The time has come for African interdisciplinary research to thrive with the development of a Digital Research Environment (DRE).
That was the kernel of deliberations held at the office of the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Folasade Ogunsola, FAS, when participants of the workshop on Digital Research Environment paid her a courtesy visit on Thursday, January 19, 2023.
Led by the Director of the Lagos African Cluster Centre (ACC), Professor Muyiwa Falaiye, the contingent of researcher-participants were drawn from all the four cluster centres located on the African continent. The centres are sited at the University of Lagos, Nigeria; Moi University, Kenya; Rhodes University, South Africa; and Université Ki-Zerbo, Burkina Faso.
The Scientific Associate and Data Curator of the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bayreuth, Dr. Sulayman Sowe, appreciated the University of Lagos for the support it has continued to give the Cluster Centre located at its Akoka Campus.
“The Lagos ACC is the first member of the cluster to acquire its own Server, in collaboration with other units in the university. For that, we are grateful, because it proves the willing support of the University of Lagos for the project that our Cluster of Excellence is set to achieve”, he said.
Responding, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Folasade Ogunsola, expressed delight at receiving the contingent in her office. She restated the determination of the University of Lagos, under her leadership, to give due attention to the decolonisation of the African curriculum and to lead the charge in the promotion of African uniqueness.
“What goes on at the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence and the four ACC’s is integral to our new focus at the University of Lagos. We shall be at the fore of the charge to decolonise the African curriculum and to promote what makes us unique. Our arts and crafts, history, and culture are our super power, we can do so much with them”.
She promised the continued support of the university for the Lagos ACC and the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence as a whole.
The Digital Research Environment (DRE) workshop is a five-day capacity development meeting for researchers of the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence. It is an avenue for them to be groomed in the creation of a more-than-data environment that makes Africa-focused research visible to other researchers in the Clusters and elsewhere in the international academic community.
Below are photo highlights of the event:
