Stakeholders within the University of Lagos, on Thursday, August 18, 2022 converged at the Arthur Mbanefo Digital Research Center (AMDRC) of the University to develop new strategies aimed at creating a direction for educational development in West Africa.
Speaking at the event tagged ‘UNILAG Consultative Forum: Towards the Regional Strategy Plan’, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Oluwatoyin T. Ogundipe, FAS highlighted the importance of the forum in achieving its outlined objectives which include management and development of academic matters, student matters, human resource, physical infrastructure and finance.
His words, “the forum’s mandate is to specifically seek ways to harness administrative and academic capabilities in the region”.
In her remarks, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and Research), Professor Bolanle Oboh pointed out that the forum would lead to mutual partnerships with educational institutions within the West African region.
According to her, the strength of the University of Lagos lies in its experienced high-quality staff, relevant academic programmes, well–developed curricula, internet access across all campuses, location in a cosmopolitan city, and access to a large industrial sector (6-7th largest economy in Africa).
The anchor of the forum, Dr Omobolanle Ade-Ademilua who is the Centre Leader of the African Center of Excellence on Drug Research and Herbal Medicine and Regulatory Science (ACEDHARS) commended the University on the inauguration of the UNILAG Consultative Forum. She emphasized the need for educational institutions within West Africa to adapt their activities to global trends.
Dr. Ademilua revealed that ACEDHARS has programmes in line with the objectives of the forum. She added that these programmes include educational packages such as workshops and symposia which are viable platforms for forging regional and international collaboration in areas pertaining to medicine, herbal profits and regulations.
The forum is sponsored by ACEDHARS as part of its support to the University of Lagos, towards the actualization of its strategic plan of developing human capacities in research management units of universities across West Africa.
