RESEARCH THRUST AT THE UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN
By
Labode POPOOLA, PhD, FFAN
Professor of Forest Economics
Dean, Postgraduate School, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
Presentation at the Partnership for Higher Education Initiative’s Educational Technology Initiative (PHEA ETI)Workshop
30 April, 2009
INTRODUCTION
The University College Ibadan was founded in 1948 as a campus of the University of London. In 1962, it became the University of Ibadan, an independent academic institution. As a result of the high quality of its teaching and research activities, the institution attained world class status within a short period of its existence. The apparent excellence in scholarship continually attracted quality staff, students and visiting scholars from around the globe to the University. Today, graduates of the University are found in all spheres of human endeavour and in every part of the world.
The University’s enormous contribution to national development, especially through the continuous supply of Nigeria’s human resource needs, is widely acknowledged. Indeed, in 1976, the Federal Government accorded the University the status of a Centre of Excellence for postgraduate training. As the only such Centre of Excellence in the country till date, the University trains the manpower needed by academic institutions and various sectors of the economy in Nigeria and other parts of the world.
Dr. Kenneth Mellanby, the pioneer Principal of the institution ensured that research was emphasised in the ordinance that set up the university and indeed actualized the idea. He supervised S.D. Onabamiro who in 1962 earned the first PhD (in Parasitology) degree of the institution. With this achievement, Dr. Onabamiro became the first person to be awarded a doctorate degree in any British Colonial University. By 1963, the institution produced its first female PhD holder, Dr SaidaAnibaba (now Professor SaidaMabadeje).
Postgraduate training and research in Ibadan has flourished tremendously, leading to the production of 45, 709 higher degrees holders, a total of 4,366 PhD degree holders and numerous scholarly publications by 2007. The University of Ibadan runs academic and professional programmes with research being a major component in 13 Faculties, four Institutes and two Centres.
In spite of chronic under-funding of the University throughout much of the last two decades, the tradition of academic excellence has been largely sustained. This continues to be a source of attraction to many international partners. In furtherance of these ideals, the University of Ibadan is now driven by its Vision and Mission statements:
The vision:
To be a world class institution for academic excellence that would be geared to meeting the needs of society.
The mission:
To expand the frontiers of knowledge through provision of excellent conditions for learning and research.
To produce graduates who are worthy in character and sound judgment.
To transform society through creativity and innovation.
To serve as a dynamic custodian of society’s salutary values and thus sustain its integrity.
Research activities in the University of Ibadan since its inception have grown significantly. Faculties, departments and individuals engage in research funded by various national and international organisations. Despite the impressive contributions of the University to research in the Arts and Humanities, biomedical sciences, clinical trials, agricultural sciences and applied sciences in Nigeria, there has not been a centrally co-ordinated research plan for the nation’s premier university.
The University currently supports research activities through funding, provision of infrastructure and time allotted to academic members of staff for research activities. The institution also performs the oversight function of managing all research grants paid directly into its accounts.
Research in the 21st century is less about the pursuit of knowledge and advancement of learning for its own sake and more about delivering economic benefits and an improved quality of lifefor all sectors of society. National development should concern processes that ensure the most equitable positive change for all elements in society. In Nigeria, the largest elements of the population suffer from multiple problems of poverty, illness, illiteracy, malnutrition, and social inequality among others. Most of the poor live in rural areas and abandoned slums. National Development is greatly enhanced in situations of university/government/industry collaboration in research. The objectives and goals of research can be achieved in the case of a well planned and managed research.
RESEARCH FOCUS
Preamble
As a research centre of excellence, the University of Ibadan is committed to building on the rich resourcefulness and innovativeness of its research personnel. This shall be achieved through trans-disciplinary research, a stronger and robust institutional support and investment in capacity building in four broad areas of scholarship:
(i) The Humanities, Education and Law;
(ii) Science and Applied Sciences;
(iii) Technology and
(iv) Biomedical and Clinical Sciences.
The University shall foster and expand research and scholarship in Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences that will benefit communities at the local, national and international levels.
Objectives
As a world class research institution, and for the purpose of maintaining a continuous research excellence towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in Nigeria, the University shall encourage a research focus that emphasizes the well being of the population of its immediate locality and that is beneficial at the national and international levels.
Justification
Major research areas of interest of the University include the issues of sustainable development and problems of developing countries, especially in Africa which present trans-disciplinary challenges. The research agenda in each of the four major areas highlighted above shall centre around basic and applied research geared towards a better understanding of cultural dimensions and various facets of experiences of development goals. The research agenda shall integrate cross-cutting development issues from different disciplines towards a better understanding of cultural factors in how individuals, communities, and government respond to development goals. It is also expected that the University research agenda shall lead to the development of models and policies that translate to a better quality of life.
