More partnerships between private companies and the academia will encourage scholarly works in Nigeria’s education sector. This is according to the Vice-Chancellor, Covenant University, Professor Timothy Anake.
Professor Anake made this statement while receiving the representatives of Dow Nigeria, including the company’s Managing Director, Adebisi Adeoti, and its Technical Services Manager, Engineer Stephen Ogunlade for the unveiling of Covenant’s newly invented Virtual Chemistry laboratory, a cutting edge e-learning platform that provides students globally with an immersive learning experience in Chemistry without being in a physical laboratory.
The innovation eradicates the need for a physical laboratory, enabling students to conduct their findings from the comfort of their homes, via their Android phones. Funded by Dow Nigeria, the project is the brainchild of a team of researchers led by Professor James Omoleye of Covenant.
The VC also received alongside the duo of Mr. Adeoti and Mr. Ogunlade of Dow, the Director of Science and Technology, at Ogun State Ministry of Education, Doctor Abosede Edun, who commissioned the project on behalf of the Commissioner for Education, Professor Abayomi Arigbabu.
During the reception at his office, the Professor Anake lamented government’s inadequate attention to the development of education in Nigeria. He decried the neglect, saying it has resulted in a dearth of groundbreaking discoveries in the country’s education sector.
He remarked that the unhealthy Development also discourages players in the private sector, especially companies and other business ventures from sponsoring research works in the academia.
He, however, commended DOW Nigeria for partnering with Covenant on its invention of the Virtual Chemistry lab.
“…We are in a country…where everyone wants to go overseas. No one has confidence in the academia, and understandably so. We have been paralyzed, I mean the academics, as it were, by government’s poor attention to the development of education in Nigeria. And so, both the indigenous companies and the foreign ones alike, will not dare go to universities to sponsor projects like this. So I want to commend DOW for daring to have confidence in the academia, particularly, Covenant University,” the Vice Chancellor said.
He urged the company’s management to inform its associates and business partners about Covenant, suggesting they consider Covenant for grants, given its excellent track record and achievements in Nigeria’s education sector.
“We are open to more collaboration, more partnerships. We have many more researchers and very strong scholars at Covenant University…many more like Professor Omoleye across the various colleges in the university … So you can tell a good story to your friends about investing in research outcomes that will benefit our local communities. We should no longer go overseas to seek solutions for local problems,” the Vice-Chancellor said.
This collaboration is the second in a row between Covenant and Dow Nigeria’.
In October, 2022, both parties indicated willingness to sustain partnerships in areas of shared interests, something which saw Dow and Covenant engage in a collaborative venture geared towards saving the environment, fighting climate change, reducing plastic waste in the ecosystem and bringing down the cost of building houses.
The move gave rise to the presentation by the company, of a solar machine for the production of building materials from plastic and wood waste to a research cluster in the university.
It is hoped that other private sector players will show similar goodwill towards the academia, particularly Covenant, which has consistently shown commitment to leading trans-formative education in Nigeria and across Africa, through advancement of scholarly works that benefit humanity.
The VC of Covenant believes that by engaging in partnerships and fostering collaborations, the private sector could midwife the innovative process, through the provision of grants to academics, thereby, engineering societal advancement.
EduTimes Africa, a product of Education Times Africa, is a magazine publication that aims to lend its support to close the yawning gap in Africa's educational development.