The Chief Strategy Officer, West and Central African Research and Education Network (WACREN), Omo Oaiya, says the network is making concerted efforts to increase the global visibility of research conducted in Nigeria through digital platforms as well as enhance collaborations via the LIBSENSE Open Science Programme initiative.
He stated this during the 8th edition of the Libsense Open Science Symposium held in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city with the theme: “Advancing Open Science and Collaboration: The Role of Stakeholders”.
He said the symposium aims to elevate awareness and implementation of open science practices within Nigeria.
“A key priority of this event is to launch initiatives that will significantly enhance the production and visibility of Nigerian research by expanding the presence of Nigerian journals and books in globally recognized platforms such as the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), and the Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB).”
According to him, the initiative will also increase human capacity building, innovation and acceptability of Nigerian Research,
“This initiative not only enhances the recognition and accessibility of Nigerian research but also fosters global collaboration, knowledge dissemination, and capacity building.
“It empowers Nigerian researchers, promotes innovation, and contributes to the advancement of both local and global knowledge, ultimately transforming the research landscape in Nigeria.”
He said WACREN is equally working to reduce the over 70% authentic connectivity challenges in education institutions in Africa as well as aiming to decrease foreign models in the open Science initiative.
“There was research that over 70 percent of education institutions in Africa lack a single source of truth for secured authentication and role-based access to Online Resources.
“We have to collaborate through an identity that is trusted with proactive cybersecurity strategies to solve this challenge.
“There is also the need to integrate African interest without tailoring foreign models in the open science initiative, while leveraging on high-performance computers and applications,” he said.
The event was organized by LIBSENSE, hosted by the Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (CVCNU) and sponsored by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) of the UK government.
The Secretary General of CVCNU, Professor Yakubu Ochefu in a remark said the symposium offers the opportunity to uncover the transformative power of Open Science and its countless benefits for Nigeria.
“It embraces diversity, inclusivity, and accessibility, ensuring that the fruits of scientific labor are not confined to ivory towers but reach every corner of the society.”
Aliyu Abubakar, a participant and the Acting Chief Librarian of the only Police University in West Africa, the Nigeria Police Academy, Wudil, Kano state north western Nigeria, said the Open Science initiative has always been of immense benefit and will continue to be as it has created opportunities for global digital output of research conducted by academicians and students.
“It is very educative. It enables research conducted by our students, our faculty staff and publications to be visible, unlike before when research end up in book shelves in higher institution libraries or one’s library at home,” Abubakar said.
The national symposium is aimed at increasing open science awareness among primary stakeholders in the country, ranging from university leaders, librarians and Directors of ICT.
Nigeria has two member networks of WACREN – the Nigerian Research and Education Networks (NGREN) and the Eko Konnect Research and Education Initiative.
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