Alumnus Supports UNN With $87,000 In Research Fellowships, Infrastructure Grants

The Executive Director of the African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS), Professor Nicholas Ozor, has given a grant worth $87,000 to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in support of research, academic and infrastructural advancement of the university.

Prof Ozor disclosed the interventions in an official briefing to the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Uchenna Ortuanya, on his partnership engagements with the university.

The interventions represent a cumulative investment of US$87,650 and ₦8 million in human capital development, research capacity enhancement, and the improvement of teaching and learning infrastructure, Ozor said.

He added that the support “includes two postdoctoral fellowships awarded to members of the Department of Computer Science, UNN, to advance their research and academic development at universities in Nigeria and Ghana”.

It was gathered that the beneficiaries are Dr Ekle Francis Adoba, who is undertaking his postdoctoral fellowship at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, with a grant valued at US$38,400, and Dr Ugwu Celestine Ikechukwu, who is undertaking his fellowship at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana, with a grant valued at US$38,000.

Prof Ozor said he awarded a PhD scholarship worth US$11,250 to Ms Chisom Ezinne Ogbuanya of the Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Power and Energy Development (ACE-SPED), UNN, to support her doctoral studies.

Our correspondent learnt that Prof Ozor also extended assistance to improve physical infrastructure and operational capacity at the Faculty of Arts and the Department of English and Literary Studies, with Arts Faculty receiving a grant of ₦5 million for the provision of solar-powered energy to address its electricity needs, while the Department of English was awarded ₦3 million to upgrade its infrastructure in preparation for its forthcoming accreditation exercise.

“The interventions are part of our support to encourage the rebuilding agenda of Prof Ortuanya’s administration,” according to the donor.

THE WHISTLER reports that Ozor, an alumnus of the University of Nigeria and development policy expert, leads the African Technology Policy Studies Network, a research and policy network spanning 32 countries across Africa and the diaspora. He has published more than 180 peer-reviewed works and mobilised over US$60 million in grants to support development initiatives across the continent.

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Professor Uchenna Ortuanya, expressed appreciation to Professor Ozor for his generous support, describing the interventions “as a significant support to the university’s commitment to human capital development and research excellence”. He urged other alumni to emulate Professor Ozor, and charged the beneficiaries to ensure that “the grants are deployed to achieve the desired objectives”.