University of Bamenda launches TAGDEV 2.0 grant programme.

It was under the auspices of the Vice Chancellor, Prof Theresia Nkuo-Akenji. 

The programme, worth 100 million dollars (about 65 billion FCFA) grant, according to the Vice Chancellor, shall strengthen the University through policy development, enhance experiential learning for staff and students including problem learning-based engagement. 

The grant will also help the university to organise and run strategic seminars and workshops, engage with the private sector, offer scholarship programmes, enhance community engagements and entrepreneurship training, assist the University to adopt new approaches to training, work with technical and vocational education and training establishment and work with out of school youths. 

Talking to the press, the Vice Chancellor Prof Theresia Nkuo-Akenji, said the grant is the TAGDEV 2.0 awarded through the Regional Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture, RUFORUM, by the Mastercard Foundation and it is simple to transform Africa's agricultural universities to meaningfully contribute to growth and development.

"This particular grant will reach out to community engagements, to create equal opportunities for both males and females to be strengthened not only in the agricultural sector but in vocational training," she said.

The Vice Chancellor added that "through this grant, we will even support vocational institutions in the country, we will also strengthen research in the universities which is what we are doing to get towards meeting the National Development Strategic goals". 

The third party grant according to the Vice Chancellor is in pursuit to strengthen the institution through policies and contribute to the advancement of the agro food system in the country, and the University of Bamenda through the Regional Forum for Capacity Building and Agriculture, RUFORUM, alongside other African universities applied for the third party grant which was successful. 

She further reiterated that the programme is driven by three strategic outcomes; expanding equal work opportunities for young women and men in the agricultural sector, improved climate adaptive agricultural production and productivity, and strengthen quality higher agricultural education outcomes in training, research and innovation. She noted that TAGDEV is an institutional programme that will be operational over a period of 10 years. 

"Through the TAGDEV 2.0 programme, the University of Bamenda will establish a hub for agriculture good systems and entrepreneurship development. The grant is pertinent to building our research capacity reflected in our increasing ability to attract research finding from outside the University from both national and international agencies,” Prof Nkuo-Akenji noted.

The programme coordinator at the University of Bamenda is the Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Teaching Professionalisation and Development of Information and Communication Technology, Prof Cheo Emmanuel Suh.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3309 of Tuesday December 03, 2024