teaching and Non-Teaching Staff who had served the university for 20 years and above.

A total of 543 staff members of the university received the award.

Fagbohun said the Africa Centre of Excellence (ACE) 3 project is aimed at supporting more policy harmonisation initiatives in higher education across the African region.

He said that LASU would get a minimum of $7m as a centre for the project, which is renewable after four years following impressive output and performance.

“I will start my remark on a high note. I am proud to announce to you that LASU is now an African Centre of Excellence

“We were chosen from about 154 universities that applied for the centre, and after several rounds of assessments and screenings, we were selected as the only state university in the round.

“We are going to be attracting foreign students and foreign faculties; so, we cannot afford to go on strike or allow any crisis.

“It is not about me, it is about all of us, as LASU will become what we all make it to become,” he said.

Fagbohun urged the staff to collaborate with the university management in strategically managing the institution and sustaining it when the centre of excellence commences.

He lauded the recipients of the long service award and other staff members of the institution for their contributions toward making LASU great.

According to him, the staff members are being celebrated and appreciated for their investment into the LASU project, with the hope that they would be motivated to do more.

Chairman, Governing Council, LASU, Prof. Adebayo Ninalowo, said the happenings in LASU within the past three years were different from what it used to be, “as happiness is now the order of the day.”

Ninalowo said the award was geared towards celebrating hard work and motivating the staff to be more productive.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the other 16 universities in the country and the centres they got include ACE in ICT Driven Knowledge Park, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

Others are: Centre for Oilfield Chemicals Research (CEFOR), University of Port-Harcourt; ACE for Genomics of Infectious Diseases, Redeemer’s University, Ede; and ACE on Neglected Tropical Diseases and Forensic Biotechnology, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria

ACE in Reproductive Health and Innovation went to University of Benin; Centre for Dryland Agriculture, Bayero University, Kano; and Centre for Food Technology and Research (CEFTER), Benue State University, Makurdi.

ACE in Applied Informatics and Communication was given to Covenant University, Ota; Centre for Public Health and Toxicological Research (PUTOR), University of Port Harcourt; ACE for Sustainable Power and Energy Development, University of Nigeria Nsukka.

ACE on Technology Enhanced Learning (ACETEL) was given to National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN); and ACE in Future Energies and Electrochemical Systems (ACE-FUELS), Federal University of Technology, Owerri.

The rest are: ACE on New Pedagogies in Engineering Education (ACENPEE), Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; ACE for Drug Research, Herbal Medicine Development and Regulatory Science (ACEDRHMDRS), University of Lagos.

ACE for Mycotoxin and Food Safety was given to Federal University of Technology, Minna; and Centre for Population Health and Policy (ACEPHAP), Bayero University, Kano.

NAN also reports the 12 countries participating in the ACE impact project are Nigeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal , Niger, Djibouti, Guinea, Togo and Gambia.

Africa Centres of Excellence for Development Impact (ACE Impact), also known as ACE 3, resulted from the gains and successes recorded with ACE-1 and 2.

ACE-3 aims to work better across sectors, with more industry collaboration.

It aims to simplify flow of funds and support more policy harmonization initiatives in higher education across the region

The broad objective of ACE Impact is to increase quantity, quality and development of relevant postgraduate education in selected universities through regional specialisation.

(NAN)