Faculty of information and media studies professor Isola Ajiferuke is collaborating with the Nigerian University of Ibadan following a $301,000 grant from the Chicago-based John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Ajiferuke will be working with Western alumnus Mutawakilu Tiamyiu in hopes of strengthening African information systems and establishing new curricula for graduate students.

The partnership between the two universities is expected to last for three years, during which time Ajiferuke will work with the Africa Regional Centre for Information Science.

The creation of an undergraduate distance degree in information science for Nigerian students is also planned.

“People from all over Nigeria can partake in the course, and we are hoping that by the time [distance studies] are fully online, West Africans, not only Nigerians, can enroll in the course,” Ajiferuke said.

This September, he will travel to Nigeria and remain there for a semester, helping Ibadan to restructure their computer and telecommunications system.

—Gloria Dickie