All roads led to the main campus of the First Technical University, Ibadan, Oyo State of Nigeria on Monday as prominent experts from different parts of the world converged to deepen scholarship on sustainable environmental management.
Present at the academic event included the Pioneer Vice Chancellor of the institution, Professor Ayobami Salami; Professor Jurgen Runge from Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany; and Professor Kapenandja Laidja from the University of Kara, Togo.
With Tech-U’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Adesola Ajayi, as host, the five-day workshop centres on ‘Harmonising the Curriculum on the International Master in Sustainable Environmental Management (IMSEM) in Togo and Nigeria.
It is holding on the platform of the International SDG Network Promoting Higher Education Research in Togo and Nigeria (DAAD-TONI Project).
In his welcome speech, Professor Ayobami Salami submitted that the programme was holding as a result of a tripartite partnership between the First Technical University, Ibadan (with Institute for Sustainable Development as the host academic unit in Nigeria); Goethe University, Frankfurt (with the Institute of Physical Geography and the ZIAF as the coordinating centre); and the University of Kara.
On the importance of the workshop, Salami said, “The main focus of this project is capacity building for sustainable development through north-south and south-south collaboration among higher institutions of learning in Africa and Europe. Since the inception of this project in April/May 2023, there has been a series of activities such as north-south and south-south discussions, curriculum development and academic exchanges.
“Noteworthy are a three-day kick-off workshop at the University of Kara, Togo in May, 2023 and internship by German students in Togo and Nigeria in October/November, 2023. Later this year, three students each from Tech-U and Kara will undertake a two-month internship in Germany, and in 2025, there will be opportunity for six students of Tech-U to undertake a four-week visit to Kara while six students from Kara will also come to Tech-U for a duration of 1 month.”
He added that it was crucial to build capacity for sustainable development because “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a universal call to action for the purpose of ending poverty, protecting the planet and creating assurance of peace and prosperity for people around the world. SDGs address several issues related to education, environmental deterioration, health and climate change, among others. Recently, it was reported that the global impact of crises such as wars, insecurities, high level of inequalities and global pandemic have caused setbacks and hindrances to the progress of achieving the SDGs by 2030. Limited capacity to achieve SDGs has further aggravated the situation in the global south, particularly in sub-Saharan African countries.
“The urgent actions for rescuing people and sustaining the planet can only be achieved by developing indigenous capacity through exchange of knowledge and sharing of experiences across the world. SDGs are globally shared visions, which cannot be achieved by an individual country. Therefore, collaborations within global south and across global north are key to achieving SDGs within a reasonable timeframe.
“In this context, this project, being a tripartite partnership between the First Technical University, Ibadan (with Institute for Sustainable Development- I4SD as the host academic unit in Nigeria), Goethe University, Frankfurt (with the Institute of Physical Geography and the ZIAF as the coordinating centre), and the University of Kara, Togo, is aimed at synergizing knowledge and experiences to address specific SDGs. The approach is to evolve a framework that positively impacts higher education in Nigeria, Togo and Germany. The incorporation of sustainability practices and principles in the national higher education curriculum, regardless of the discipline, and development of curricula in different fields of sustainable development, will provide the needed consciousness in the population and the critical mass of local expertise required for generation of knowledge, advocacy, policy formulation and development as well as implementation of action plans geared towards expediting achievement of SDGs”.
Salami continued “In her mission to make significant contributions towards addressing several developmental challenges that exacerbate socio-economic inequalities and environmental degradation in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa, the Institute for Sustainable Development (I4SD), First Technical University, is strategically positioned to foster discussions and evolve the framework required to generate knowledge and develop human capacity that provide evidence-based solutions and innovations to support the progress of achieving SDGs.
“I4SD continues to orchestrate an effective synergy among the academia, communities, industries, government, NGOs and other stakeholders. Therefore, the DAAD-TONI project will immensely enhance the activities and aspirations of I4SD to become a high-performing internationally networked higher education establishment in Nigeria.
“I acknowledge the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), as well as Togo and Nigeria SDG partnerships 2023-2026 for the support provided for this project and choosing to hold the 2024 DAAD-TONI workshop at Tech-U.
“I also appreciate the Vice Chancellor and management of First Technical University for the support provided to host the workshop.
“It is my earnest expectation that all participants at the workshop will have an engaging experience during the discussions and field trip; such that we will be able to evolve a curriculum that addresses our common and peculiar challenges towards achieving the SDGs”.
While taking turns to speak with PMParrot after the official opening of the programme, Tech-U’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Adesola Ajayi, Professor Jurgen Runge from Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany, Professor Kapenandja Laidja from the University of Kara, Togo and Professor Ayobami Salami all expressed optimism that the five-day academic event will add value and deepen knowledge on sustainable environmental management.
The host and the Vice Chancellor of the First Technical University, Professor Ajayi used the opportunity to thank the governor of Oyo State and Visitor to the University, Engineer ‘Seyi Makinde for always being interested in the progress of Tech-U.
His words “His Excellency constantly speaks about working with other forward looking Nigerians and institutions to achieve sustainable development in all aspects of life.”
Professor Ajayi also reaffirmed the decision of management of Tech-U to ensure that students of the institution learn additional language apart from English.
Said the VC “as you can see, we have Professor Jurgen Runge from Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany who speaks German as well as Professor Kapenandja Laidja from the University of Kara, Togo who normally speaks French.
“But then, in our interaction with the duo, they have been communicating using English. This is why we insist our students must learn how to speak French.”
Packaged by Olayinka Agboola
