UI DVC Calls for Stronger Cross-Institutional Collaboration to Tackle Global Challenges

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration of the University of Ibadan, Professor Peter O. Olapegba, FNPA, fspsp, C.Psych, FSSAN, has stressed the need for stronger international and cross-institutional collaboration to develop effective solutions to contemporary global challenges.

Professor Olapegba made the statement on behalf of the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Kayode O. Adebowale, mni, FAS, fspsp, while receiving members of the Executive of the Nigerian Society for Pharmacological Sciences and Experimental Therapeutics (NISPET), who paid a courtesy visit to the Office of the Vice-Chancellor ahead of their conference.

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

The DVC emphasised the importance of conferences, collaboration and research dissemination in advancing scholarship, explaining that scholarship should go beyond conducting research in isolation and should promote the cross-fertilisation of ideas.

Professor Olapegba 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 the dissemination of research findings.

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

The DVC also encouraged senior academics to mentor younger scholars and motivate them to participate in conferences and pre-conference activities.

The President of NISPET, Professor Omoniyi Kayode Yemitan of 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 were graduates of the University of Ibadan, which, according to him, reflected 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.

Professor Gbotosho disclosed that the conference was organised in a blended format, with more than 300 participants registered to take part.