The newly appointed Vice-Chancellor of Caleb University, Imota, Lagos State, Professor Olalekan Asikhia, has unveiled a seven-point agenda designed to promote academic excellence and innovation within the institution.
Asikhia announced the agenda on Wednesday during a media engagement held at the university’s Council Chamber. He was appointed in June for a three-year tenure.
Outlining his vision, the Vice-Chancellor said his administration would focus on creating “a godly environment for dream fulfilment,” driving academic excellence, fostering research and innovation, strengthening global partnerships, ensuring good governance, promoting environmental sustainability, and building entrepreneurial capacity among students.
He emphasized that Caleb University aimed to become Nigeria’s number one university and rank among Africa’s top 20 by 2030.
According to him, the university would prioritize entrepreneurship development by encouraging students to register and operate their businesses while still on campus. He added that his administration would decentralize services, promote student-led chapel activities, and instil discipline through mentorship rather than compulsion.
Asikhia also revealed that the university was working on a strong endowment and investment strategy to ensure financial sustainability, including the commercialization of research outputs.
“To enhance our global ranking, all lecturers are required to publish at least four Scopus-indexed research papers annually,” he said.
The VC further urged the Federal Government to extend TETFund support to private universities, noting that excluding them limits the country’s research potential.
“It would have been very lovely if the government could allow private universities to benefit from TETFund. Concentrating only on public institutions denies the nation the chance to harness its full human resources,” he added.
On technology adoption, Asikhia said the university would integrate Artificial Intelligence into its system in ways that promote, rather than weaken, critical thinking.
He reaffirmed Caleb University’s commitment to nurturing students who will become reflective problem-solvers and global change agents.
In her remarks, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation, Strategy, and Administration, Professor Adetutu Ajayi, highlighted the university’s growing recognition through cutting-edge research published in top-tier journals, which has led to partnerships with institutions in the United Kingdom, Turkey, and other countries.
Similarly, the DVC (Academics), Professor Sunday Adewale, stated that Caleb University encourages students to pursue solution-driven research that involves collaboration with industry stakeholders.
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