The Vice-Chancellor of Admiralty University of Nigeria (ADUN), Professor Paul Omojo Omaji, led a delegation of Nigerian universities to St. Petersburg Mining University in Russia to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the establishment of the Subsoil Africa Consortium of Universities. The MoU was signed on July 26, 2023.
The trip was organized to enable a delegation of Nigerian Universities System and delegations from some other African countries to participate in the Russia-Africa Summit, as part of the ongoing deliberations to establish a consortium of African universities in relation to natural resources management.
The Consortium, tagged “Subsoil of Africa Consortium of Universities”, is designed to foster entrepreneurial collaboration between African universities and industrial companies, with active support of Russia, to promote innovative engineering education and increase beneficiation of the subsoil (natural resources or ancestral heritage) for Africans. The Consortium will focus on areas such as mining, geology, and metallurgy with appropriate delivery of programmes in humanities and social sciences.
The Nigerian delegation to Russia included the Secretary General of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, Professor Yakubu Ochefu, and the Dean of Science and Head of Department of Mining and Geology at Kogi State University, Professor Aurelius Omali.
In attendance were the Rector of St Petersburg University, Vladimir Litvinento, Director General, UNESCO Centre St Petersburg, Vladimir Borzenkov and the Executive Director of UNESCO Centre Associate Professor Alexandar Kopteva, amongst other top management staff of the University and the Russian Government.
The signing of the MoU is a significant milestone for the Subsoil Africa Consortium and for the development of engineering education in Africa. The Consortium will also create new opportunities for collaboration between African universities and Russian universities; and it will help to develop Africa’s technological sovereignty in the area of natural resources management.
In keeping with its motto of Excellence in Education, ADUN is rapidly gaining international tractions.
Makut Alfred Mashat,
Public Relations Officer,
Office of the Vice Chancellor.
