FUNAI, University of Kent to partner on Teaching, Learning, Research
The Federal University Ndufu-Alike Ikwo (FUNAI), Ebonyi State is to partner the University of Kent, United Kingdom in the areas of teaching, learning and research.
This was hinted by the Director of the Centre for Internationalization, Linkages, Advancement and Global Ranking, Dr. Afam Icha-Ituma when he led a delegation of the University on a collaborative visit to the University of Kent.
“We are delighted to be at the University of Kent to discuss collaborative opportunities with the University. FUNAI is committed to working with top Universities abroad with similar ambitions, values and aspirations
“Our vision of collaboration is a two-way process providing mutual support to enhance opportunities for staff and students to collaborate with our partner universities in research, teaching and learning, he stated.
Icha-Ituma noted that the visit was geared towards discussing international partnership between the two institutions in Learning and Teaching, Research, student and staff mobility, stressing that the visit also provided them with the opportunity to explore the University of Kent and to identify other possible areas where substantive, mutually beneficial partnerships could take place between the two institutions.
He further stated that the University of Kent is one of the United Kingdom’s leading academic institutions and one of the few Higher Education Institutions to be recognized as offering gold standard teaching, learning and student outcomes in the UK Teaching Excellence Framework Assessment, published in June 2017, stressing that: “FUNAI is going to take advantage of these numerous competencies to advance its frontiers of teaching, learning and research in order to turn-out globally competitive graduates.”
Through the international partnership, FUNAI is seeking to create opportunity for its staff and students to collaborate on research projects with world class scholars at the University of Kent, enhance teaching and learning, create opportunity for staff and student exchange programmes, enhance the employability of its students and the global ranking of the University.
It is anticipated that the close relationship will particularly give FUNAI curriculum an international perspective and also enhance the staff and students’ cultural understanding through working alongside staff and students from the University of Kent in the future.
The exploratory visit culminated in the Unit for Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (UELT) at the University of Kent assenting to support FUNAI in setting up a world class Teaching and Learning Centre to enable its members of staff improve their teaching and enhance students’ learning experience. The Director of the Unit, Dr. Louise Naylor opined reiterated the commitment of the University of Kent towards collaborating with like-mind Universities, adding that FUNAI has shown a lot of seriousness in trying to turn around its teaching, learning and research processes to make it relevant and productive.
Underlining the importance of the collaboration to the FUNAI’s Faculty of Education in particular, its Dean, Dr. Chinyere Nwajiuba, expressed delight in the development, adding that it would also improve the global visibility of the University academic activities.
“The faculty is looking forward to working very closely with the University of Kent to set up a Centre for Enhancing Teaching for Students Learning Experiences [CETSLE] within the Faculty of Education to serve the academic staff of the faculty and the university.
“This is to ensure improvement in quality teaching across the faculties of the University. Teaching staff will be assisted and encouraged to become effective in their teaching roles by adopting innovative pedagogical techniques to produce learning outcomes for students in context of higher education”, she said.
This partnership is yet another milestone in the history of the University as the Vice Chancellor; Prof. Chinedum Nwajiuba strives to make it academically resilient and globally competitive and its graduates enterprising in an ever-changing world of knowledge.