The University of Lagos, on Monday, July 15, 2024, joined a consortium of ivory towers in Lagos to sign an Educational Partnership Cooperative Agreement with the United States of America through the Presidential Advisory Committee – African Diaspora Engagement (PAC-ADE).
The formal signing of the Educational Partnership Cooperative Agreement was done by Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, OON, FAS, for UNILAG; Dr. Helene Gayle for Spelman College, Atlanta, U.S.A; Prof Adenike Boyo for Lagos State University (LASU) and Professor Sola Oni for Pan-Atlantic University.
Tagged Developing Partnerships between U.S. and Nigerian Institutions of Higher Education, the Partnership Roundtable and Agreement Signing Ceremony was held at the J.F. Ade. Ajayi (Main) Auditorium of UNILAG.
The epochal event, according to the Vice-Chancellor, University of Lagos, Professor Folasade Ogunsola, OON, FAS, stems from a conscious decision of universities in Lagos to shun competition, and embrace collaboration and partnerships for growth and developmental purposes.
Prof. Ogunsola who was the host of the event stated that “through the Educational Partnership Cooperative Agreement with the U.S., universities in Lagos hope to forge stronger ties with the diaspora community to foster a developmental drive which would engender the growth of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM) Education in Nigeria”.
In her remarks, the President of Spelman College, Atlanta, U.S.A, Dr. Helene Gayle congratulated the consortium of universities in Lagos for the lofty idea. She described it as one which underscores the sheer commitment of the ivory towers in Lagos towards the growth of faculties and greater impact in national development.
Dr Gayle said the Educational Partnership Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. will go a long way in fostering new partnerships, promoting exchange programmes and facilitating academic excellence among member universities.
The panel session of the event featured the following panellists: Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, OON, FAS of UNILAG; Dr. Helene Gayle of Spelman College, Atlanta, U.S.A; Prof. Adenike Boyo who represented the Lagos State University (LASU) and Prof. Sola Oni who represented Pan-Atlantic University. They all took turns to share their perspectives on the potential impacts of the Educational Partnership Cooperative Agreement.
During the session, Prof Ogunsola disclosed that through the UNILAG International Week, international partners and participants are able to form independent opinions about Nigeria, Nigerians and the education sector thereby changing and reshaping the narratives positively, a feat which the Educational Partnership Cooperative Agreement will help build on.
She noted that the new Educational Partnership Cooperative Agreement with the U. S. will help to promote capacity-building for faculty, improve collaborations, foster exchange opportunities, facilitate co-creation of curricula and encourage multi-disciplinary research engagements.
Members of the Presidential Advisory Committee – African Diaspora Engagement (PAC-ADE) had earlier paid a courtesy visit to the office of the Vice-Chancellor, University of Lagos.
During the visit, Prof. Ogunsola formally welcomed the team to UNILAG and assured of the University’s avowed commitment to leverage partnerships to build capacities in sports, artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, fin-tech, entrepreneurship and other key areas, to meet contemporaneous needs and solving global issues.
Report: Gbenga Gbelee
Photography: Ayomide Oloyede
