Professor LI Ming, Director of UNESCO-ICHEI, welcomed the delegation of Ahmadu Bello University, and expressed his expectation of strengthening the cooperation with Ahmadu Bello University and IIOE Nigeria National Centre to jointly promote the digital transformation of higher education in Nigeria in the future. Professor Kabiru Bala, Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University expressed his gratitude to UNESCO-ICHEI for its hospitality and affirmed the cooperation between two parties in recent years. He also expressed his wish to further strengthen the partnership and project cooperation with UNESCO-ICHEI, and looked forward to in-depth exchanges between the two parties in various fields in the future.

Speech by Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University

Professor Paulinus Okwelle, Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) of Nigeria, pointed out that Micro-Certification also has a role to play in the field of VET and hoped to collaborate with UNESCO-ICHEI on IIOE Micro-Certification Programme to promote the teacher development of TVET in Nigeria.

Professor Muhammed Bashir Mu'azu, Professor of Computer and Engineering Department of Ahmadu Bello University and Director of the IIOE Nigeria National Centre, indicated that the policy environment of Ahmadu Bello University is set for the implementation of IIOE Micro-Certification Programme. He noticed that the teaching and learning policy developed by the ABU specifies the requirements for digital teaching and learning competencies for teachers, and it is important for teachers and students to fully understand the value and significance of Micro-Certification.

UNESCO-ICHEI and Ahmadu Bello University had a full discussion on the localisation of the Micro-Certification Programme. And the two parties reached the consensus that Teacher Professional Development should be the focus of the current phase of IIOE Micro-Certification Programme. Ahmadu Bello University noted that the Teacher Professional Development Programme is in line with the requirements of the University's Teaching and Learning Policy introduced in 2022, and hoped that the Micro-Certification Programme could be further extended to personnel other than teachers in the future.

Professor LU Chun, Deputy Director of UNESCO-ICHEI and Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of SUSTech

In his concluding remarks, Professor LU Chun, Deputy Director of UNESCO-ICHEI and Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of SUSTech, welcomed the Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University and his delegation, and affirmed the close cooperation between UNESCO-ICHEI and ABU in recent years. He confirmed that SUSTech would continue to support UNESCO-ICHEI to cooperate with Ahmadu Bello University, and welcomed Professor Kabiru Bala to visit SUSTech and Shenzhen again.

Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) is a federal government research university. ABU was founded on October 4, 1962, as the University of Northern Nigeria. The university runs a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate programmes. The university has a large medical programme with its own A.B.U. Teaching Hospital, one of the largest teaching hospitals in Nigeria and Africa. Currently, with 35,000 students enrolled in the university's degree and sub-degree programmes, drawn from Nigeria, Africa and the rest of world, ABU is the largest university in Nigeria.