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The Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy (ISGPP) has inaugurated a Junior Research Fellowship programme made up of young scholars.
Twenty-five Junior Research fellows were inaugurated on Wednesday at the premises of the ISGPP along Awolowo avenue, Bodija, Ibadan. The new inductees will be grouped as research assistants within the different clusters of the ISGPP Public Policy Group.
During the inauguration ceremony the chairman of the school’s Public Policy Group, Professor Ademola Oyejide, emphasised that deepening the research capacities of Nigeria’s early career and young researchers was a veritable tool in the provision of solutions and policies that will help tackle the country’s developmental challenges.
He pointed out that research serves as a bridge between realities and policies, because researchers observe, study and interrogate occurrences in order to proffer implementable solutions which the government could adopt as policies.
Speaking, the Executive Vice Chairman of ISGPP, Professor Tunji Olaopa, noted that “the induction of these Junior Research Fellows would deepen the effectiveness and relevance of the Public Policy Group as these young men and women who are expected to add value to the group’s work will be ushered into the world of opportunities of researches that will shape policies and governance, not only in Nigeria but Africa at large”.
In her remarks the Director of the Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy (ISGPP)/Institute for Policy Research and Innovation (IPRI) Dr Louisa Andah; challenged the inducted Junior Research Fellows to employ the instruments of research in re-ordering the society by proffering workable solutions to the complex socio-cultural challenges in the country.
During his presentation ISGPP’s Research and Programme Manager Mr Tobechukwu Nneli, emphasised the school’s role as an independent think-tank which uses research and executive education as an instrument for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of public policy in Nigeria and other African Countries.
He noted that ISGPP designed the Junior Research fellowship with the aim of raising the bar of academic inquiry and research in Nigeria, to build a network of young competent researchers for the countey, and to support early career researchers through mentoring, capacity building and access to resources. It is therefore
According to him, it is expected that the programme will lead to the training of a new generation of young scholars with requisite competencies to research on governance issues in Nigeria and beyond.