The Maryam Abacha American University of Nigeria is set to collaborate with the Irkutsk National Research Technical University (INRTU), Russia on Geosciences.
This was revealed by the MAAUN media unit in a statement on Monday.
The statement said the officials of the two universities held an extensive discussion virtually on Thursday over the partnership.
The partnership aims to explore the most viable areas of partnership between the two institutions, particularly on earth sciences.
In his presentation, the President of MAAUN, Professor Mohammad Israr, said the university has seven schools with 22 academic programmes and over 5,000 students.
He listed the schools as Computing, Law, Social and Management Sciences, Nursing Sciences, Health Sciences, Environmental Science and Medicine.
He said MAAUN would give the necessary support and cooperation for the success of the proposed partnership with a view to fostering research development.
In his presentation, Prof Stepan S. Bykov, Vice Rector of International Affairs, said the Russian university, which has a track record of excellence, has also established collaboration with many universities across the globe.
Prof. Bykov noted that when the partnership is actualized, it would hopefully serve as a landmark precedent for many more collaborations to come in the future.
Also in his remark, the Vice President of Administration of MAAUN, Dr. Habib Awais Abubakar, described the proposed partnership as a good opportunity for the universities to look at areas that have not been explored.
He said MAAUN which is a conglomerate, has branches in Maradi in Niger Republic, Kano Nigeria, Kaduna and Abuja.
Also, Dr. Murtala Haruna, Director of General Studies at MAAUN, said the proposed research centre would be of great importance not only to MAAUN but also to the universities in Nigeria.
In his remarks, Prof. Mohammed Abubakar Mohammed, Research Engineer, Siberian School of Geosciences, expressed happiness about the proposed partnership, saying MAAUN stands to benefit a lot because it’s located in the northern part of Nigeria where there are abundant mineral resources and vast land.
He also stressed the need for the establishment of a research institute which will be educational and research-based as part of the MoU.
Earlier in her brief, Melenteva Anna, Head of the International Affairs Department INRTU thanked the management of MAAUN for their commitment towards actualising the proposed MoU.
In his votes of thanks, the Head, International Office MAAUN Kano, Engr. Bashir Garba, assured that all issues discussed in the partnership would be accorded the necessary attention for the actualization of the partnership.
Members of MAAUN who witnessed the MoU included the Head of the Corporate Communications and Protocol Unit Tukur Muntari, Assistant Head of Career Guidance, Training and Placement Miss Janvi and Public Relations Officer Hayatuddeen M. Abdallah.
