The Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the Federal University of Lafia (FULafia), Prof. Mohammed Isa-Kida, has approved a N50 million research grant to strengthen research capacity and enhance the institution’s competitiveness in attracting national and international funding.
Abubakar Ibrahim, Director of the Department of Public Relations at the institution, stated this in a statement to newsmen on Sunday in Lafia.
The Director explained that the fund, released to the University’s Research and Conference Development Committee, was aimed at supporting high-impact research projects, promoting innovation and improving the quality of academic research.
The university spokesperson quoted Prof. Adam Adebayo-Sirajudeen, Chairman of the Research Committee saying that the initiative is a significant step towards building a sustainable research culture capable of attracting larger external grants.
“The University’s research development fund would enable researchers to initiate quality projects, develop robust methodologies, and generate evidence-based solutions to societal challenges.
“The initiative was expected to improve the University’s research output, strengthen its national and international reputation and enhance its position in global university rankings.
“This initiative represents a major milestone in promoting problem-solving research and cultivating a strong culture of grantsmanship.”
Ibrahim further said that the Committee has already approved and funded the first batch of research proposals, valued at over N34 million.
He listed the beneficiaries of the first batch of researchers to include: Prof. Abubakar Sadiq Aliyu, Prof. E.H. Kwon-Ndung, Prof. Samaila Usman-Dakyes, Prof. Joseph Dlama-Zira, Dr Christopher Ifeanyi-Eke, Dr Agushaka Jeffrey-Ovre, Dr Hauwa Ahmad-Kana, Dr Muhammad Mukhtar-Liman, Dr Adamu Yakubu, and Dr Bilikisu Adamu.
He also listed some of the topics of the research to include: Development of a Chronometer for Historical Printed Documents Using Controlled Artificial Ageing Protocols, Assessment and Sustainable Improvement of the FULafia Botanical Garden, Exploration of Beetroot for the Development of Eco-friendly Natural Dyes for the Nigerian Fashion Industry.
“Others are the development of an automated radiology management system with integrated dual-engine artificial intelligence for image interpretation and explainable and trustworthy artificial intelligence for breast cancer classification in low-resource healthcare environments, among others,” he said.
The head of the information unit noted that the funded projects would contribute to knowledge generation in critical fields while providing research support for postgraduate students working under the supervision of the principal investigators.
‘The funding would provide essential resources for postgraduate researchers to complete high-quality studies, accelerate their academic progress and contribute to solving societal challenges,” he added.
He further said that the second batch of research proposals is currently under review and urged academic staff to take advantage of the funding opportunity.
The director expressed optimism that sustained investment in research would strengthen the university’s capacity for innovation, increase its success in securing competitive grants and reinforce its contribution to national development.
