The University of Africa Toru-Orua, (UAT), Bayelsa State, is seeking the establishment of an Endowment Fund in the institution which will be used for research funding towards solving developmental challenges and the advancement of the society.
To this end, the university through the Faculty of Basic and Applied Sciences has organised its second annual public lecture with the topic, “Utilizing Untapped Research Funding Opportunities: An Imperative for Innovative Research in the University System,” to enlighten stakeholders on the need for such support to the University.
The Dean, Faculty of Basic and Applied Sciences, Professor Francis Sikoki, in his welcome address at the event on Thursday at the university’s multi-purpose hall, said that the catchment area of UAT was bedevilled by many challenges, which could be addressed through research.
He listed such constraints to include flood and erosion, the menace of waterborne diseases on account of our terrain, and resource depletion occasioned by pollution and environmental degradation.
Sikoki said, “Unfortunately, despite the large pool of experts in various disciplines in the university system, the paucity of funds to carry out problem-solving researches has been a major constraint. Fortunately, there is a large number of research funding sources which are not being adequately explored.
In his words, “One of such area is the establishment of an Endowment Fund dedicated to research funding. This is precisely the reason for this public lecture being held today, first to create awareness and secondly to mobilise resources for research.”
Speaking on the topic, the guest lecturer and Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, Governing Council of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Godknows Igali, stressed the need for universities to seek alternative funding as public sector funding of the country’s university system was on a decline.
He, therefore, suggested that apart from endowments, research funding could also be sourced from alumni bodies, partnerships with industry, accessing development funding, and university linkages, through putting on the entrepreneurial cap and the adoption of a blending approach to funding research, among other sundry sources.
Igali while advising the university’s management to be innovative, said, “The question ahead of us is where does the University of Africa want to belong? My submission would be, we should be on the right side of history, of being a national problem solver and a much sought-after institution around the world.
“It is our disposition towards today that would determine where the University of Africa will be in terms of its relevance in the global education market. But then as the saying goes, it is impossible to make an omelette without breaking eggs.
“This will require innovation and creativity from the management of the university. For this, as stated earlier, the university must be able to recruit and have the right calibre of staff who can handle this highly specialised duties of raising funds from multiple sources. This is because it would be difficult for a researcher to be the one who has the responsibility of carrying out investigation and studies and at the same time, be saddled with the hunt for resources.”
In his remarks, the Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, called on federal agencies such as the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to support the state in the funding of research projects by its tertiary institutions.
The governor represented by his deputy, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, also charged the state-owned institutions of higher learning to redouble their efforts to tap research funds lying idle at the NCDMB and other public-spirited corporate bodies.
He emphasised the importance of research in tertiary education and the overall development of society, noting that what makes an educational institution stand out is the quality of its research works.
Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor of UAT, Professor Kingston Nyamapfene, had stated that the public lecture was a clarion call on all stakeholders, especially the government, to invest more resources in research and development to meet the manpower needs of the university system and the society at large.
