University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) on Monday, hosted the third summit of 28 universities drawn from eight different countries, under the aegis of D8 Network of Pioneers for Research and Innovation (D8NPRI).
The D8 member countries are Nigeria, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Turkey, and Malaysia.
Speaking during the opening of the meeting, the vice-chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Professor Wahab Egbewole SAN, in his address, titled, NETWORKING AND COLLABORATING FOR DEVELOPMENT, said that the essence of the summit is to strengthen the collaboration among members to improve multi-disciplinary research that will be beneficial to all members, communities involved and especially students.
The vice chancellor, who said that collaboration is key to development, expressed the hope that discussion among member countries would provide opportunities for real networking and collaboration for future development.
In doing this, he said that the group would leverage technology, and factor in the emerging issues of Artificial Intelligence, gene editing, quantum computing, and other great ideas that are shaping our world for future relevance.
“As the most sought after university and the university with the highest number of foreign students in Nigeria, University of Ilorin is the latest to join the D8 Network of Pioneers for Research and Innovation (D8NPRI)”.
Professor Egbewole said that the new partnership will shape the future of the universities.
He also said that the collaboration involves exchange of students and lecturers as well as joint research and curriculum development, which he said could lead to youth employment opportunities for university graduates.
The summit is expected to conclude with a charter to be adopted as the Ilorin charter that will determine how the network of 28 universities relates and operates to shape the future of the Network and create the road map for all engagements.
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