Akinwande Soji-Ojo
At least 14 proposals submitted from University of Ibadan (UI) are to be funded by Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) with the sum of N342 million in the 2021 National Research Fund.
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor(DVC), Research, Innovation and Strategic Partnerships of the institution, Professor Oluyemisi Bamgbose (SAN) disclosed this on Thursday while distributing letters of award to the TETFUND National Research Fund Grantees.
The don, who commended TETFUND for filling research gap in Nigeria, noted that worldwide, not every university lecturer is a researcher as many lecturers only focus on the teaching track while only a few combine teaching with the research track.
She, however, noted that this is an anomaly as both should go hand in hand, adding that a small proportion of academic staff engage in research due to lack of access to local research funding.
Bamigbose disclosed that UI Management is doing all possible to make the varsity a research intensive institution.
“To this end, each faculty and department is expected to have an active research committee to promote research culture among members of staff,” she said.
The DVC appealed to senior researchers to ensure that they use their grants to support early career researchers so that there will be a generation of researchers to pass the baton to. This, she said, is the essence of mentoring.
Bamgbose assured that under the present administration, UI will continue to maintain her rightful position in the comity of higher education institutions globally and sustain her leadership role in Nigeria and the West African sub region, while contributing to societal development.
