Top officials of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)-Africa, on Friday, July 15, visited the University of Lagos to explore areas of possible research collaboration in the fields of Engineering, Information Technology, and Entrepreneurship.
Professor Allen Robinson, Director of CMU Africa, and Mr. Aamir Suleman, Director of Knowledge Creation and Education Network, were warmly received at the office of the Vice-Chancellor. There, they disclosed their mission of building a 10-member pan-African network of technology universities whose teaching and research programmes are geared toward solving Africa’s challenges in a collaborative manner.
“There are many great universities on the African continent. The network we are building will create a platform for these universities to collaborate deeply and focus on using applied technology to solve African problems”, Mr. Suleman said.
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, FAS, expressed the readiness of UNILAG to become a member of the research network.
Professor Ayodele Atsenuwa (DVC, Development Services) and Professor Bola Oboh (DVC, Academics and Research) led other faculty members, drawn from related academic departments and research centres, to make series of presentations to the visiting team, in order to establish the suitability of UNILAG for membership of the network.
The presenters seized the opportunity to showcase the many feats achieved by the University of Lagos, particularly in all the core areas of the project’s focus. Ranging from its promotion of student entrepreneurship and innovation to its initiatives in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, the presenters made a strong case for UNILAG as the best pick for the network from Nigeria.
In response to the presentations, a very impressed Professor Robinson quipped, “You got a lot going on!”.
The project is called the African Engineering and Technology Network (AfriTech Network) and is sponsored by the Mastercard Foundation.
Dr. Mary Akinyemi, Deputy Director of the Office of International Relations, Partnerships and Prospects (IRPP), led the CMU Africa contingent to the meeting.
