On July 17, 2024, the UNESCO-ICHEI delegation, Dr. LIANG Jiansheng, Executive Deputy Director of UNESCO-ICHEI, Mr. JIAO Yanwen, Chief of the Chief of the Global Partnership and Programme Office, visited the Nigerian National Universities Commission and held a working meeting with representatives. Dr. Chris Jibreel Maiayaki, Executive Secretary of NUC, warmly welcomed the delegation. Prof. Kabiru Bala, Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, also attended the meeting. The visit also marks a preface for the upcoming Nigerian National Policy Dialogue themed "Consensus Framework Towards a Policy/Guidelines Roadmap for Nigerian Higher Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence".
Group photo of the UNESCO-ICHEI delegation and NUC representatives
During the meeting, Dr. Chris Jibreel Maiayaki first reviewed the history of the development of higher education in Nigeria and elaborated on the valuable opportunities for collaboration with UNESCO-ICHEI. Prof. Kabiru Bala briefly recapped the cooperation between Ahmadu Bello University and UNESCO-ICHEI, expressing gratitude for the visit. In September 2022, UNESCO-ICHEI established the "Empowering Institutional Policy Implementation for Digital Teaching and Learning" Pilot project, supporting 55 teachers from 7 HEIs through the Training of the Trainers approach to transform digital teaching and learning in their institution. In July 2023, UNESCO-ICHEI initiated the IIOE Micro-Certification Project, built a need-driven, future-oriented higher education teaching personnel digital competency framework, and supported policy guidance that facilitates the upskill and reskill of the higher education workforce. In 2024, by collaborating with Ahmadu Bello University, the IIOE Rotating Presidency Unit for 2024, the IIOE Micro-certification Project flourished in Nigeria. By empowering the teaching personnel, this project ultimately built digital competencies of teaching personnel and provided multifaced resources that support digital talent cultivation and industry upgrades. He highlighted the importance of UNESCO-ICHEI's participation in the Nigeria National Policy Dialogue and welcomed the delegation's visit to Ahmadu Bello University further to deepen the exchange and cooperation between both parties. Prof. Liang Jiansheng, Executive Deputy Director of UNESCO-ICHEI, expressed heartfelt thanks to NUC for their warm reception. He provided a detailed introduction of UNESCO-ICHEI's background and ongoing projects, showcasing the latest advancements in educational innovation.
Work Meeting between UNESCO-ICHEI and Nigerian NUC
Prof. Kabiru Bala (Left) and Dr. Chris Jibreel Maiayaki (Right)
Prof. Liang Jiansheng (Left) and Mr. Roger Yanwen Jiao (Right)
Subsequently, UNESCO-ICHEI elaborated on the IIOE Micro-Certification Project and its collaboration with Ahmadu Bello University. Additionally, the IIOE Nigeria National Centre team shared their preliminary achievements in the localisation of the project. In April and May of 2024, designed around the B1 competency, Design and Production of Micro-courses, 40 teaching personnel received the certification and collected insights in practice that could feed into further project design and planning for the digital transformation and innovation of teaching and learning.
Towards the end of the meeting, all parties engaged in an in-depth discussion regarding the implementation of the IIOE Micro-Certificate Project at scale and reached a preliminary consensus. Under the guidance and support of NUC, the localisation of the project should be carried out by the IIOE Nigeria National Center, utilizing the IIOE platform and courses to meet the demand for further empowering Nigerian higher education teaching personnel, promoting the digital transformation of Nigerian higher education, and supporting the upgrading of Nigeria'sdigital industryand talent training.
Prof. LIANG Jiansheng (Left) presenting a gift to Dr. Chris Jibreel Maiayaki (Right)
About National Universities Commission The National Universities Commission (NUC) is one of the key government departments in Nigeria's higher education system, responsible for accrediting and regulating institutions of higher education, enforcing standards, and setting the admissions capacity of each Nigerian university. The mission of the National University Commission is to promote the orderly and efficient operation of the Nigerian higher education system, with the enhancement of effective use of information and communication technology in higher education as an important starting point. As a coordinating body, the National University Commission of Nigeria relies on the federal government, state governments and other stakeholders in its bid to improve on the quality of tertiary education and graduates of the nation’s university system. Currently, there are about 40 federal universities, about 50 state universities and about 100 private universities in Nigeria.
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On July 17, 2024, the UNESCO-ICHEI delegation, Dr. LIANG Jiansheng, Executive Deputy Director of UNESCO-ICHEI, Mr. JIAO Yanwen, Chief of the Chief of the Global Partnership and Programme Office, visited the Nigerian National Universities Commission and held a working meeting with representatives. Dr. Chris Jibreel Maiayaki, Executive Secretary of NUC, warmly welcomed the delegation. Prof. Kabiru
