Cross-Institutional Collaboration Essential to Developing Effective Solutions, Says UI DVC

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration, University of Ibadan, Professor Peter O. Olapegba, has said that the global nature of contemporary challenges makes international and cross-institutional collaboration essential to developing effective solutions.

Professor Olapegba stated this on behalf of the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Kayode O. Adebowale, while receiving the executive members of the Nigerian Society for Pharmacological Sciences and Experimental Therapeutics (NISPET) on a courtesy visit to the office of the Vice-Chancellor as a prelude to their conference

He said conferences provide academics with opportunities to evaluate their work, exchange ideas and learn new approaches to research.

He stressed the importance of conferences, collaboration and research dissemination in advancing scholarship, explaining that scholarship should not be limited to conducting research in isolation but should involve cross-fertilisation of ideas.

The DVC said the University of Ibadan would continue to encourage academic conferences and intellectual engagements, adding that improved funding would enable the institution to provide greater support for research, conferences and dissemination of research findings.

He particularly commended the organisers for the pre-conference workshop, which attracted more than 70 participants, describing pre-conferences as valuable platforms for early-career researchers and academics to gain exposure to new ideas and methods.

Professor Olapegba encouraged senior academics to mentor younger scholars and motivate them to participate in conferences and pre-conference activities.

In his remarks, the President of NISPET, Professor Omoniyi Kayode Yemitan of the Lagos State University College of Medicine, described the University of Ibadan as significant to the development of pharmacology in Nigeria.

Professor Yemitan noted that a substantial proportion of the Society’s Board of Trustees are graduates of the University of Ibadan, which, according to him, reflects the institution’s historical contribution to the discipline.

He expressed delight at the return of the Bachelor of Science programme in Pharmacology at the University of Ibadan, describing the development as significant to the society and expressing confidence in the University’s continued leadership in the field.

Earlier, the Head of the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Professor Grace O. Gbotosho, said the department was privileged to host the fourth annual NISPET conference.

She said the conference began with a two-day pre-conference workshop, which attracted more than 70 participants each day, including students and early-career scientists, and disclosed that the conference was blended, with more than 300 participants registered.