UniAbuja - NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA

Tosin Kolade
May, Wed, 2025

UNIABUJA to offer youth development postgraduate degrees- VC

212 total views today

By Akpan Glory

The Acting Vice-Chancellor of the University of Abuja, Prof. Patricia Lar, has pledged the university’s readiness to commence Postgraduate Diploma (PGD), Masters, and Doctoral programmes in Youth Development Work.

Lar made this commitment during a high-level courtesy and advocacy visit by a delegation of the Federal Ministry of Youth Development (FMYD) and the Nigeria Youth Workers’ Association (NYWA) to the university on Wednesday.

She said this feat positions the institution as a pioneer in this vital sector.

The vice-chancellor reaffirmed the university’s commitment to hosting a national stakeholders’ workshop as a springboard for formalising Youth Work education in Nigeria.

Speaking for the advocacy team, Despan Kwardem, Director of Education and Training at the Federal Ministry of Youth Development, praised the Minister’s approval of both the proposed workshop and the wider push to professionalise youth development work in Nigeria.

He stated that this decisive action aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which emphasises strengthening governance, enhancing transparency, and improving service delivery to Nigerian youth.

In his remarks, the President of the Nigeria Youth Workers’ Association (NYWA), Ben Duntoye, described the milestone as a transformative step towards equipping Youth Workers with globally relevant competencies and academic recognition.

He noted that it reinforces the nation’s commitment to inclusive development and sustainable youth empowerment.

“Driven by the need to build the capacity of Youth Workers, an agenda championed by the Commonwealth Youth Programme (CYP), the programme aims to standardise and enhance the quality of Youth Work practice in Nigeria”.

Duntoye further expressed special appreciation to Prof. Theresa Abok-Akpan, Director of the Centre for Gender Security Studies and Youth Advancement, whose invaluable support contributed to the success of the visit.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Nigeria Youth Workers’ Association (NYWA) is the coordinating body for youth development practioners and professionals in Nigeria established in 2019.

It aims to improve the status and standard of youth work by connecting, strengthening networks, and advocating for the professionalisation of youth work ultimately advancing the live of young people to achieve their set goals. (NAN)

Edited by Tosin Kolade

UniAbuja awards N5.45m grant to 6 undergraduates for research

Philip Daniel Yatai
Jan, Tue, 2025

Education

UniAbuja awards N5.45m grant to 6 undergraduates for research

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By Uche Bibilari

The University of Abuja (UniAbuja) has presented a total of N5.450 million in grants to six undergraduate students from different departments in the university for research projects.

The Vice Chancellor, UniAbuja, Prof. Aisha Maikudi presented the cheque to the students at the 6th Undergraduate Research Day organised by the Centre for Undergraduates Research on Tuesday in Abuja.

The research day has its theme as: Promoting National Development Through Research.

Maikudi said that the event was an important platform that underscores the critical role of research in driving national development.

She said that UniAbuja was committed to fostering an environment where curiosity thrives, creativity flourishes, and innovation leads to solutions for societal challenges.

“This commitment aligns perfectly with our theme, Promoting National Development Through Research, which calls for purposeful inquiry and actionable outcomes.

“As undergraduates, you are the next generation of thought leaders and change-makers.

“Your involvement in research today prepares you not only for academic excellence but also for contributing meaningfully to our nation’s growth.

“Whether it is in addressing health challenges, advancing technology, enhancing governance, or ensuring sustainability, the solutions to our greatest national issues lie in the quality of ideas that emerge from platforms like this,” she said.

The vice chancellor said that the purpose of the research was not just to acquire knowledge but to transform it into progress for society.

She encouraged all participants to engage actively, collaborate effectively, and think boldly.

Maikudi said the university would continue to sponsor the students, saying there was a need to catch them young.

She advised the researcher to use the money for the purpose which it was meant for.

The VC commended the centre and staff who mentored the students for their dedication to nurturing young minds and providing them with the tools to tackle real-world problems.

Similarly, the Director, Centre for Undergraduates Research, Prof. Taibat Atoyebi said the centre was established to promote research and create opportunities for undergraduate students across all departments in the university.

Atoyebi said the centre has helped students achieve and nurture their research potentials by building and developing their research skills to find solutions to the challenges plaguing the society.

According to her, for a student to be eligible for grant, the student’s research must be original, acceptable, practicable, sustainable and mentored.

She said that the researches were expected to cover areas such as; economic prosperity, food security, educational opportunity, quality health, climate change, environmental protection, among others.

The director said the goal of the centre was to foster growth that would have a lasting impact on our immediate community.

She explained that in preparation for the research day, twenty groups of students expressed interest in the centre’s research grant.

“Thirteen teams were shortlisted to submit research proposals, and were given the opportunity to orally defend their proposals. Six research proposals scaled through and are being presented today.

“A total of N5.45 million is the total grant being awarded. We are currently receiving applications and proposals from interested groups of students for the next batch of grants.

“We have modified our criteria to include sustainable development goals (SDGs), that is our student researches must directly be traced to any of the SDGs and must be able to solve our pertinent societal needs, ” she said.

She said that research output from the proposal of the 6th research would be presented during the 7th research day in the second semester.

She thanked the vice chancellor for her support to the centre and also the mentors for their dedication.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the highlight of the event was the presentation of the cheque to the six researchers. (NAN)

Edited by Peter Amine

UniAbuja unveils 500-seat lecture hall, college building

Tosin Kolade
Jan, Thu, 2025

Education

UniAbuja unveils 500-seat lecture hall, college building

451 total views today

By Uche Bibilari

The University of Abuja (UniAbuja) has inaugurated a 500-capacity lecture theatre and a new building for the College of Health Sciences to provide a conducive environment for learning and work.

Speaking at the event on Thursday in Abuja, the Vice-Chancellor of UniAbuja, Prof. Aisha Maikudi, stated that the project would enhance productivity and create an effective learning atmosphere for students of the college.

Maikudi stated that the 500-capacity lecture theatre was a project funded under the 2014 NEEDS Assessment initiative.

She also noted that the newly constructed college building, along with its external infrastructure and landscaping, was part of the 2021 TetFund annual intervention projects.

The vice-chancellor urged the provost of the college to ensure the proper maintenance of the facilities on behalf of the university.

Addressing the issue of re-accreditation, Maikudi revealed that the Ministry of Health had directed all colleges of medicine to double their student quotas.

She added that the college would need to seek re-accreditation to confirm adequate staffing and resources to meet the increased capacity.

“We are not just aiming to double the quota; we want to exceed that target.

“As the only federal university in the FCT, we have a high demand from prospective students, but with our current small quota, we cannot accommodate many applicants.

“Increasing our capacity will allow us to admit more students”.

The Provost of the College of Health Sciences, UniAbuja, Prof. Titus Ibekwe, praised the university’s efforts to attract support from external donors, emphasising that the government alone could not meet all funding needs.

Prof. Ibekwe expressed the college’s gratitude for the vice-chancellor’s initiatives and assured her of the college’s commitment to advancing the university’s objectives.

He also noted that the college is preparing for re-accreditation by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria.

“The official carrying capacity by the Medical and Dental Council for medical students is 75 slots, but we have over 3000 that applied for medicine here.

“The Federal Government has given instruction that the capacity be doubled which means if we are able to do that it will be 150.

“We are working towards ensuring that when the councilcomese, it will see facilities good enough for up to 250 students,” Ibekwe explained.

The event concluded with the formal handover of keys to the newly constructed building by the vice-chancellor to the provost of the College of Health Sciences. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Kadiri Abdulrahman