By Sade Adewale, Ondo

The University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED), Ondo in partnership with the British Council, has commissioned a U-CoHub Centre to facilitate generation and development of entrepreneurial ideas.

U-CoHub is an acronym for University Co-creation hub, aimed at empowering university undergraduates with skills, mentorship, leadership, global opportunities and technical support to become providers of solutions to social and real-life problems.

Speaking at the launching, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Adesegun Fatusi noted that the goal is to provide a platform where students can generate and develop entrepreneurial ideas through a participatory process.

He said: The U-CoHub is an innovation centre that is designed to support students and staff of the university to develop new ideas. For example, if you are a medical student or a nursing student and want to learn about the human body, with this innovation centre, you can see 3D of human anatomy and dissect the human body in the virtual space using modern technology.

The Director, Institute of Health Humanities and Entrepreneurship, UNIMED, Dr Ihenacho Metuonu noted that the programme started on the 7th of December, 2021 when the University won a British Council grant called Innovation for African Universities (IAU) Partnership Grant.

UNIMED Ondo won the grant in partnership with Teenpreneurs Educational Foundation in Lagos and the Liverpool John Moores University in the UK. The major project we are embarking upon is the U-CoHub and it is student-oriented to foster the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship within the university, said Metuonu.

The Director, Central Office for Research Development (CORD), UNIMED, Prof. Olumide Ogundahunsi described entrepreneurs as the future for Nigeria in the global space.

“There is a limit to which people can attain their full potential especially when they are confined to established structures but we are changing that with the U-CoHub initiative which has a two-fold impact Ogundahunsi added.

Representatives of the British Council, Mr. Daniel Emenahor and Mr. Babajide Sanusi expressed satisfaction with the U-CoHub project, saying they were fascinated by the components of the 3D printers in innovative research available at the centre.

The representatives thereafter deliberated with the UNIMED U-Cohub Management team on project assessment, achievements, challenges and sustainability.