The National Universities Commission in collaboration with the University of Sussex, United Kingdom last Saturday, held a one day research workshop for junior and mid-career academics with the theme ‘Postgraduate Researchers and Early Career Bootcamp’ at the at the Idris Abdulkadir Auditorium, NUC Secretariat.

The workshop, which was attended by 85 participants drawn from various Nigerian Universities, was part of efforts towards building capacity of academics to successfully develop grant-winning proposals and ensure the production of high impact academic publications in Nigerian Universities.

Declaring the workshop open, the Executive Secretary Prof. Abubakar Adamu Rasheed who was represented by the Director of Research, Innovation and Information Technology, Dr. S.B. Ramon-Yusuf, welcomed participants and the team from the University of Sussex, noting that the workshop aims to address both the institutional and structural weaknesses affecting research in Nigerian Universities.

He identified the inability of researchers to write grant-wining proposals, attract research grants globally and publish in high impact journals as critical problems of research in Nigeria.  without which Nigerian academics will remain obscure to the global knowledge space.

He further stated that NUC will continue to support the academia through its various mechanisms for skills and capacity development as it hopes to project Nigerian academia in the global knowledge space. He also informed participants that the workshop is a prelude to a 5-day NUC/University of Sussex Transformative Pedagogy Workshop which is scheduled to hold from 17-21 September, 2018 at the Baze University, Abuja.

The resource person at the workshop was Prof. Richard Follett, Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor International, accompanied by Mr. Tosin Adebisi, Senior International Officer both from the University of Sussex, United Kingdom.

The NUC team in attendance included Dr. Suleiman Ramon-Yusuf, Director, Research, Innovation and Information Technology; Pharm Mohammed Audu, Deputy Director, Research Planning and Administration; Dr. Esther Ogbonnaya-Orji, Deputy Director, Innovation, University-Industry Linkages, Mrs Mercy Nwoke, Chief Research, Innovation and Information Technology Officer, Mrs Ayodeji Odejoke-Maxwell and Mr. Olufemi Aloba both Senior Research, Innovation and Information Technology Officers.