A hearty conversation between the Vice-Chancellors of the University of Lagos and University of Dundee was how Day 1 of the 3rd UNILAG International Week ended on Monday, October 9, 2023.
Held at the Arthur Mbanefo Digital Research Center, the event which was tagged, “Vice-Chancellors’ Dialogue”, had the two Higher Education leaders taking turns to interview themselves, sharing their experiences and expectations.
Responding to the question of how the journey began for her, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Professor Folasade Ogunsola, FAS, OON, traced it back to her childhood years when she was certain she wanted to care for people, either as a Nurse or a Medical Doctor.
“My interest in public healthcare then grew from private practice to the laboratory and then to the classroom”, she said.
She elaborated on how her journey morphed into university administration, first as the 1st female Provost of the College of Medicine, University of Lagos and the 1st female Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos.
On his part, the Vice-Chancellor/Principal of University of Dundee, Prof. Iain Gillespie traced his first contact with Africa to 1967 when, as a young boy, he visited his father who was serving as a bank manager in one of the East African countries.
“Since then, my impression of Africans as resilient and hardworking has remained strong. It is therefore a delight for me to embrace every opportunity that comes to work with my colleagues in Africa.”
Both Vice-Chancellors expressed optimism about the capacity of universities to forge partnerships and proffer solutions to existing global challenges. They emphasised the imperatives of internationalisation and bilateralism among universities, and how that could help build trust and mutual understanding.
Both leaders rounded off the session with the signing of Memorandum of Understanding between their respective universities.
