Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has selected the Uuniversity of Lagos (UniLag) University of Abuja (UniAbuja) and ten other federal universities as the pioneer Centres of Excellence to define the trajectory for the transformation of tertiary institutions.
Executive Secretary, TETFund, Professor Suleiman Elias Bogoro, at the inauguration of the twelve maiden Centres of Excellence Thursday, said the objective was to address a specific national development challenge through preparation of professionals, applied research and associated outreach activities to partners, especially community services.
Bogoro also disclosed that the board would fund the twelve centres with a grant of one billion (N1billion) each for five years to enable them attain national aspirations.
The TETFund boss said the two selected centres in each of the six geopolitical zones of the country were expected to ensure the strengthening and sustainability of the centres beyond the 2025.
In the North-central, University of Abuja and FUTMinna have been selected as Centres of Excellence in Public Governance and Leadership and Food security respectively.
“North-east has Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, TETFind Centre of Excellence in food security ; University of Maiduguri, Centre of Excellence in Arid Zone Research and Development, while North-west has Usman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto, Centre of Excellence in Urology and Nephrology and Bayero University, Kano, in Renewable Energy.
“Others are, South-east; Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike and Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka in Root Crop Research, Development and Agriculture Transitional Studies respectively,” Bogoro said.
In South-south, University of Benin and University of Uyo got Centres of Excellence in Aquaculture and Food Technology, and Computational Intelligence and Multi-Discplinary Studies respectively, while the South-west has university of Ibadan and University of Lagos in Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem Management.
Bogoro said the first batch of the institutions were carefully selected while reassuring the board’s unflinching support towards the realisation of the objectives of the initiative.
“The conceptual framework for Centres of Excellence is unlikely to be unfamiliar, alien or even novel to most of you here. Nevertheless, a Strategic Framework and Establishment Guidelines for TETFund Centres of Excellence, as approved by the TETFund Board of Trustees will be made available to all of you.
” Each selected institution is expected to implement it’s own approved TCOE, with the objective to address a specific national development challenge through preparation of professionals, applied research and associated outreach activities to parrner, especially community services.
He noted that within that prism, institutions will have autonomy to implement their own institution-specific proposals to enhance capacity to deliver national high-quality training to address development challenges.
The major objective of establishing the Centres, he said, among others, is to support strategic and applications-oriented research and expertise with potential industrial application and, bring together the complimentary resources needed for technical development and industrial application that will bridge the gap between researchers and users, thereby stimulating and strengthening triple-helix relationships.
Also, the chairman, TETFund Board of Trustees, Alhaji Kashim Ibrahim-Imam said that the TETFund BOT was committed to advancing the tertiary education in all ramifications.Ibrahim-Iman promised that the fund would continue to sustain the process of research in the country noting that an additional 12 universities would be established by 2021.
He said, ” We want you to invest at least 70 per cent of the research grant in safe and high-yielding financial investment.”
Responding on behalf of Vice Chancellors of the beneficiary universities, Professor Lilian Salami, Vice Chancellor, University of Benin , promised to live to expectations in delivering the task given to them.
