ULBS to Partner US Business Schools to Enhance Learning

Uchechukwu Nnaike

The University of Lagos Business School (ULBS) has announced plans to collaborate with top US business schools, as part of its globalisation vision and transformational learning experiences.

The Executive Director of the school, Prof. Mike Adebamowo, who disclosed this in a chat with journalists in Lagos, said his recent trip to five US based business schools was to further explore areas of collaboration, in a bid to expand the frontiers of qualitative business education research, teaching and learning.

He said already, a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is being developed to promote the collaboration. 

“Currently, we are members of the African Association of Business Schools (AABS). We are also members of the AMBA, an Association of MBAs, which is the international impartial authority on postgraduate business education, established by a small group of business graduates.

“AMBA is aimed at raising the profile of business education and the MBA qualification in the UK and Europe. 

“Recently I was able to interact with five top rated business schools in the eastern coast of the US and they were all happy and expressed readiness to have relationship with us, in terms of possible collaboration in various areas.

“These areas will involve cross fertilization of ideas, research, staff and students exchange, which we call immersion.This is because part of what is entrenched in our curriculum is the immersion programme.

“This entails that our students, whom we refer to as participants will have the opportunity to travel abroad to check out their culture, carry out business both in the institution abroad and also in the business environment that they are engaged in,” he explained.

Adebamowo said the schools visited were the Merrick School of Business, University of Baltimore,  and the McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University.

Others were the George Washington School of Business, George Washington University (GWSB), DC, which stands as the nexus of the world’s political and economic powers and the School of Business, George Mason University, Fairfax Virginia.

The executive director also visited  the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia, and toured all the afacilities of schools visited.

He said that the school is  determined to seriously expand its international collaborators, in line with its vision of raising global business leaders.  

The don added that at the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia, he was informed that the institution’s degree and non-degree programmes were delivered by the world’s best faculty and bolstered by their research and ideas.

He noted that the school also put the students’ personal purpose in motion, setting the stage for a lifetime of career advancement and impact. 

Adebamowo stated that the method of approach at ULBS is hollistic, interactive, transformational and based on Harvard case study system. 

He said in the pursuit of the school’s vision and its relentless drive for excellence in the business school, the university had granted it autonomy.

Meanwhile, at the send-forth ceremony for Prof. Abraham Osinubi the pioneer Executive Director, Adebamowo had promised to ensure that the school competes favourably with its counterparts in other countries.

Oshinubi, a professor of Anatomy assumed office in July 2018 and ended his tenure on May 31, 2022.

Adebamowo said the foundation already laid by his predecessor will ensure that the school not only becomes the best in the country, but   the continent.

He noted that the passion of his predecessor for innovation, entrepreneurship and ethical leadership had been the driving force behind the growth and success of the school, which has flourished and became a hub for nurturing global business leaders.

Adebamowo added that Osinubi’s dedication and commitment had also matured and shaped the ULBS into a centre of excellence for business education.

“With his entrepreneurial spirit and unwavering belief in the potential of our students, he has empowered generations of young minds to step out into the business world with confidence and purpose.

“He has been a beacon of inspiration and a role model to all of us, showing us that with hard work, determination and integrity, anything is possible, ” the ULBS executive director stated.

Adebamowo stated that Osinubi’s ability to bring out the best in people and create a culture of collaboration and teamwork, was worth emulating, imbibed and celebrated.

The Vice-Chancellor of UNILAG, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola commended Osinubi for his contributions in ensuring that the school attained the status it currently occupy.

Ogunsola, who was represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Development Services) Prof. Ayodele Atsenua noted that such contributions and commitment made the school a forced to be reckoned with in Africa.

“It is one of the business schools that is assisting to strengthen the capacity of the economic sector of African states and we are really proud of the work that he has done. He surely has laid a foundation and that can only be built on and we are really grateful.

“This business school has also been able to challenge other areas of the university. For example, this business school was the first to push and advance the case for online teaching and learning. 

“And it suits us to say that the approval for that, was given one month before the COVID-19 broke out, in such a way that teaching and learning took place in the business school throughout that period and there was no disruption of the calendar.

“The approach, facilitation method used in delivering lectures to the participants by the facilitators continued to offer models that we can adapt to, become more students centered and embrace the case study.

“So that it is not just teaching theories, principles, but actually  teaching in a way that principles and theories are applied to case studies and by that time, participants can contextualise their learning, even before they leave the university,” Ogunsola stated.

Responding, Osinubi said being a pioneer director of the school with no precedence, was one of the most challenging period of his life and his experience in administration as a whole at the time.

“There were so many challenges and so much expectation. What gave us the success story of what we may have recorded so far today, was largely due to team work, and team spirit. I had a very good team. May be I am going to say God, by providence, chosed very good people around me, so we were able to do all what we did very well. 

“Another thing that I will say went very well for us is that passion that almost every member of my team worked with. As in, they saw this whole journey we embarked upon and said, there was no going back.

“Again, when I see a business school that was doing something great, I always told myself that we can do much better. 

“With this can do spirit, we surmounted all odds and ensured that we became visible and recognised globally. We are today, one of the most recognised business schools in Nigeria and my message to my successor is to raise the performance bar and even surpass set standards in a million folds,” he said.

The ULBS, established to produce business managers, administrators and entrepreneurs to boost the country’s economy, offeres executive programmes such as Master in Public Health (MPH) Master in Public Administration (MPA) and Executive MBA, among others.