Notre Dame International hosts IREX UASP Fellows from Nigeria
Notre Dame International welcomed two fellows from African universities as part of the IREX University Administration Sponsorship Program. IREX is an international development organization based in Washington, D.C., that helps build research management capacity of African administrators and faculty. On Feb. 19, Angela Itegboje and Titilayo Olaposi arrived on campus as part of the new fellowship program.
Fellows met with faculty and staff from NDI, Notre Dame Research; the IDEA Center; the Keough School’s Pulte Institute, Kellogg Institute and McKenna Center; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering; Department of Electrical Engineering; the Pamoja Initiative; the Graduate School; and the Berthiaume Institute for Precision Health.
“Hosting the IREX UASP fellowship has been a great experience. Notre Dame has played an active role in enabling research leadership to thrive in sub-Saharan Africa by allowing a bidirectional exchange and acquisition of knowledge and skill by showcasing the best global practices in innovation and research management as well as commercialization of the intellectual products of research,” says Jackie Oluoch-Aridi, director of Notre Dame in Nairobi.
Jonathan Noble, senior assistant provost for internationalization at Notre Dame, also spoke of the partnership, saying, “We are extremely grateful for the enthusiastic engagement and sharing by numerous colleagues across campus. We trust this exchange will catalyze more opportunities for administrative and scholarly exchange with research institutions in the African continent.”
Since arriving in February, Itegboje and Olaposi, who are both IREX UASP Research Management Fellows from Nigeria, have met with leaders all across campus to compare their institutions’ practices with Notre Dame’s research ecosystem, and are each responsible for proposing plans to improve their own institution’s performance, using a template provided by IREX.
Olaposi, principal research fellow at the African Institute for Science Policy and Innovation of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, says, “Most of my research focuses on technological entrepreneurship and innovation management. Coming here, I have been very impressed. The people are very friendly and always willing to share knowledge. We have touched different centers, institutes and offices and it is very helpful to me because I have become an administrator, even as a researcher.
“The knowledge I have gained here is very useful to me to oversee research management within my own university. I have learned so much regarding grants, management, proposal development and assessment, and communication,” she concludes.
Itegboje, assistant registrar and research administrator in the Research Management Office at the University of Lagos, Nigeria, adds, “Notre Dame is an environment that is open to learning, and our visit has been both fruitful and informative. I am focusing on innovation, technology and commercialization and have already gained so much knowledge on how to make the best use of research to impact and serve societal needs.”
IREX, a global development and education organization working in more than 100 countries around the world, contacted Notre Dame International in fall 2022, seeking a partnership wherein Notre Dame would host African university leaders under the UASP (University Administration Support Program) Research Management Fellowships. UASP builds the research management capacity of African administrators and faculty to design and lead related reforms at their institutions following the program.
Learn more about Notre Dame International’s commitment to supporting faculty research through its global network and strategic partnerships.
Originally published by international.nd.edu on March 16.
atLatest ND NewsWire
- Opioid epidemic reaches beyond health impacts to influence politicsVicky Barone, assistant professor of economics at Notre Dame, researched the origins and development of the opioid epidemic and found that the unregulated marketing of potent painkillers led to increased access to prescription opioids and subsequent overdose mortalities. Tracing the long-term consequences of opioid overdose deaths on the political landscape in America, she found an increased support for conservative beliefs and Republican candidates.
- Division of Student Affairs awards scholarships to student leadersAfter reviewing nominations from across campus, a selection committee composed of representatives from Student Affairs and the academy awarded Lou Holtz Leadership Scholarships to Allison Caffrey, Collette Doyle, Amir Khouzam and Caroline McCaffrey and Hipp-Beeler Leadership Scholarships to Diane Musabese and Frances Ubogu.
- Testing emotional resiliencyKatie Edler, a graduate student in psychology, conducts an experiment in emotional regulation where she asks children between 6 and 8 years old to complete a simple puzzle with 20 large pieces and then leaves the room.…
- de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture presents Evangelium Vitae Medal to Dr. Elvira ParraviciniThe de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture presented the 2024 Notre Dame Evangelium Vitae Medal — the nation’s most important award for heroes of the pro-life movement — to Dr. Elvira Parravicini, founding director of the Neonatal Comfort Care Program and professor of pediatrics at Columbia University Medical Center, at a Mass and dinner attended by more than 500 guests on Saturday (April 27) at the University of Notre Dame.
- Doug Thompson appointed inaugural executive director of diversity and engagementDoug Thompson, current vice president for equity and inclusion at Gustavus Adolphus College, has been appointed as the inaugural executive director of diversity and engagement in the University of Notre Dame’s Division of Student Affairs, effective July 1.
- Eleven Notre Dame students, alumni awarded NSF Graduate Research FellowshipsA dozen current or former University of Notre Dame students have been awarded National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowships, with an additional nine singled out for honorable mention for the award.