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The vice chancellor, Osun State University (UNIOSUN), Prof Odunayo Adebooye, has disclosed that €7.8 million has been awarded to the institution by the European Commission under the Erasmus Lump Sum Non-EU Africa as grant for a research project.
Adebooye made the disclosure at a media interaction on the hosting of the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship programme and winning of the Erasmus Lump-Sum Non-EU Africa grants in Osogbo, on Monday.
“This is a project that 30 Universities and 60 team members will carry out within 36 months. It will be coordinated by the University of Peloponnese, Greece, under the leadership of Prof. Jean-Marc Trouille of the University of Bradford.
“The AfriquEurope Research Project is the largest transcontinental research network of European and African Universities and advocacy groups funded by the European Commission (EU) under its ERASMUS Lump Sum Grant and the Jean Monnet Research Network.
“It will carry out joint research and knowledge exchange with a view to informing policy-making in both the EU and the African Union. The research focuses on the crucial need to enhance EU-Africa relations against the backdrop that the two continents share many common interests and enjoy many economic complementarities.
“The research aims at supporting the EU’s effort to recalibrate its partnership with Africa at this critical time whilst advocating closer cooperation between the two continents. Again, our own Prof. John Agbonifo will serve as the Lead Researcher and Contact Person at UNIOSUN, while Prof. Olukoya Ogen will serve as the Financial Secretary on the research project. I am sure it is no mean feat for UNIOSUN to be among 33 Universities in the world selected for intercontinental research of this magnitude,” the voice chancellor said.
While welcoming the two Carnegie Fellows, Dr. Omolola Ologunorisa and Dr. Consoler Teboh to UNIOSUN, Adebooye revealed Osun State University emerged as one of the few universities in Nigeria that will serve as the host institution for the Carnegie African Diaspora Programme (CADFP) later this year.
“Today, we are using this forum for two purposes: one, to welcome our Carnegie Fellows into this environment warmly, and two, to inform the global public about the Carnegie Fellowship Programme and the multi-million Euros Erasmus Lump Sum Non-EU Africa grant recently won by the University and her global partners,” he said.
According to him, the fellowships will help foster academic partnerships between their colleagues in the United States academic system and UNIOSUN, adding that each of the two fellowships is valued at over $20,000, making a total of $40,000.
Adebooye also noted that the institution has won over $12,000,000 in research grants within the first half of the year 2023.
Meanwhile, the vice chancellor has commended Osun State Governor, Sen Ademola Adeleke, for approving the immediate payment of a one-off palliative of N31.6 million to staff of UNIOSUN across the board to address immediate challenges posed by the fuel price hike occasioned by the removal of subsidy on fuel by the federal government.
Adebooye, who commended the governor for the gesture, described him as an empathetic administrator who always has the interest of residents at heart.
According to him, the governor should also be commended for his consistent understanding and support to the university, which cumulated in the provision of four major infrastructural interventions within just eight months in office.
He, however, assured that the management of the institution would do all it could to improve the university’s standard and make it second to none among sister institutions in Africa and the whole world.
Adebooye charged the university community to reciprocate the governor’s gesture by making the best use of the opportunity provided by the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship programme.
