UNILAG annual research conference and fair begins

THE ninth edition of the University of Lagos Research Conference and Fair has begun. The conference, which is scheduled to hold between October 8 to 10, 2014, is in order to further inculcate and promote research culture among the institution’s researchers.

Chairperson of 9th UNILAG Conference Planning Committee, Prof. Olukemi A. Odukoya, in a press statement yesterday said UNILAG initiated the research conference and fair in 2004 to serve as a beneficial interaction and fruitful collaboration among the stakeholders in the education and research sectors innovation for economic growth.

Odukoya said the UNILAG Research Conference and Fair has been an innovation of knowledge transfer to industry and society at large. The theme for the conference and fair is Health, Infrastructure and Development.

Infrastructure is the basic framework for delivering energy, transport, water and sanitation as well as information and communication technology services to people. This directly or indirectly affects people’s lives everywhere. That relationship is reflected in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Yet only two MDG targets touch on infrastructure services: water and sanitation (target 7.C) and telephones and the Internet (target 8.F); energy and transport are missing entirely. And no goal or target addresses the comprehensive role of infrastructure in achieving the MDGs. The UNILAG Annual Research Conference and Fair is set to fix the missing link.

Odukoya, who is also a Fellow of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (FPSN) and consultant pharmacist at the College of Medicine University of Lagos (CMUL), said the conference will provide a forum for researchers, practitioners in industry and policy makers to share ideas on infrastructure as it affects the health and development of our nation.

The keynote address is to be delivered by the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu. The plenary lectures are also to be delivered by experts in the various fields.



General Manager (Sales Channels) MTN Communications Nigeria, Richard Iweanoge, will speak on Communication, Technology, Energy and Health: Correlations & Implications; World Health Organization Representative in Nigeria, Dr. Rui Gama Vas, will speak on the topic ‘The Public, Community Health and Development: Correlations for Survival’; Prof. Olubunmi E. Olapade-Olaopa of the Deptartment of Surgery, University College Hospital, Ibadan will speak on ‘Curriculum and Production of Knowledge: Implications for Development’; Director General/CEO, Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi, (FIIRO), Dr. (Mrs.) Gloria N. Elemo, will speak on ‘Nano Science and Health: the State of the Nation’; and Director General, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Barr. Remi Ogunmefun, will speak on ‘Infrastructure, Manufacturing, Socio-Economic Factors and Security: The implications to Health.’

According to Odukoya, a total of 287 submissions of which there are 129 full papers, the other 158 are mainly abstracts whose research details are to be featured by the authors as Poster Presentations. Authors of the 129 full papers are slated for Oral Presentations to run concurrently in the five parallel sessions.

The statement reads: “Worthy of note is the high profile and expertise of the participants from across the nation. So there is no doubt that the presentations and discussions will be very stimulating. Experts and stakeholders will also make specific recommendations on research infrastructures to respond to societal challenges.”

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