Boosting research, varsity ranking top RSU ‘Faculty Away Day’ by governing council

Steps to move the Rivers State University (RSU), formerly University of Science and Technology (UST), to at least 3rd best in Nigeria, have begun. Now, the 15th council of the University has organised a ‘Faculty Away Day’ at a facility in the sister university, the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) CBN Centre of Excellence Hall. The theme of the retreat was “A New Strategic Direction to Inspire and Reposition Rivers State University for Excellence and Creativity.”

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Okey Wali (SAN), the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, Okey Wali (SAN), described the University’s Strategic Plan as the guiding framework for the retreat. He explained that the Council constituted the ‘Strategic Plan Committee’ to assess the institution’s current state and develop a clear roadmap for its future growth and development.

According to the Pro-Chancellor, improving the University’s ranking and strengthening research remain top priorities of the Council. He emphasised that the faculties are central to the successful implementation of the Strategic Plan and called for zero tolerance for corruption across the institution.

He expressed appreciation to the Vice-Chancellor of the UNIPORT for hosting the ‘Faculty Away Day’.

In his address, Isaac Zeb-Obipi, the Vice-Chancellor called on members of the university community to embrace innovation, collaboration and strategic planning to reposition the institution for excellence and global competitiveness.

Zeb-Obipi stated that the retreat was designed to align stakeholders with the University’s shared vision through discussions on technology, innovation, revenue generation, partnerships, transparency, and global rankings. He looked forward to practical strategies to advance the University’s aspiration of becoming one of the top three universities in Nigeria and among the leading institutions in Africa and the world.

Earlier, Georgewill Owunari, the Uniport VC, who welcomed the initiative, described the initiative as a commendable step towards strengthening academic excellence, institutional development, and staff collaboration.

Delivering a presentation titled “Change the Paradigm from Publish or Perish to Patent, Publish and Produce for Prosperity of School and State,” Joseph A. Ajienka, emeritus professor, urged participants to adopt a new approach to research and academic excellence, stressing that universities must move beyond the traditional emphasis on publications by promoting innovation, intellectual property protection, technology transfer, and entrepreneurship.

He encouraged researchers to focus on impactful, collaborative and globally competitive research by identifying genuine knowledge gaps and developing innovations that improve lives.

He preached a “third mission” centred on academic entrepreneurship through patents, commercialisation of research, industry partnerships, and the establishment of start-up and spin-off companies.

Other resource persons at the ‘Faculty Away Day’ included Iyenemi I. Kakulu, a professor who presented a paper titled “Implementation of the Strategic Development Plan: Innovative Thinking Outside the Box”; Victor Okeugo who dwelt on “Accreditation and Ranking: Repositioning RSU”, while Victor Dugga, another professor, presented a paper on “University Advancement: A Systemic Responsibility for All”.

Similarly, Warebi Brisibe, a professor also, delivered a presentation on “Grantsmanship for University Research and Development”; and Bourdillion Omijeh also a professor, who spoke on “Leveraging Digital Transformation, Training and Innovation to Boost Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).”

Over 400 participants from the faculties, institutes, centres, directorates and units of the University attended the retreat, including members of the Governing Council, Principal Officers and former Vice-Chancellors.

The ‘Faculty Away Day’ strongly aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 4 (Quality Education).

The presentations touched several aspects of the SDG especially the emphasis on industry collaboration and stakeholder engagement, while discussions on entrepreneurship, grantsmanship and internally generated revenue contribute to SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), while the commitment to transparency, strategic planning and zero tolerance for corruption reflects SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).