Kwara State University

KWARA STATE UNIVERSITY, also known as KWASU is the 77 University to be registered by the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC). It is the 95th University to be recognized in Nigeria.

KWASU gateway

Established by the administration of Dr. Bukola Saraki in 2009, the Kwara State University was envisioned to be more than a typical university in Nigeria. It was designed to be a center for community service and entrepreneurship. In a country where the fundamental values of volunteerism and community involvement are yet to be fully embraced, Kwara State University sets itself apart as an institution built around the community. The university recognises itself as a part of a community and is determined to make its impact felt. To champion this cause the position of a Director for Community Development was created for the purpose of mobilizing the community, setting assessment strategies, and identifying the needs within the community so that lecturers can use their expertise to impact directly on the communities. Also, Kwara State University is the first university of its kind in Nigeria that has recognised the urgent need for a university education that is focused on value re-orientation towards self-employment and job creation. The identification of this need led to the creation of the Entrepreneurship Center.

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History/Organization

The journey towards establishing a State University in Kwara State began in November 1990. In 2002, Kwara Polytechnic was converted into a University by the then Governor of Kwara State Late Alhaji Mohammed Alabi. On July 11, 2007 the Kwara State Governor Bukola Saraki inaugurated a Planning Committee under former Governor of Kwara State, Alhaji Mohammed Shaaba Lafiagi to prepare ground for the establishment of the Kwara State University. The Bill for the Kwara State University was signed into law on December 24, 2008.The certificate and instrument to operate the university was obtained on February 9, 2009 from the National Universities Commission (NUC). The pioneer Vice-Chancellor, Professor Abdul-Rasheed Na'Allah, who until his appointment, was Chair of the African American Studies Department of the Western Illinois University, Macomb, United States of America, assumed office on Tuesday, July 28, 2009. When fully operational, the university is designed to have academic activities with colleges operating from three campuses located in Malete, Ilesha-Baruba and Osi-Opin. Malete campus: is the main campus and houses the College of Pure and Applied Sciences, College of Information and Communication Technology, and the College of Education. Osi (Ekiti local government) campus: should house the College of Humanities, Management and Social Sciences. Baruba (Baruten Local government) Campus: should house the College of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences.

Academics

Kwara State University has several academic centers. One of such centers is the Center for Ecology and Environmental Management and Studies CEERMS which recently received a grant from (UNESCO) worth $15.3 million to be used over a six year period to establish the UNESCO Chair for Alternative Energy Programme. This grant is for research in Alternative Energy and is to be handled by Kwara State University Center for Ecological and Environmental Research Management Studies (CEERMS). Other centers of the University are; Center for African Oral Traditions, Institute for Asian Studies, Ibrahim Gambari Center for the Study of United Nations and Regional Organizations, Center for Pre-degree and Remedial Studies, Center for Human Rights and the law, Center for Modernity and Religion, Center for Art Preservation, Center for Sponsored Projects, Center for Innovation in Teaching and Research, Center for Innovative Technology, Center for Innovation and International Studies, Center for Bio-Computational Applications and the Center for Entrepreneurship.
The Center for Entrepreneurship is aimed at preparing its graduates to identify and recognize opportunities through appropriate re-orientation towards job creation. The university works with the students, while they are still in the university, to propose and implement a project. As the students graduate, the university partners with the students in implementing the various projects. It also created a start up fund that is accessible to student for this purpose. While KWASU plans to expand its study abroad locations, it currently has a partnership with Thammasat University in Thailand; Korean Advanced Institute of Technology (KAIST), South Korea; Columbia University, New York, USA; University of the State of Bahia (UNEB), Salvador, Brazil; Texas Southern University, Houston, TX, USA; etc., Its teaching staff consists of scholars such as Prof. Leo Daniels, MLK Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, (MIT) as Provost at the College of Engineering and Technology, Prof. Abiola Irele from Harvard University as Provost at the College of Humanities, Management and Social Sciences; and Prof. Winston Wole Soboyejo from Princeton University amongst others.