hope that the meeting

hope that the meeting was the beginning of a worthwhile relationship between NorthumbriaUniversity and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Nigeria.The delegation later gave some copies of the University’s brochures to the ExecutiveSecretary. Also in the delegation was Bridget Torbua Igbaike, a member of the Partners ofNorthumbria University group.Prof. Okojie with the visitorsExecutive Secretary Receives UK BIS DelegationAdelegation from the UKDepartment for BusinessInnovation and Skills (BIS),led by its Head of Science andInnovation Network, Hugh S.Philpott, on Thursday, 13 October,2011, paid a visit to the NationalUniversities Commission (NUC) toexplore the possibilities of engagingin international collaborativeresearch with Nigerian Universities.Receiving the team at theCommission Boardroom, theExecutive Secretary, NUC,Professor Julius A.Okojie,represented by the Director,Research and Innovations (DRI),Professor Val. O. Ekechukwu,informed the team that theProf. Val EkechukwuDirector, Research and InnovationsPage 8

Commission had the responsibilities ofensuring the orderly development of awell-coordinated and productiveUniversity System that guaranteedquality and relevant education fornational development and globalcompetitiveness, licensing of privateuniversities and the accreditation ofacademic programmes in the NigerianUniversity System (NUS).Hugh S. PilpottLeader of the delegationaccreditation to further assure quality in the NUS.Professor Ekechukwu informed themthat the NUS currently had 117Universities comprising 36 Federaluniversities, 36 State universities and45 Private universities as well as 3Inter-University Centres (IUCs). Hedisclosed that NUC would soon embarkon institutional and postgraduateHe expressed delight that the delegation, with vast experience in Science and TechnologyInnovation (STI), was willing to share their wealth of experience with developing countries inthe area of global food security, transnational education, climate change mitigation andsustainable energy research and development, saying that the Commission welcomedstrategic alliances identified to be beneficial to the NUS as research was what moved thesociety forward. He, particularly, told the delegation that tertiary institutions in Nigeria wouldbenefit immensely through such collaboration and hoped that the visit metamorphosed intothe discovery of areas of specific mutual interest that would lead to the signing of an MOUthat would spell out the responsibilities of each party.Professor Ekechukwu also briefed thevisitors on Nigeria UniversitiesResearch and Development Fair(NURSESDEF) Nigerian UniversitiesDoctoral Theses Award Scheme(NUDTAS) and the NigerianUniversities Distinguished ProfessorsAward. He promised that NUC wouldwork assiduously to ensure thatfacilities necessary for the working ofthe collaboration was put in place,remarking that Nigeria provided a hugemarket with its population size andcritical mass of knowledgeable personscompared to other African countries tomake the UK interest translate into amutual beneficial arrangement.Dr. S. B. Ramon YusufAg. Director, ODEPage 9