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The dean, lecturers, students, workers and other stakeholders in the Faculty of Dentistry, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife are on cloud 9. They are over the moon following the faculty’s recent rating in the latest ranking of the Global Academic Ranking of World Universities (GRAS).
Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Morenike Toyin Ukpong, could scarcely curtail her excitement as she celebrated the rare feat with others in the faculty.
“The major driver of this noble achievement is the high quality collaborative research outputs from the faculty,” she said.
In the 2022 GRAS ranking, Nigeria featured as follows: Faculty of Dentistry, OAU emerged in the 201-300 groups; Veterinary Sciences of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta emerged in the 201- 300 groups, while Psychology, University of Nigeria, Nzukka emerged in the 401-500 groups.
Chairman of the Governing Board of the Higher Education Observatory for Africa (HEOFA), Prof. Peter Okebukola, congratulated the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, Executive Secretary of National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, as well as authorities of the Faculty of Dentistry, OAU as well as the entire university community for the feat.
Also, a member of the Board HEOFA, Dr. Fred Mansah, a Ghanaian, said the dividend of the NUC-led efforts was the impressive rating of Nigeria universities in the academic ranking of world universities, which was released on August 15, 2022.
Receiving the news of the ranking, the dean, Prof Morenike Ukpong said it was a surprise and a morale booster.
“It is encouraging to know that the little things we do add up. We will only choose to do more by understanding this. This global achievement is a result of unconscious process. If we do things a lot more consciously, we can go far.”
A former dean of the faculty, Prof Owotade John Foluso, a Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery noted: “There is no doubt that the news is encouraging – a combination of international visibility through academic output and the excellence that we have displayed in our teaching, research and community service.”
Another past dean, Prof Olawunmi Fatusi, in her comments, said the feat was a result of the total dedication of both students and staff.
Hear her: “We are very excited about OAU Dental programme making the 201-300 ranking. It is a validation of our hard work and commitment in the past and a call to improved development in the future. Despite being the smallest faculty in the university, we have always been positive about the impact we are able to make in our students’ lives and the university at large. We are excited about the products of this faculty and all that they have been able to achieve across the globe.”
For Dr Oyetola Elijah Olufemi, Head of Department (HOD), Department of Oral Medicine and Oral Pathology, it was a stimulating and encouraging piece of information. “It only restores our hope and reassures us again that when we put efforts on ground and when we have good leaders that are focused as we have our indefatigable dean, that good thing can still happen again,” he said.
Another don in the faculty, Prof Temitope Esan said that the faculty would not rest on its oars until it becomes the best dental school in Africa and the world at large.
“Our ranking is no doubt traced to the hard work and dedication put in by the dean and the entire staff of the faculty. In addition, the innovations, number of grants, the various academic and professional development programmes, the publications in highly rated journals all contributed to our success stories,” said the Professor of Restorative Dentistry.
The dean, Prof Ukpong, a Professor of Paediatric Dentistry, said she looks forward to many more landmark strides that would consistently place the Dental school in a global map.
“While this ranking is a commutation of many others, we as a faculty needs to seat, study, understand and do better. I look forward to the faculty being able to do many landmark things of international importance. As a collective, we are working to build a Dental Entrepreneurship Centre; it has been designed and sited. We will need about N180 million to build it. Once built, we will have the first dental entrepreneurship centre in the country. So, I look forward to the faculty being the foremost Dental Research Grant recipient in Africa. We have all it takes to be in this best position. We just need to consciously drive the process,” Ukpong noted.
Prof Fatusi the first female Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial surgery at the OAU said the faculty would do much more with better funding.
“I hope the OAU Faculty of Dentistry would become a world class dental school with a 1- 100 global rating within the next couple of years. I hope the faculty will continue to keep a close link between research and education, employing leading dentists and scientists to teach the latest techniques, diagnostics and treatments,” she said.
Prof Ukpong revealed said a Biomaterial Science Research is on-going in the faculty, saying it could drive changes in dental biomaterial research in the country.
Said she: “We are one of the few centres in the country building competency on research conduct and dissemination. We are looking forward to NUC approval of our Dental implantology Master programme.
“There are lots more building innovations. I think collectively we know that the faculty is strong and we can do a lot more together. Most importantly, we want to do a lot more.”