PRIORITY RESEARCH AREAS
The priority research areas shall include but shall not be limited to:
- The Humanities, Education and Law
a) Educational Cultural Research
In general, development in health, education, economy and governance structures depend on a deep understanding of the cultural context and how they impact development experience and globalization. Consequently, the research agenda includes:
Critical issues relating to culture, documentation, preservation and empowerment of Nigerian languages, post-colonial studies correctly presenting Nigeria from the perspective of literature, oral and written history of towns, people, events and religion; mother and child health; adult and special education; improving teaching and learning effectiveness; Distance and Open learning; economy; development; gender studies; environment; good governance and human rights; peace and conflict management and other important issues impacting on the well being of the population.
b) Economy & Governance
Nigeria, like many sub- Saharan African countries in the world’s lowest income category, faces serious economic challenges. Instability has been an intractable problem of many African nations. Yet, good governance is a major panacea for improved development for sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, the University shall support research that contributes to an understanding of factors that promote good governance, development and social change in Nigeria and in sub-Saharan Africa. In light of this, the research agenda here shall include: Resource economics, economic cooperation; trade liberalization and global partnership; international trade and policy; poverty alleviation and reduction; migration and urbanization; labour issues; transportation; social and community development; democracy & governance; human rights; peace & security; and global security issues.
c) Socio-Economics of Health Research
Quality health care delivery system is a major component of development and economic growth. Diseases such as malaria and AIDs have serious implications on the work force and create a preventable burden on health care generally. Health is a cross-cutting issue and therefore a part of the research agenda of the Humanities, Education and Law perspective. Issues under focus here are sexual and reproductive health, physical education, sports training and wellness and HIV prevention education.
- Science and Applied Sciences
The impact of biological and chemical systems on the environment and vice-versa; sustainability of animal, crop and fish production for food and nutrition, fibre and aesthetics; construction of empirical mathematical models and software for decision making and mining of large databases for knowledge discovery; fermentation systems, food preservation and spoilage and industrial uses of micro-organisms; bio-diversity and wildlife utilization conservation, environmental sciences, epidemiology, molecular biology, drug discovery, parasitology and other related issues.
- Technology
Issues under focus in the field of technology include: Petroleum and energy systems; Biotechnology; Nanotechnology; Robotics; Infrastructures; Communication; and Mechatronics.
- Biomedical & Clinical Science
Food and Drug Research-nutrition in health and disease, drug discovery and development from Nigerian plants and extracts (ethnomedicine/ethnoveterinary medicine); different Nigerian plants and means of developing the drugs discovered for commercial production; Molecular Biology – molecular basis of disease, drug resistance,
immunogenetics of human and animal diseases and bioinformatics; Clinical Research – mental, dental and reproductive health and clinical trials; Epidemiology and Disease control – clinical and genetic epidemiology of existing, neglected and emerging human and animal diseases; social determinants of health, gender and child health related issues and health economics; Animal Health – disease of different terrestrial and aquatic
animal infections and diseases; disease transmissible from animals to
humans and vice versa (anthropozoonoses and zooanthroponosis); provision
of scientific evidences for setting policies related to health care delivery for
humans and animals. The targets will include essential and affordable
diagnostics for disease detection and control, epidemiological studies,
nutrition and drug development with emphasis on applied, translation and
implementation of research.
Gaps Analysis
Various gaps currently exist in the four key areas of scholarship identified above. The critical gaps foreground the research priorities of the University. In the Humanities, Education and Law, for example, the observable gaps are, largely, in the area of capacity building and infrastructures. At present, in Science and Applied Science and Technology, the University neither possesses the state of the arts equipment nor adequate technological knowledge. Acquisition of relevant equipment/facilities and training of research scientists in specialized areas shall be required to improve existing facilities and capacity building. Furthermore, funding is inadequate and there is a need for a well coordinated database for grant sourcing. Similarly, existing gaps in Biomedical and clinical research in the University have been identified to include, Food and Drug Research; Molecular Biology; and Clinical Research.
Given the right support, researchers in the University shall be able to associate with colleagues who have made important contributions to human knowledge. Researchers shall have opportunity to interact with different people in different fields, to broaden their expertise particularly now that disciplines overlap. The University shall provide funds for international and local conferences to facilitate interactions among researchers in the faculty and their peers.
Challenges and Opportunities
The challenges faced by the University in developing a viable and sustainable research network in the area already identified are enormous but not insurmountable. The general problems of an underdeveloped nation and economy such as Nigeria in the areas of power and infrastructure support constitute a class of challenge. Lack of sufficient funding for research and health also affects the translation of research findings into policies. However, the challenges posed by these factors also present opportunities for the University to source for external and non governmental sources of support to finance research and provide the required infrastructure (well equipped laboratories, regular supply of electricity etc), as well as capacity building in relevant areas of research priorities.