Lagos, Nigeria · 6 September 2018 — The African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) launched two new Centres of Excellence at the University of Lagos, marking the first time the alliance's flagship research centres have been established outside of South Africa. The launch, which coincided with the bi-annual meeting of ARUA Deputy Vice Chancellors (Research), introduced the Centre of Excellence for Unemployment and Skills Development and the Centre of Excellence for Urbanisation and Habitable Cities.
The ceremony was presided over by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, with all ARUA Deputy Vice Chancellors in attendance alongside regional experts and academics working in the thematic areas of both centres.
A Strategic Expansion
ARUA, established in 2015, is a network of research-intensive universities across Africa formed to enhance research and graduate training on the continent. The Centres of Excellence programme is a core component of ARUA's strategy, designed to concentrate expertise and resources around critical developmental challenges facing African nations.
The consultative meeting held on 30 January 2018 at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg had brought together Vice-Chancellors from 13 member universities, heads of the proposed centres, and potential funding agencies to discuss the focus, structure, and funding strategies. The Lagos launch seven months later represented the operationalisation of that planning.
Two Centres, Two Missions
The Centre of Excellence for Unemployment and Skills Development, directed by Professor Sunday Adebisi, will focus on evaluating the challenges of unemployment for African youth. The centre aims to conduct research into the best ways of understanding unemployment and joblessness, and for providing skills to African youth. It will investigate risk-taking capabilities and look into the creativity and business management skills needed for Africans to become employers rather than job seekers.
The Centre of Excellence for Urbanisation and Habitable Cities, directed by Professor Timothy Nubi, will work across several areas including sustainable cities and African urbanisation dynamics, dealing with issues relating to resilient cities, city development policy, and environmental change in cities. It will also examine housing and regeneration, urban health and livability, sustainable urban design and infrastructure, and land management and administration.
Institutional Investment and Governance
In his remarks at the launch, ARUA Secretary-General Professor Ernest Aryeetey outlined the financial architecture of the centres. Hosting an ARUA Centre of Excellence entails a significant annual expenditure by the host university, contributing 20 percent of the operational cost of each centre. The ARUA secretariat provides the remaining 80 percent of the operational budget, while centre management is required to seek grants to support the expanded research programme.
Professor Aryeetey reminded the University of Lagos authorities that the centres are intended to be open to all ARUA member universities, emphasising the importance of making them easily accessible to researchers from outside Nigeria. The centres should attract the best researchers in the region and invite the best graduate students to work with them.
Professor Ogundipe recounted the strong association between his university and ARUA since its inception. University of Lagos was a founding member of ARUA and offered to host the two centres because of its strong record of accomplishment in those areas, with a willingness to share this resource with other African universities.
UKRI Partnership Announced
Dr. Jacqui Williams of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) International Development Team spoke at the ceremony about a new initiative to allow UKRI and ARUA to work together to support the Centres of Excellence. The two organisations had signed a Memorandum of Understanding to pave the way for ARUA to receive financial support from the UK Government, adding an important international funding stream to the centres' resource base.
Implications for African Higher Education
The Lagos launch carries significance beyond the two individual centres. By establishing Centres of Excellence outside South Africa for the first time, ARUA signalled its intent to distribute research leadership across the continent rather than concentrating it in a single country. The University of Lagos, one of Nigeria's most prominent institutions, provides a strategic location for engaging with West African research communities.
The centres' focus on graduate training alongside research is particularly important for building the next generation of African scholars. By inviting the best graduate students from across the continent, the centres aim to create pipelines of expertise that can address Africa's developmental challenges from within African institutions.
The financial model — with host universities contributing 20 percent of operational costs — also represents a commitment to institutional ownership and sustainability, ensuring that the centres are embedded in their host universities rather than functioning as external projects.
Sources
- ARUA, "ARUA Launches Two Centres of Excellence at University of Lagos," 28 September 2018,
- ARUA, "Consultative Meeting on ARUA Centres of Excellence," 30 January 2018,
- ARUA, "ARUA Launches First Centre of Excellence,"
- African Research Universities Alliance, Wikipedia,
FIRAT Editorial Board
Institutional Research Desk · Foresight Institute of Research and Translation
The collective editorial and research translation board of FIRAT, synthesising peer-reviewed evidence, policy briefs, and division milestones across our seven foundational research pillars.
