Multi-dimensional collaborations key to building modern tertiary institutions – Gbajabiamila

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has identified multi-dimensional collaborations as key to building modern tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

Gbajabiamila stated this while delivering a lecture titled “Building Back Better: Creating a New Framework for Tertiary Education in Nigeria in the 21st Century” at the 52nd Convocation ceremony of the University of Lagos.

The lawmaker, who is a 1983 alumnus of the university, stressed the need to consider statutory and operational reforms to encourage closer collaboration between tertiary institutions, including public and private. He said, “Today, our tertiary institutions exist and operate primarily in independent silos. Alternative to this is an approach wherein tertiary institutions work as part of an interdependent network to establish a collaborative research and development ecosystem, training and resource sharing.”

According to the lawmaker, advancing the nation’s tertiary institutions into the 21st century demands that it does whatever is required in terms of changes to legislation, regulation and policy to achieve a closer synergy between the private sector and the educational and training institutions.

“Keeping in mind that the objective is to improve productivity, tertiary institutions need to engage with the possibility of integrating university courses across departments and disciplines, merging law with economics and technology; medicines with engineering and accounting; media with governance and administration and other such partnerships,” he said.