He said he would like to see a reassessment of the types of research taking place in universities i.e. another look at the respective ratios of basic, applied and abstract research – and called for the industry sector to challenge and invest in research because they have the funds to do so.  He also stated that he expects WARIMA to play an important ‘linkage’ role by possibly providing a repository of research projects taking place in the region.

Dr Mpako-Ntusi, president of the Southern African Research and Innovation Management Association (SARIMA) gave a summary of SARIMA’s progress to date where she highlighted SARIMA’s objectives, activities and projects.  She outlined a few lessons to be learned such as the need for regular training events, the need for well developed training models and the importance of adequate administrative / managerial support for the organisation, to deal with day to day activities.

She rounded up by extending a warm welcome to everyone to attend the next SARIMA conference in South Africa in 2008.

The rest of the first day saw presentations from the Agence universitaire de la francophonie, the Association of Commonwealth Universities, the British Council, the Institute of Education, London, Research Africa, the University of Ghana, Legon and Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria.

Most of second day was covered by the workshop part of the event which was run by members of the Association of Research Managers and Administrators UK (ARMA). Here delegates reviewed the proposal review process and completed practical exercises on the basics of proposal preparation.  The day ended with presentations from the MacArthur Foundation, the University of Ibadan and the African Academy of Sciences.

Delegates at the workshop in the NUC's Virtual Library during a presentation from Dr Kole Shettima of the MacArthur Foundation

Professor Olufemi Bamiro

University of Ibadan

Presentation  - Funding of Research in USA: an overview

Professor Olufemi Bamiro is the current Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan. He joined the services of the University of Ibadan in September, 1975. He has published widely in the areas of solid mechanics, solar energy, science and technology policy, ICT and entrepreneurship. He is at present UNESCO Consultant on the reform of Science, Technology and Innovation in Nigeria.

He is actively involved with the development of an office for research and innovation management at the University of Ibadan in respect of which he recently visited the University of California Davis and the University of Florida, USA under the sponsorship of the MacArthur Foundation.    

Diana Coates

Research Africa

RA Presentation

Diana Coates is the Director of Research Africa

Ms Steff Hazlehurst

Institute of Education, University of London

Presentation - Strategies for Accessing Research Funding

Steff Hazlehurst is Head of Research & Consultancy Services at the Institute of Education, University of London and Deputy Chair of the Association of Research Managers and Administrators (ARMA) UK. She has worked at the Institute of Education, University of London since August 1999. She took up the post of Head of Research & Consultancy Services in August 2005, where she is responsible for leading research support staff across the Institute, administrative oversight for externally-funded research portfolio and an active involvement in the development of the Institute's research strategy and other areas of research policy.

In 2007, Steff was co-opted to the Steering Group charged with founding the West African Research and Innovation Management Association (WARIMA), and during 2007/08 she is working with colleagues in its Southern African sister association, SARIMA, and the Association of Commonwealth Universities, as well as ARMA members, to create training materials for WARIMA.

Dr John Kirkland

Association of Commonwealth

Universities

Presentation - Developing WARIMA: what role can the ACU play

John Kirkland is Deputy Secretary General (Development) of the Association of Commonwealth Universities - since 1999.  For the past six years he has Directed the Association's Research management network, which currently has over 400 members in over fifty countries.  Previously, John was Secretary to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research in the United Kingdom, and from 1988-94 Head of the Research Services Bureau at Brunel University. 

He also acts as Executive Secretary to the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the United kingdom, the Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission and the Commonwealth Universities Study Abroad Consortium.

Erol Kulahci

Agence universitaire de la

francophonie

Presentation - Opportunities at the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF)

Erol Kulahci was an Eramus student at the University of Hull (UK). He obtained his PhD in political science from the Université libre de Bruxelles (Belgium).

Since July 2004, he works for the Agence universitaire de la francophonie (AUF) as the European Affairs Manager. Based at Brussels, he has contributed to develop the AUF relations with the various directorate generals of the European Union’s Commission (Information society, Research, Higher Education and Development). This allows him to follow the EU research, higher education and development policies, to be familiar with EU programs, to identify EU call for tenders and proposals, to sum up/diffuse them, to advise on EU funded programs/calls & to train academics in and from the South & the EU, to contribute writing proposals & managing EU funded projects for the benefit of cooperation between higher education and research institutions from developing and EU countries.

Dr Tembeka Mpako-Ntusi

Walter Sisulu University

Presentation - Managing Research and Innovation in South Africa

Tembeka Mpako-Ntusi is the Director of Research at the Walter Sisulu University for Technology and Science in the Eastern Cape since 1999.

In 2002 she became a member of the Society of Researchers International (SRA) as well as member of SARIMA. Tembeka is also president of SARIMA since May this year and capacity development is her focus for SARIMA.

Professor Julius Okojie

National Universities Commission,

Nigeria

Professor Okojie was appointed Vice-Chancellor, University of Agriculture Abeokuta in 1996, a position he held until 2001.

He joined the National Universities Commission in August 2002. While in the Commission, he chaired the Standing Committee on Private Universities (SCOPU). It is to his credit that a large number of private universities established between 2002 and 2005 received the Federal Government’s approval during his tenure as Chairman, SCOPU.

He is currently Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission in Nigeria

Ms Bola Olaoye

Presentation - DelPHE: Development Partnerships in Higher Education

Bola Olaoye is Activity Manager, Higher Education & Governance at the British Council

Ms Jacqueline Olang

African Academy of Sciences

Presentation - Science Technology - Europe Africa Programme (ST-EAP)

Handout

Professor Idowu Olayinka 

University of Ibadan

A. Idowu Olayinka was convener of the First International Conference on Research and Innovation Management in West Africa, held in Lagos in November 2006. He was subsequently appointed Chairman of the Steering Committee of the West African Research and Innovation Management Association.

He served as Dean, Postgraduate School, University of Ibadan from 2002 to 2006. As Dean he introduced many innovative ideas, especially in the areas of mentoring of emerging scholars, capacity building, scholarly writing and grantsmanship.

Ms Rose Page

University of Oxford

Presentation - Preparing Reserach Proposals I

Rose Page is the Research Administrator at the Centre for the Study of African Economies, part of the Department of Economics at the University of Oxford.

She is a member of the Association of Research Managers and Administrators (UK) and the Association of University Administrators (UK).

Mr Brad Robinson

Kings College London

Presentation - Preparing Research Proposals II

Handout

Brad Robinson is Research Officer in the School of Social Sciences & Public Policy at King’s College, London.  Working with a broad range of academics working across the Social & Natural Sciences at King’s, he develops ideas for research projects into successful research grant proposals.  King’s is in the top group of universities for research earnings with income from grants and contracts of more than £101 million. 

Prior to his appointment at King’s Brad worked for 8 years supporting research and postgraduate activity in the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences at Newcastle University (UK), as well as co-ordinating the Faculty’s internationalisation agenda.  Brad is a member of the Association of Research Managers & Administrators (UK) and the Association of University Administrators (UK).

Dr Kole Shettima

The MacArthur Foundation

Kole Shettima is the Director of the Foundation's Africa Office in Abuja, Nigeria.

He is responsible for grant making in the Population & Reproductive Health area, Human Rights and International Justice, and the Partnership for Higher Education in Africa.