NUC, Wolverhampton Parsity Partner on Entrepreneurship

A delegation from the Wolverhampton University, United Kingdom (UK), led by its Vice-Chancellor, Professor Geoff Layer, has paid a courtesy visit to the Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Julius Okojie, to explore collaboration with the Commission in the area of entrepreneurship studies.

Briefing the Executive Secretary on the background of the university, the Vice-Chancellor said that Wolverhampton was founded in 1827 in the industrial heartlands of England and presently has a student population of 23,000 and operates four campuses in the UK, while it runs its programmes in 12 different countries.

Professor Layer said that the university traced its roots to the Wolverhampton Mechanics Institute (founded in 1835), which provided vocational and general education for working men. In 1851, he said, a Municipal School for Art was established, noting that these institutions became the basis for Wolverhampton and Staffordshire Technical College and ultimately the present-day university.

He remarked that providing an excellent student experience was one of the main priorities of the university, both in the UK and other parts of the world, with a view to providing outstanding teaching and thereby producing highly employable graduates. The Vice-Chancellor stated that at present, Wolverhampton has four faculties which offer courses in over 70 subject areas and with about 4,000 graduate students each year.

He disclosed that the university has a community of 2,500 international students from over 150 countries, adding that the institution is proud of how it has developed its educational network, which, he said is on the rise to ensure the success of its graduates in a global economy. Over the last few years, he said, nearly 1,000 Nigerians studied in the university, saying that this has been invaluable, not only for the Nigerian economy, but also in creating strong relationships and partnerships.