THE University of Abuja has established an International Institute for Publishing Studies in its bid to change the face of printing in Africa.
The vice chancellor of the university, Professor Abdul-Rasheed Na’Allah, who made this known in Abuja, lamented that publishing industry is largely handled by unprofessional and untrained people.
He noted that the University of Abuja International Institute for Publishing Studies (UIIPS) was established to address the lack of a professional programme in Publishing Studies in Nigeria.
According to him, “The bold initiative is aimed at promoting academic standards, ethical and professional values of publishing studies and profession in Nigeria and globally.”
“The University of Abuja has the aspiration that a high quality programme in publishing will contribute substantially to the skills and development of academic institutions, private businesses and professionals, government and law enforcement sectors, as well as those who seek to become publishers around the world,” he further explained.
Speaking further, Professor Na’Allah explained that the benefits of the institute include: opportunities for experiential learning with state-of-the-art facilities and networking with renowned international scholars from the UK, USA, Canada, South Africa and Nigeria, among others.
While disclosing that the programme will admit students in two streams for April and August, he said: “Thereafter, the admission process will run from November to December for the January intakes and June to July for the August intakes.
The institute, he said, was established just like the others in Oxford University, University College London, among many others, in western nations.
Na’Allah, who expressed optimism that the development will change the face of publishing not only in Nigeria but Africa, called on individuals, corporate organisations as well as government agencies to come for their quality publishing work at the institute.
“It took us years to deeply understand similar institutes that have been making great impact across the world, and we are confident that the new Institute in our Campus will make similar or greater impact than its likes in developed countries.
“Our aspiration is to have a high quality programme in publishing that will contribute substantially to the skills and development of academic institutions, private businesses and professionals, government and law enforcement sectors, as well as those who seek to become publishers around the world,” he explained.
Also speaking, the director of the Institute, Professor Wolumati Ogbondah, explained that the institute would solve the challenges of the activities of “untrained” people who found themselves in publishing circles by accident.
“Being the first in Nigeria, we would bring in best hands to provide academic and non-academic services to students.”
He disclosed that “two professors from foreign universities have been invited to join the Institute, and we expect more good hands from local and international institutions to come onboard sooner than expected to provide quality academic and non-academic services to students.”
He called on individuals and corporate organisations interested in publishing to key into the professional activities of the institute to acquire new skills in publishing or get their existing skills enhanced.
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