Baze University budgets N8bn for research, development

Taking into cognisance the importance of research to the country’s economic development, Baze University says it is budgeting between N8b to N10b for research and development.

Pro-Chancellor of the university, Senator Datti Baba-Ahmed, who disclosed this in Abuja while fielding questions from journalists shortly after the institution’s board meeting, explained that research and development were integral to the life of any organisation, including the institution.

He said, “In the next two to four years, I can estimate the budget we are spending on research to be between N8 to N10b. Now, you can expect to see researches in law, in computing, etc. And in the next two years, you can expect to see researches in environmental sciences, medical and pharmaceutical sciences, and those other programmes like microbiology, biochemistry and others that fall under those faculties.

Senator Baba-Ahmed informed that a system has been put in place whereby academic staff can take a semester off after some period of teaching to conduct researches.

The pro-chancellor who said the institution was motivating its academic staff in the field of research, said that was the case because of the dynamic nature of knowledge acquisition adding, “Don’t forget that we have to progress according to the approvals of our regulators. We have approvals for licenses and last year, we got approval for our engineering programme. So, from our academic staff, we are expecting a lot of researches… and we are giving our lecturers research leave with full pay as incentives to them.”

The pro-chancellor who also announced that the institution has been granted full operation license by the National Universities Commission (NUC) said, “We are pleased to announce the award of full license to operate as a private university by the NUC.”

This development, he said, further reiterates the unwavering commitment, dedication, and determination of the board, management, and staff of the institution in ensuring that the university becomes a centre of academic excellence in the country, adding that the university has made some developmental strides.

He informed that a total of 75 new academic appointments have been made in the last one week, 20 of which are professors and PhD holders.