OAU partners foreign varsity on STEM

Towson University (TU), Maryland United States and Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) establishing a partnership for exchange of knowledge in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

The partnership was sealed recently when representatives from TU including Professors David Vanko, Sidd Kaza, Claire Muhoro and Yeong-Tae Song came to OAU to sign the agreement.

According to the Dean of Fisher’s College of Science and Mathematics, TU, Dr. David Vanko, the partnership includes student and faculty exchanges, joint research especially in cyber security and grant proposal writing.

Vanko added that the partnership promises promotion of academic exchanges that include information, materials and publications related to research, education and training to benefit both universities.

In a similar vein, the OAU team led by the vice chancellor, Prof Eyitope Ogunbodede accompanied by the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academics, Prof Adebayo Bamire, Prof Adesola Aderounmu and Dr. Temitope Aladesanmi had earlier visited the TU President, Dr. Kim Schatzel in February.

Speaking on the collaboration, the TU Vice President in charge of International Initiatives, Dr. Saleha Suleman explained that the strong partnership with OAU is a win-win scenario for both institutions.

“For Towson University, this specific partnership will play a role in opening opportunities to contribute to the STEM capacity-building ventures of Nigeria and expand TU’s presence in the most populous country on the African continent.

“We already have over 25 Nigerian students enrolled at TU, and the majority are in graduate programs pursuing STEM majors.”

This exchange is facilitated by the World Bank sponsored Africa Centre of Excellence in Software Engineering in OAU. It would be recalled that in 2014, in collaboration with the Association of African Universities, the World Bank launched the Africa Centre of Excellence Project across some 16 institutions in Africa to promote regional specialisation in areas addressing common development challenges, strengthen the universities’ ability to deliver quality training and research, and meet the demand for required professional skills. OAU was one of the 16 focusing on being the hub for software education and development in Africa.