By Abiose Adelaja Adams
The British Council has announced the award of research grants worth N7, 240,860 (£24,380) in total, to four Nigerian lecturers to undertake various researches that meet the developmental goals of Nigeria.
The four awardees, Anozoeze Madu of the University of Nigeria, Rowland Kayode of University of Ilorin, Temilade Sesan, University of Ibadan, and Vincent Chiogor, were selected out of 67 applicants who sent in proposals in response to calls for application for the British Council Researcher Link programme.
The awardees, who are all early career researchers (a criteria for the programme) will be supported by established researchers in the UK with proposed activities selected on the basis of mutual benefit, research quality and potential for sustained interaction.
The provision of the grant include travel grant and workshops that will enable the researchers spend up to three months in the UK as part of the Researcher Links initiative.
During this period, they will establish a new research link or significantly develop an existing one, with potential for longer term sustainability. It is also expected that the capacity of individual researchers and research groups will be built and development-relevant research in Nigeria will be supported.
One of the awardees, Vincent Chigor, will partner with a researcher from Bangor University, UK.
According to him, his research goal is to acquire further skills for research in Environmental Genomics, seek and establish international collaborations and secure funding for research.
Secondly, he aims to do quality research and publish high impact journals, thereby becoming a global scientific citizen and a leading Environmental/Public Health
“The Researcher Links travel grant is clearly a huge step towards these goals and I am eager for the experience at Bangor University that will foster my further personal development, and aid capacity building in Nigeria, where I am committed to raising young researchers at both doctoral and master’s level,” Chiogor said.
Another awardee, Anozoeze Madu of the University of Nigeria, who will be working with a researcher from the London Metropolitan University, will be focusing on the relationship between the severity of sickle cell anaemia and expression of genes encoding fatty acid desaturases 1 and 2.
“I am massively excited and grateful for having this opportunity to carry out a high quality research in a state of the art research institution,” Madu said.
According to Desmond Omovie, communications manager at the British Council, the Researcher Links initiative “encourages outward and inward mobility to enable early career researchers to make contacts
internationally.”
The initiative encourages the involvement of social sciences and humanities researchers, as well as the natural sciences, and provides space for interdisciplinary interaction, with opportunities to bring together researchers from different fields focused on a common goal,” Omovie stated.