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There might be half a century between them but it didn’t stop them comparing notes on The University of Nottingham in the UK.
University alumnus Professor Lanre Ogunlana (Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences 1963) and prospective Nottingham Architecture student Yimika Edun were both guests at the Nigerian launch of The University of Nottingham West Africa Office.
Professor Ogunlana, a consultant in pharmaceuticals with Lanpharm Laboratories Scientific Services, studied at the University from 1960-63 and now Yimika will start her foundation course at Nottingham in January 2013.
They were just two of the 50 or so guests, including University of Nottingham alumni and partners, who met at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel in Lagos to celebrate the opening of the University’s West Africa Office, which was officially opened in the Ghanaian capital Accra in April this year.
The event was hosted by Professor Christine Ennew, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Internationalisation at The University of Nottingham, Brigitte Rudram of the University’s International Office and Isaac Adoki, President of Nottingham Alumni Association Nigeria.
A strong Nigerian link
Professor Ennew said: “The University has more than 800 alumni in Nigeria and it was a joy to meet so many of our alumni, friends and prospective students at the event. Links between the University and Nigeria stretch back over 50 years and there is a long tradition of Nigerian students coming to study at The University of Nottingham in the UK and more recently at our Malaysia campus. We have also enjoyed strong academic links and collaborative research with many senior academics in Nigeria having been trained at The University of Nottingham.”
It was also only a few weeks ago that British-born Nigerian and University of Nottingham alumnus Johny Akinyemi (Philosophy/Theology 2010) represented Team Nigeria at the London 2012 Olympics in the K1 Canoe Slalom event.
The West Africa office
The University’s West Africa office in Ghana is the first physical presence that the University has established on the continent. It is evidence of Nottingham’s commitment to global reach, partnership development, supporting diversity and widening participation. It also underpins the University’s commitment to supporting development across the region through capacity building, collaborative support and knowledge transfer.
The office is providing a focus for encouraging staff and student mobility between the UK and Africa and supporting alumni and extending links with current partners in the region. It is also establishing a regional base for the University’s increasing collaborative work across Africa, encouraging greater staff and student exchange and widening access to the University’s campuses through increased awareness of the University’s extensive scholarships portfolio.
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Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham, described by The Sunday Times University Guide 2011 as ‘the embodiment of the modern international university’, has 42,000 students at award-winning campuses in the United Kingdom, China and Malaysia. It is also the most popular university in the UK by 2012 application numbers, and ‘the world’s greenest university’. It is ranked in the UK's Top 10 and the World's Top 75 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong (SJTU) and the QS World University Rankings.
More than 90 per cent of research at The University of Nottingham is of international quality, according to the most recent Research Assessment Exercise. The University aims to be recognised around the world for its signature contributions, especially in global food security, energy & sustainability, and health. The University won a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education in 2011, for its research into global food security.
Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, its biggest ever fund-raising campaign, will deliver the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future. More news…
West Africa Office: Contact details for The University of Nottingham — West Africa Office are as follows:
Brigitte Rudram
33 Sir Arku Korsah Road
Airport Residential Area
Accra
Ghana
telephone: 00233 30 221 6660
email: brigitte.rudram@nottingham.ac.uk