Guided Self-Assessment in Yaba College of Technology (21-25 October 2019, Lagos, Nigeria)

UNESCO-UNEVOC successfully completed one more Guided Self-Assessment (GSA) workshop, this time in cooperation with UNEVOC Centre Yaba College of Technology (Yabatech) from Lagos, Nigeria, from 21 to 25 October 2019.

The five-day programme of the GSA coincided with Innovation Week at Yabatech, which was formally launched through the High Level Seminar on 21 October. The opening ceremony gathered more than 200 participants, including representatives of Yabatech senior management, staff and students, as well as representatives of local and federal government, private sector, academia and interest groups. The event provided an opportunity to present Nigerian government policy on innovation, as well as perspectives and challenges of innovation collaborations and partnerships in Lagos State, and explore applicability of the Triple Helix concept of innovation in the context of disruptive innovation.

In the course of the week, Yabatech and UNESCO-UNEVOC team facilitated consultations with about 30 representatives of internal stakeholders, who assessed Yabatech innovation performance. The results of the consultations confirmed systemic commitment of Yabatech leadership to innovation, as well as the College being a favorable environment for research and development activities. The exercise also helped to identify opportunities for further development, for example through adoption of new teaching and learning approaches, and through improving synergies with NGO, Industries and other relevant Institutions.

During the workshop, the team identified an example of Innovative Practice implemented at Yabatech, which is related to bridging the gap between applied research and the market. The existing Innovative Practice will be further developed through an Innovation Action Plan, which will specifically focus on greening of research. The goal is to link applied research to the market needs through equipping students with green skills, which will ultimately allow them to earn sustainable livelihoods.

The workshop also benefitted from Peer review support by University of Vocational Technology (UNIVOTEC), a UNEVOC Centre from Sri Lanka, represented by Dr. Aruna Warahena and Mr. Kamal Edirishinghe. They presented UNIVOTEC approach to innovation and best practices, and shared their perspective on possibilities for further development of Yabatech, taking into account the results of the consultations. They also provided feedback to UNESCO-UNEVOC regarding the innovation framework that supported the activities.

The Guided Self-Assessment workshop was co-facilitated by the i-hubs Project Team of UNESCO-UNEVOC, which comprised Wilson Lima Junior and Katarina Ormuz.