As the tenure of the current Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Professor Idowu Abel Olayinka ends on November 30, 2020, there are indications that the outgoing VC has concluded necessary arrangements for the take off of new academic departments from old centres and institutes.
Our analyst learnt this from a social media post of Professor Ayobami Ojebode of the Department of Communication and Language Arts. According to the post, the country’s oldest University will reassemble 5 Centres into a new Faculty, the Faculty of Multidisciplinary Studies. This, according to the Professor of Applied Communication, will enable the institution to respond to various needs and challenges in Nigeria. “Peace, development, security, data science and fuel or energy are the issues of today, burning and searing issues,” Professor Ojebode noted. “With this, UI is better positioned to pursue its vision of “meeting societal needs”.
With fund from the NUC, UI will reassemble 5 Centres into a new Faculty, the Faculty of Multi-Disciplinary Studies. The new departments (made from old centres) are: Department of Peace, Security and Humanitarian Studies (former Institute for Peace and Strategic Studies), Department of Sustainability Studies (former Centre for Sustainable Development), Department of Data and Information Science (former Africa Centre for Information Science), Department of Mineral, Petroleum, Energy Economics and Law (former Centre for Petroleum, Energy Economics and Law) and Department of Bioethics and Medical Humanities.
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In an earlier report, The Tertiary Education Trust Fund had selected the University as one of the 12 Universities with the mandate of undertaking applied research for the country within 5 years. According to the agency, the University of Ibadan, University of Abuja, University of Benin, University of Maiduguri, Bayero University Kano, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Akwa, University of Uyo, Micheal Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, University of Jos, University of Lagos, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University and Uthman Danfodio University, Sokoto are expected to bring together the complementary resources needed for technical development and industrial application.
“This includes concentrating multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and translational research competence in order to further the development of products, processes, and services, typically by focusing on problems that demand larger efforts than can be provided by smaller projects.
“Bridging the gap between researchers and users, stimulating and strengthening triple-helix relationships. This is in order to enhance scientific research being patronized by industry and in order to make the tertiary educational institutions generally more responsive to industry needs. “In addition is expertise development and training at doctorate level in areas of industry interest, and the development of knowledge management platforms and innovation hubs, “Bogoro, Executive Secretary stated in the terms of reference.
Within the five-year period, the University of Ibadan and the University of Lagos are expected to produce groundbreaking researches in Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem Management. In this regard, our analyst expects the University of Ibadan to play strategic roles in terms of technical expertise, which the defunct Centre for Petroleum, Energy Economics and Law was known for.