Various teams and the Founding Coordinating Committee of Newborn Essentials Solutions Technologies, (NEST360), a global consortium committed to ensure that every small and sick newborn born in sub-Saharan Africa survives through the use of low-cost sustainable equipment, paid a courtesy call on the Vice-Chancellor, on Tuesday, November 8, 2022.
On hand to receive the team led by Professor of Paediatrics, Professor Chinyere Ezeaka, was the University Management team including the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Development Services, Prof. Ayodele Atsenuwa; Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Management Services, Prof. Lucian Chukwu; Registrar, Oladejo Azeez, Esq.; Bursar, Mrs. Olufunmilayo Adekunle; University Librarian, Prof. Yetunde Zaid; Director, Quality Assurance, Prof. Mopelola Olusakin and Director, Quality Assurance and SERVICOM, Prof. Grace Otinwa.
Prof Ezeaka introduced the team which included members from Malawi, United Kingdom, United States of America; Ethiopia; Tanzania; Kenya and some foundations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; MacArthur Foundation, NEST360 team Nigeria, Faculty of Engineering team, etc.
She revealed that the team was in Lagos to host its first NEST360 programme in Nigeria, which started on November 7, 2022 as well as visit its Design Studio at the Faculty of Engineering. Her words, “In order to further the area of teaching, NEST360 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University of Lagos to build a world-class design studio at the Faculty of Engineering, and the incoming Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola is the NEST360 Biomed lead.”
Earlier in the day at the College of Medicine, NEST360 set up a clinical skills lab for the training of medical students, clinical nurses at the preservice as well as equipment for in service training for Neonatal Unit, Children Emergency Room, Labour Ward, Paediatric Surgical Unit at LUTH.
Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, FAS, who was represented by Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Development Services, Prof. Atsenuwa, welcomed the team to the University of Lagos. She expressed pride in the work done in the NEST360 Design studio as a result of its support and partnership. She stated that the University has evolved from being primarily a teaching institution in its early days to becoming more research intensive and innovation driven in the last 5-10 years – research geared toward solving real-world problems.
She also talked about the Research Management Office, which has collaborated closely with the NEST360 Design studio to form a committee in order to ensure that the labs and hubs in the University are designed in such a way that they are all connected and the work done are synced in order to tell a continuous story rather than a scattered one across the University. She mentioned that some labs on campus are open to students, while others are open to staff and even outsiders.
She wished the team a wonderful stay and encouraged them to explore the campus and Lagos before their departure from Nigeria.
NEST360 is an international alliance of clinical, technical, and public health experts from 17 leading institutions, governments, and organizations, including, 3rd Stone Design; Addis Ababa University; Aga Khan University; APIN Public Health Initiatives; Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology; Hatch Technologies; Ifakara Health Institute; Kamuzu University of Health Sciences; Kenyatta University; London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine; Malawi University of Business & Applied Sciences; Malawi University of Science & Technology; Northwestern University; Oxford KEMRI-Wellcome Trust; Rice360 Institute for Global Health Technologies; University of Ibadan and University of Lagos.
NEST360 supports African governments to implement a package of care that includes affordable technologies, training for clinicians and biomedical technicians and locally-owned data to deliver quality small and sick newborn care.
