By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology ( NITT) Zaria, Kaduna state and the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) on Wednesday in far away Malaysia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support the advancement of research collaborations, staff development programs and staff mobility and exchange.
In a statement by Dr Obinna Nwachukwu, NITT’s media consultant in Abuja on Thursday, the MoU was signed by the Director –General/Chief Executive of the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology, Dr Bayero Salih Farah and UTM Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Datuk Ts. Dr. Ahmad Fauzi bin Ismail and witnessed by the Minister of State for Transportation, Prince Adegoroye Ademola Adewole and High Commissioner of Nigeria to Malaysia, Dr Hajara Ibrahim Salim.
The program was initiated by the Director of the Centre for Innovative Planning and Development (CIPD), Prof. Ts. Dr. Muhammad Zaly Shah and NITT representative, Mr Barau Sani in 2020.
Pleased with the collaboration progress, UTM-Vice Chancellor, Prof. Datuk Ts. Dr Ahmad Fauzi said, “This collaboration is an important milestone in the relations between UTM and NITT. For this collaboration to be a success, I hope it can be transformed into tangible results. Therefore, I urge that this partnership continues to be at the forefront in the field of logistics and transportation, where new research and developments will occur.”
Speaking at the occasion, Prince Adegoroye Ademola Adewole, lauded the efforts by both UTM and NITT to develop competent human capital in the field of logistics and transportation. He said that UTM was chosen due to its world-class education and research offerings and high employability among its graduates.
To date, 16 NITT staff consisting of 11 PhDs and five MSc are undergoing various programs from in different faculties in UTM adding to the 321 Nigerian active students in UTM.
The agreement signing ceremony was part of a three-day official visit from 24 until 26 August 2022 to UTM’s Research Centres by the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT) delegation hosted by CIPD and the Department of Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) of the university.
It is in line with the UTM Malaysia and NITT’s vision of seeking partnerships and collaboration with world class institutions to enhance research and development in the institute. Already, NITT has an existing affiliation with the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria for its Mphil and PhD programmes in transport and logistics.
Established in 1986 and located on Basawa Road, Zaria, the Institute was established to among other things address the problems of the transport sector in Nigeria. It is the apex management development Institute for transport and logistics in Nigeria and the West African Sub-region.
