By Chinedum Treasure
The Vice-Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, Anambra State, Prof. Ugochukwu Anyaehie, has unveiled a five-year Strategic Development Plan aimed at repositioning the institution among Nigeria’s top five universities and Africa’s top 20 by 2031.
The plan, covering 2026 to 2031 and themed “A Greater UNIZIK is Possible,” is built around eight strategic pillars: academic excellence, research and innovation, global recognition, digital transformation, staff and leadership excellence, student welfare, modern infrastructure, and financial sustainability.
Anyaehie said the roadmap was designed to address challenges confronting the university, including unstable power supply, fragmented digital infrastructure, overcrowded classrooms and laboratories, delays in equipment installation and financial constraints.
He said the university would strengthen teaching and learning through improved implementation of the NUC Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS), expanded digital learning, better accreditation preparedness and programmes aligned with emerging labour-market needs.
The VC also identified research and innovation as a major priority, saying the university would expand applied research, improve research equipment deployment, strengthen intellectual property protection and create pathways for commercialising discoveries.
He disclosed plans to establish specialised research hubs in clean energy and artificial intelligence to enhance UNIZIK’s contribution to technological and societal development.
On internationalisation, Anyaehie said the university would improve its global visibility and ranking performance, establish dedicated international admissions structures, support researchers with publication funding and host international conferences.
The university’s digital transformation agenda will include high-speed internet infrastructure, a Learning Management System, smart security systems, expanded e-governance and modern digital media facilities.
The plan also prioritises staff welfare and professional development through improved welfare packages, clearer promotion pathways, mentorship programmes and measures to sustain industrial harmony.
For students, the administration plans to expand accommodation, psychosocial support, health insurance coverage, emergency financial assistance and campus security.
Infrastructure development will include facility modernisation, reliable off-grid power solutions, rehabilitation of access roads, particularly at the Okofia/Nnewi Campus, and waste-to-wealth initiatives.
Anyaehie further said the university would strengthen its internally generated revenue through a decentralised IGR framework, an Endowment Fund, public-private partnerships and revitalisation of university-owned commercial enterprises.
He said the overall objective was to build a UNIZIK that is academically stronger, research-driven, digitally advanced, globally visible, student-centred and financially resilient.
By 2031, he said, the administration expects UNIZIK to emerge as the leading federal university in the South-East, rank among the top five universities in Nigeria and secure a place among Africa’s top 20.
Tags: UNIZIK, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Ugochukwu Anyaehie, Education, Anambra State
