The University of Lagos (UNILAG) has partnered with Elsevier, a global leader in academic publishing, to train Nigerian academic journal editors in international best practices.
The one-day training took place at the Arthur Mbanefo Digital Research Centre, UNILAG, on Monday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the training was designed to educate Nigerian academic journal editors on the requisite skills to raise the quality and visibility of Nigerian academic journals.
The training for academic journals editors in South West coincided with UNILAG’s Fourth International Week.
The editors were introduced to Digital Commons, Elsevier’s advanced platform which enables the visibility and accessibility of academic journals.
The Chairman of the occasion, Prof. Yetunde Zaid, said the training would ensure that academic journal editors from all Nigerian universities in the South-West were equipped to meet the rigorous standards required for global recognition such as indexing in Scopus.
The chairman, who is also the UNILAG Librarian and Head of the Governing Board of the South-West Academic Publishing Center, said: “We need Nigerian research outputs to rise to meet international standards.
“This collaboration will afford our journal editors the opportunity to learn how to use the tools necessary to make their institutions’ journals globally-competitive.
“As we equip our editors with expert knowledge in international publishing standards, we are setting the stage for Nigerian journals to be globally-recognised and indexed in Scopus.
“Our goal is to make Nigerian journals successful.”
According to her, the decision to host the workshop during UNILAG’s International Week showcases the university’s commitment to creating opportunities for global engagement across all academic activities.
The Director of the Academic Publishing Centre (South West ), UNILAG, Dr Mojisola Shodipe, said she was excited at the partnership.
She said: “We are thrilled to collaborate with Elsevier for this groundbreaking training.
“As a renowned leader in the global publishing industry, we share a common goal to enhance the visibility of our research efforts and to elevate the capacity of our journal editors,” she said.
“The idea of this training was first mooted barely two months ago by our resourceful Chairperson at Academic Publishing Centre, Prof. Yetunde Zaid, who doubles as the university Librarian,” she said.
According to her, at that time, it seemed like a daunting task to bring together in one training session, the vast number of journal editors from across South-West Nigeria.
“Our zealous and resilient leadership saw no obstacles, but only challenges which were surmountable.
“Today, here we are, with a room filled with the best of experienced journal editors from different sectors of the academic community.”
Shodipe said that the centre was proud to host the training which, she said, underscored its commitment to excellence in academic publishing.
“It also affirms our resolve to strengthen research output in Nigerian tertiary institutions.”
NAN reports that the training had experts in international academic publishing from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands sharing best practices in academic publishing with Nigerian editors.
On the significance of the workshop, the Director of the Office of International Relations, Partnerships and Prospects, UNILAG, Prof. Ismail Ibraheem, said: “Our partnership with Elsevier brings global expertise to our academic editors.
“Academic publishing is at the core of what defines scholarship.
“This collaboration is a step in the right direction to prepare our universities to meet international standards.
“As the university of first choice and the nation’s pride, we continue to forge strategic partnerships that propel the University of Lagos and other Nigerian universities toward global relevance,” he said.
The Vice-Chancellor of UNILAG, Prof. Folashade Ogunshola, was at the event.
(NAN)
