APPOINTMENT AS A MEMBER OF COUNCIL OF THE ASSOCIATION OF COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITIES

UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN, IBADAN

OFFICE OF THE VICE-CHANCELLOR

APPOINTMENT AS A MEMBER OF COUNCIL OF THE ASSOCIATION OF COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITIES

The Vice-Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Prof Abel Idowu Olayinka, has been elected a member of the Council of the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU). He is to represent West Africa on the Council, from 1 August 2017 till 31 July 2020.

Prof Olayinka attended the University of Ibadan where he obtained his B.Sc degree in Geology. He proceeded to Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London where he earned M.Sc in Geophysics of the University of London and a Diploma of Imperial College. He pursued his PhD in Applied Geophysics at the University of Birmingham, as a recipient of the Overseas Research Student’ Award from the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals of United Kingdom Universities (now Universities U.K.). He had post-doctoral training at Technical University Braunschweig as a German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Scholar and at Technical University Berlin, as an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow.

Among other honours and distinctions, Professor Olayinka is a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science, Fellow of the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society, Fellow of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists, Fellow of the Nigerian Association of Hydrogeologists, Fellow of the Nigerian Association of Engineering Geologists and the Environment and a Fellow of the Geological Society of London.

He brings to his membership of the Council of the ACU his rich experience as a scholar and administrator. He convened the First International Conference on Research and Innovation Management in West Africa in November 2006 and subsequently served as the Pioneer President of the West African Research and Innovation Management Association (WARIMA), from November 2006 till November 2015. WARIMA has since become a respectable member of the International Network of Research Management Societies (INORMS), the global umbrella body of research and innovation managers.

Established in 1913, the ACU is the world's first international university network. A UK-registered charity, the ACU has more than 500 member institutions in over 50 countries. With three distinct but interconnected areas of work – member services, programmes, and scholarship administration – supported by robust infrastructure and governance arrangements, the ACU combines delivering value to its members with achieving impact on the world of higher education and wider society. The major aspirations of Professor Olayinka in the new position are to encourage more universities in West Africa to be active members and benefit more from the activities of the ACU.

Further information on the activities of the ACU can be obtained from its website (www.acu.ac.uk).

Professor Abel Idowu Olayinka,

Vice-Chancellor

26 August 2017