NOUN to become more research-oriented says VC, Prof. Olufemi Peters

The Vice-Chancellor of the National University of Nigeria (NOUN), Prof. Olufemi Peters, has said that the university needs to become more research-oriented and find solutions to local and international problems, Myschoolnews report.

 He stated this at the Hybrid Seminar series titled "Capstone Experiences: Transforming Student Outcomes and Futures," hosted by the Faculty of Health Sciences, which took place at the university's headquarters in Jabi, Abuja.

 According to Peters, who joined online, NOUN's main focus has always been on mass teaching as an Open and Distance Learning (ODL) institution and providing wider access to Nigerians who don't have access to conventional universities.

While expressing that the ongoing collaboration was a seed that would expand in year's to come, he thanked the Guest Speaker, Mr. Dave Lewis, for providing insight on capstone and opening his eyes to future possibilities in research schemes.

 Speaking earlier via zoom, the Guest Speaker, Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Bioethics at the University of Leeds, UK, Dr. Dave Lewis, stated that the capstone experience in NOUN will help develop global cultural competencies and graduates.

 He noted that the UK and NOUN students had started working together in teams on four different themes: Heat and Stress, Covid and Tuberculosis, Dementia and Mental health, and Malaria, in a collaborative learning partnership that made the students equal partner. 

 "We have built-in a design thinking approach, so both UK and NOUN students bring in their lived experiences, thought processes, and the situations in their societies," Lewis added.

 The presenter thanked everyone involved in making the collaboration possible between the University of Leeds and NOUN, which has created a transnational educational experience and broadened the scope for inspirational, transformative, and transactional learning experiences.

 In her vote of thanks, a Professor of Pharmacology and Guidance Counselling at the Department of Nursing Science, Helen Kwanashe, stated how she wish to see NOUN step into more collaborations and partnerships in all necessary areas that will bring forth solutions to challenges around us.

She thanked every participant and collaborator who made the seminar a reality.