Vice-Chancellor of Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology (OAUSTECH), Okitipupa, Ondo State, Nigeria, Prof Temi Emmanuel Ologunorisa, with the Dean of Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas, UTA, Austin, United States, Prof Cladious Mora
- as Varsity signs MoU with UMKC, initiates partnership with ICTU USA
By Banji Ayoola
An American university, the University of Texas, Austin (UTA), United States, has offered full PhD funding to two Doctoral candidates from Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology (OAUSTECH), Okitipupa, Nigeria from start to completion to provide assistance to the Nigerian institution as part of their collaborations.
It gave the assurance last Friday, 6 May, 2022 when the Vice-Chancellor of OAUSTECH, Prof Temi Emmanuel Ologunorisa, visited the Texas institution as part of a collaborative and partnership agenda to uplift the Nigerian university.
Ologunorisa, who is currently on a tour of the US in his bid to ensure his internationalization of the Ondo State-owned tertiary institution, stated that he had a fruitful meeting with the leadership of the foreign university, where a former Ondo State governor and founder of the institution, the late Dr. Olusegun Agagu, earned a Master’s degree in Geology in 1975.
These were contained in a statement by OAUSTECH’s Deputy Director of Information, Protocols and Public Relation.
The statement quoted Ologunorisa saying: “I had a useful discussion with the leadership of the Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin led by the Dean, Professor Cladious Mora.
“The Jackson School agreed to help us train one or 2 PhD students at PhD level on full funding in the area of Applied Geophysics and Applied Geology, including short term visits for early and mid-level career scholars.”
Ologunorisa, a US Scholar and professor of Climate Science, also disclosed that the two institutions in Africa and America are currently working together on a workable MoU in that direction.
He also said that he had created a Directorate of Linkages and International Partnerships to drive the institution’s internationalization agenda of his administration which will help in actualizing the goals of the partnerships and collaborations to benefit OAUSTECH.
According to the statement: “The helmsman of the new generation university located in the coastal region of Ondo State, said that the directorate is manned by a former Deputy Vice-Chancellor, who is expected to bring his wealth of experience in university administration to bear on the new assignment.
“Earlier, Prof. Ologunorisa had indicated to a gathering of the Union of Ikale Indigenes that UTA’s School of Geosciences had extended a hand of fellowship to OAUSTECH in the area of petroleum geology, oil and gas so that OAUSTECH students could go there for graduate studies and the School could also collaborate with OAUSTECH on proposed studies it intends to carry out in Nigeria.
“The School of Geology there has extended a hand of fellowship to us. They want to collaborate with us in the area of petroleum geology and in the area of oil and gas. I have taken the matter to their table so that we can fast track the discussion and that we can have a workable MoU,” the international scholar stated.
“Meanwhile, since Prof. Ologunorisa’s assumption of duty on 23 February, 2022, the Nigerian science and technology university has initiated relationships with two other foreign universities: University of Missouri at Kansas City (UMKC) and ICT University (ICTU) both in the US.”
It added: “On 26 April, 2022, OAUSTECH successfully signed an agreement with UMKC on joint research and educational activities at both the bachelor and graduate levels, exchange of invitation to scholars – faculty, staff, research personnel and graduate students – to participate in lectures, conferences and symposia, and exchange of academic and scientific information of mutual interest.
“The two institutions further agreed to cooperate on discussion of development, organization and delivery of non-degree executive programmes, exchange of faculty, staff and research staff for study and research, and exchange of graduate and undergraduate students.
“OAUSTECH is also seriously considering a relationship with ICTU, facilitated by the University’s Advancement Ambassador, Prof. Olukoya Ogen, in the areas of Management Science and ICT to boost its non-degree and degree programmes – undergraduate and graduate.
“On 25 April, 2022, a team of two professors, Prof. Olukoya Ogen and Prof. Victor Mbarika, President of the Board of Trustees of ICTU USA, visited OAUSTECH at Okitipupa to initiate discussions with management of the institution on degree twinning in form of 3 + 1 to earn OAUSTECH’s first degree and 3 + 1 + 1 to to earn OAUSTECH’s first degree and ICTU’s Master’s degree.
“To facilitate an MoU and eventually an agreement, OAUSTECH demanded that ICTU should forward its complete brochure for consideration on various phases of the collaboration on: short courses as e-learning, infrastructural and skill capacity building, and three years of study at OAUSTECH in Nigeria and two years of study at ICTU Campus at Yaoundé in Cameroon to obtain both OAUSTECH certificate and ICTU postgraduate certificate.”
