The UK Government has announced three new projects as part of efforts to build strong partnerships between UK and Nigerian universities. 

The UK, at the Global Conference in Abuja, reaffirmed its commitment to supporting international education in Nigeria.

In his opening remarks at the conference, the UK Government’s International Education Champion, Sir Steve Smith, announced the commencement of three projects between UK and Nigerian universities.

He said: “I am pleased to confirm that starting in January 2025 three new projects with a focus on expanding partnerships between institutions in Nigeria and the UK will be supported through the British Council Transnational Education (TNE) exploratory grants scheme.

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“Such partnerships not only contribute to transforming local systems and strengthening institutional capabilities, but they also create pathways for cross-sector innovation, bringing academia and industry closer together.” 

On his part, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr Richard Montgomery, in his speech at the conference said: “With over 60% of Africa’s population under 25, and projections that population will reach 2.5 billion by 2050, the continent needs to harness a demographic dividend. To do that, more and better-quality higher education is needed.

“Education partnerships in the continent need to evolve. And the focus must be on strengthening Africa’s domestic higher education systems.” 

The three-day conference, which was themed: “Building sustainable and relevant tertiary education institutions and systems in Africa”, was hosted by the British Council and held from November 26th to 28th, 2024.

It provided a platform for tertiary education senior leaders, policymakers, and industry experts to debate the future of further and higher education. 

Atinuke Akande-Alegbe, a spokesperson of the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, said following the conference, Sir Smith would lead a delegation of 11 UK universities to engage with their Nigerian counterparts.