Positioning UNILAG for Global Competitiveness

University of Lagos well-known for its academic excellence in research and innovation in Nigerian tertiary education took its leadership position further, recently, when it went into partnership with some European counterparts. Tagged, “Partnership for Change” summit, the meetings were led by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe. One of such was held at Goethe-University, Frankfurt, Germany. Funke Olaode who was in Frankfurt reports

To enhance and prepare its students for competitiveness with ivy league universities globally in academic, innovation and research, the University of Lagos, a.k.a University of First Choice, recently extended its tentacles beyond the shore of Nigeria when it engaged top universities across Europe. Tagged Partnership for Change initiative, and led by its Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, the Unilag top management visited Dundee, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburg.

The purpose according to Ogundipe was to enhance students and lecturers’ mobility in research and exchange programmes. Prof. Ogundipe said: “The mission in United Kingdom was fantastic. The purpose is to expose our students. I want us to know that by next ranking of University of Lagos next year, it will be among the top universities in the world.  Because when we got to Dundee, Glasgow, Edinburgh. Aberdeen, they themselves were happy to receive us. In fact, in Edinburgh, they said they need to learn from us too in the area of entrepreneurship and FinTech. That FinTech in Nigeria is good. Like I said earlier, it is not going to be parasitic, we want to have symbiotic relationship and it is already yielding result. By next year, Architecture student with one or two of their lecturers from Dundee University are coming to University of Lagos. And our students in the Department of Architecture, will be going to Dundee to learn about the architectural design and other things in Dundee.”

Still basking in the euphoria of a successful outing in Scotland,  the UNILAG crew moved to Frankfurt in Germany where it had discussions with  four Universities and one company: University of Applied Sciences, Fachhochschule Mainz, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Mainz, ProEnergie GmbH & Co. KG, Laatzen, Schmalkalden University of Applied Sciences, Schmalkalden, University of Münster, Münster and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe were at the summit. The jointly organised Summit facilitated by the Consulate General of Nigeria in Frankfurt was held at Goethe-University, Frankfurt.

In his speech, the Nigerian Consular-General to Frankfurt, Amb. Wahab Akande commended University of Lagos for the initiative and said it was a welcome development.  According to the diplomat, to achieve sustainable development goal of United Nations that no child should be left behind in receiving qualitative education, collaboration is needed. Speaking further, the Nigerian envoy noted that although Germany is an industrial nation, “We   still need partnership because you can’t know it all as we need to learn from each other.”

Akande added: “My experience gained over the years as a diplomat in Europe inspired him to be a part of the initiative. As said earlier, Germany is known for her manufacturing capacities, hence the popular phrase of ‘German Machines.’ But German industries rely on universities to achieve their dream. This is what Nigeria must learn. This is why this engagement is dear to us at the consulate.”

Speaking on how the summit would benefit the University of Lagos, Ogundipe said the strength of UNILAG students and staff would match with their European counterparts. “Different universities come with uniqueness in different fields such as engineering, law, social sciences and technology. We are looking at the possibility of linking those lecturers to our own lecturers at the University of Lagos, so that they can work together. We also want to expand our relationship.” 

During her presentation at the  Frankfurt summit  to showcase the UNILAG potential, The UNILAG Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Development Services, who also double as overseer of University’s partnership office,  Prof. Ayo Atsenuwa,  extolled the quality  of the citadel of excellence with  student population of 62,215 across 12 faculties, six institutes and 26 centres, adding that UNILAG runs 88 undergraduate and 129 postgraduate programmes.

Atsenuwa, an erudite professor of Law, said the university is coming into the partnership fully prepared, especially with many concluded and ongoing innovative research outputs such as the cassava concrete mixture for building, medical ventilators and vehicular road advanced electronic flood caution device, among others. She said the partnership is aimed at building a global community of shared future through student and staff exchange programmes, running of joint degrees and programmes, curriculum development, hosting joint conferences and research collaborations

Enumerating various innovation that stood the UNILAG brand out she said: “We are encouraged to champion this partnership having experienced the significant impacts of other similar collaborations such as those under the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA), UMOJA and AFROPEAN Global.

“Our artificial intelligence and fab laboratories, the UNILAG-BOI business incubation hub, and the NITDA ICT hub, are in need of meaningful partnerships for exposure and knowledge sharing.”

“Our entrepreneurial centre is one of the best around but we must endorse continental collaborations to achieve greater impacts and exposure for students and staff.”

With the popular saying that  “it is not how long but how well”, Prof. Atsenuwa acknowledged that German Universities have been in existence for centuries  compared to UNILAG, which is  relatively young, but  she still believes that partnership with such  older institutions like Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, to share ideas, and technical know-how for comparative advantages is worth it.

 During different meetings held at the Goethe University, Frankfurt, and in the city of Mainz, representatives from the University of Applied Sciences, Mainz; Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz; Schmalkalden University of Applied Sciences, Schmalkalden, and University of Münster, Münster, all expressed their readiness and commitment to making the partnership a worthwhile venture.

The representatives of the Johannes Gutenberg University, which houses the global COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing giant- Biopharmaceutical New Technologies (BioNTech), expressed commitment to the partnership, even as they pledged knowledge transfer among staff and students.

Speaking on behalf of Schmalkalden, its Mayor, Thomas Kaminski, said as host to a university and many small scale industries, the community is building green energy solutions and would be glad to partner Nigerian researchers.

He expressed his readiness to ensure knowledge transfer among concerned experts, saying the green energy solution would not only address the issue of ozone layer depletion and the attendant consequences but will also make power affordable, especially for the university communities where uninterrupted power supply is much a prerequisite.

Other universities, especially, University of Applied Science in Mainz, said it was interested in introducing double degree programmes in partnership with UNILAG, among other qualified Nigerian universities.

The programmes, which will be taught physically on the two campuses, will, according to the university, also offer the beneficiaries an opportunity to receive stipends through the German government’s scholarship scheme while the students can also work as interns in the companies within the localities.

The DAAD Programme Director at the University of Lagos, Dr. Gerald Heusing, who is an Associate Professor, Department of European Languages and Integration Studies said  the Partnership for Change initiative is based on the idea that internationalisation, i.e. cooperation between universities across geographical borders, improves the quality of teaching, research and university administration.

Heusing adds: “Experience and corresponding empirical studies have proven that internationalisation can indeed produce these positive effects. Universities depend on the exchange of experiences, ideas and people to live up to their claim of being well-managed places of teaching and research that adapt to dynamic demands and challenges for the benefit of people and humanity. Internationalisation is an absolute necessity for every university.

“There are already partnerships in existence. To be precise, partnerships between 19 Nigerian and 29 German universities (some Nigerian universities partner with more than one German university. The Partnership for Change initiative seeks to change this by structuring the initiation and implementation of partnerships on the basis of existing needs and by also involving Nigerian universities that have so far been less internationalised. The initiative is also trying to generate more interest among German universities to enter into cooperation with Nigerian universities. It is a right move.”

Corroborating what others have said earlier on the Partnership for Change initiative, Director, International Relations, Partnerships and Prospects, UNILAG, Professor Ismail Ibraheem,  added that “collaborations is pivotal to the realisation of both SDGs and the African Union Vision 2063. University of Lagos is therefore taking calculated and well-informed steps to mobilise global resources to support the vision of the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe to make UNILAG globally competitive and nationally relevant in the core areas of research, teaching and community development.”