Ambrose Alli University Launches LIBSENSE Initiative to Enhance Research Accessibility

Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, Edo State, has adopted the Library Support for Embedded NREN Services and E-infrastructure (LIBSENSE) initiative as part of its intensified efforts to boost its global research profile.

LIBSENSE IS a strategic platform aimed at enhancing the visibility and accessibility of the institution’s scholarly outputs.

Disclosing the development on Saturday, Principal Assistant Registrar and Head of Information, Protocol and Public Relations of the university, Otunba Mike Aladenika, in a statement made available to journalists in Benin, said the initiative underscored the university’s commitment to open science, digital research infrastructure, and improved institutional visibility in the global academic community.

According to the statement, the university viewed LIBSENSE as a transformative project that would ensure research work produced by its staff and students no longer remained hidden in offices, personal computers, or departmental archives but was properly documented, curated, and made accessible through an institutional repository for worldwide discovery and citation.

Aladenika explained that the initiative aligned with the university’s ongoing Annual Research and Innovation Fair and Exhibition (ARIFE) and the Annual Festival of Review Articles (AFORA), noting that while research generation remained essential, equal emphasis must now be placed on ensuring such outputs were visible and impactful beyond the campus community.

He stated that the LIBSENSE framework began with quality research undertaken by departments and faculties before progressing to the systematic organisation and curation of research outputs. Thereafter, the university library would coordinate the documentation and preparation of those materials for inclusion in the institutional repository, while the ICT Directorate would provide the technological infrastructure needed to guarantee online accessibility and global visibility.

The statement highlighted that the collaborative approach involving the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics), the Ranking Committee, the Directorate of Research and Innovation, faculties, departments, the Library, and the ICT Directorate was expected to significantly improve citation rates, foster international collaborations, and strengthen the university’s standing in national and global rankings.

The university also stressed that while publication in reputable academic journals remained important, researchers should not allow delays in journal review processes to keep valuable findings out of public view.

The statement added that through the institutional repository, accepted papers, conference proceedings, policy briefs, innovation reports, working papers, students’ research projects, and other scholarly materials could be preserved and made visible to the wider academic community.

Aladenika noted that the repository would provide multiple benefits to staff and departments, including improved documentation for promotion purposes, enhanced research recognition, increased opportunities for citation and collaboration, and stronger evidence of academic productivity.

Departments, he added, would also be able to showcase their research outputs, innovations, and community impact projects more effectively.

As part of the implementation strategy, the university, the statement further disclosed, planned to establish Open Science Champions across its faculties and departments.

“Each department has been requested to nominate a young, ICT-proficient, and committed staff member to coordinate repository activities and support the institution’s visibility agenda. These champions will subsequently receive specialised briefings and participate in engagements with LIBSENSE representatives to facilitate institutional mapping and repository development,” he added.

Reaffirming the university’s vision, Aladenika said LIBSENSE represented far more than a library or ICT initiative, describing it as a comprehensive institutional visibility project designed to project Ambrose Alli University onto the global academic stage.

He therefore urged staff, departments, faculties, and students to embrace the programme and actively contribute research outputs that would position the university as a more productive, respected, and internationally recognised centre of learning and innovation.