A total of 27 lecturers of the University of Ibadan who participated in the ACU/NOUN Partnership of Enhanced Blended Learning programme were, on Thursday, honoured by the institution as worthy ambassadors.
The lecturers, drawn from various departments of the university, were presented with certificates and letters of commendation.
In his address on the occasion, Prof. Kayode Adebowale, Vice-Chancellor, UI, said that COVID-19 had shown that face-to-face interactions were no longer sufficient for learning in tertiary institutions.
Recalling that UI introduced Emergency Remote Teaching during the pandemic, he said that it was imperative that the university prepared to provide seamless lecturing for the students in emergency situations.
Adebowale expressed appreciation on the commitment of the participants, whom he said, were expected to impart the knowledge acquired to lecturers in the university for the development of students.
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research, Innovation and Strategic Partnerships, Prof. Oluyemisi Bamgbose, (SAN), explained that the programme was among those organised by the Association of Commonwealth Universities in conjunction with the National Open University of Nigeria for West African universities.
The training, which began in February 2022 ended in September 2022. It was learnt that 32 of the 35 people who were invited registered for the programme while only 27 completed it.
According to the group’s coordinator, Dr. Adesola Odole of the Department of Physiotherapy, the participants were passionate about teaching and learning and were thus able to withstand the challenges that they faced.
She disclosed that plans were afoot for the participants to train 100 lecturers and 500 students of the University of Ibadan under the e-learning and blended learning programme.
Special recognition was given to Dr. Olufunmilayo Adeleye of the Department of Animal Science who emerged the best graduating student in UI, Nigeria and West Africa during the programme.
The ACU is the lead partner on the PEBL- WA project with four other partners, namely, the Commonwealth of Learning whose remit is to lead on quality assurance matters; the National Universities Commission; the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission; and the National Open University of Nigeria.
Six Nigerian universities: Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufi Alike; First Technical University, Ibadan; University of Lagos; Ebonyi State University; University of Ibadan; and Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso; as well as six universities from Ghana are participating in the ongoing programme.
The National Universities Commission is to ensure that outputs from the PEBL are shared across the region and the continent as the project progresses.
