Owning Your Brilliance You’ve stayed up all night at the “White House,” sat through hot, crowded lecture halls, and put your heart into your code or creative work. Here’s the truth: in the real world, your idea is only as valuable as your ability to protect it. Whether you’re building the next big fintech app or writing a groundbreaking thesis, your brainpower is a valuable asset. Thanks to the IPTTO (Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Office) at...

Summary OAU exceeds the 30% gender benchmark, with women now representing 37% of the university’s workforce, up from 13.6% in 2002, surpassing both its policy target and the national average. The university’s 2009 Gender Policy targeting a 70:30 male-to-female ratio  continues to guide equitable recruitment, leadership appointments, and professional development. The Centre for Gender and Social Policy Studies (CGSPS) and the Planning, Budgeting, and Monitoring Unit (PBMU) drive gender accountability through annual audits, mentorship programs, and leadership...

Summary OAU promotes measurable gender equity through its 2009 Gender Policy, which tracks the applications, appointments, and promotions of women across all units. Female representation increased from 40% in 2018 to 47% in 2023, reflecting the success of OAU’s data-driven and inclusive recruitment strategy. The University's 70:30 male-to-female target ensures accountability in staff recruitment, promotions, and leadership appointments. Supportive structures such as mentorship programs, crèches, and scholarships for women in Science and Technology promote retention and leadership...

Education Beyond the Campus Walls In Obafemi Awolowo University, where the culture, innovation and learning are flourishing, education goes beyond the four classroom walls. The university is solid and dedicated to the growth of knowledge and innovation as well as community development since its founding. The citadel of learning is committed to ensuring the advancement of cutting-edge research and development-focused activities, as there is the belief that education is a powerful tool in the development of society....

OAU is also inclusive in innovation. The WIE OAU Student Branch celebrated its 2025 Week with a strong outreach, entitled The STEM Outreach That Almost Didn’t Happen. On June 25th, 2025, after some ups and downs in the morning, the team persevered and attended Our Lady Girls High School where 276 young girls attended an inspiring interactive session. The programme also exposed the students to the international IEEE Women in Engineering network making them realise that they...

The global fight against hunger continues. Despite advances, hunger and food insecurity have increased since 2015. Obafemi Awolowo University addresses this in Nigeria through innovation, community engagement, and research-backed interventions. Since the Vitamin A cassava program began, over 1,000 farmers have participated, achieving a 30% average yield increase. This results in an additional month of food supply per household, or over 60 extra school lunches per year. Initial assessments indicate a 20% increase in Vitamin A levels...

The culture of innovation in OAU is also successful because of students. The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) OAU Student Branch, which is among the most active ones in the country, keeps engineering education off campus with SPAW 2.0 (Student Professional Awareness Workshop).  This was a one-year outreach program that taught secondary school students about embedded systems and entrepreneurial thinking that taught them concepts of sensors all the way to the implementation of a complete...

OAU Health Center Nurse educating patients during a Pre-Clinical Check  Transforming patient care Everyone, everywhere deserves access to quality healthcare. To achieve better health outcomes and quality of life, care must be adequate, patient-centered, and accessible. As a healthcare provider, our role extends far beyond treatment and medication. It is about education, empowerment, and fostering a culture of wellness. Every hospital visit presents a unique opportunity for our medical and health services team to connect with patients,...

Gender Weekly Digest Shattering Barriers: How OAU’s Vision is Setting a New Standard for Gender Balance in University Admissions. Step inside OAU’s transformative journey and discover the policies and actions driving real gender equity in Nigerian higher education, opening doors for the next generation of women leaders. Summary ●   OAU’s Gender Policy aims for a 60:40 male-to-female admissions ratio, particularly in STEM fields. ●   Comprehensive systems track and enforce gender balance, including data-driven governance and...

From Innovation to Impact: How OAU Inspires the Next Generation through Technology, STEM, and Research By Timothy Ayelagbe Adejare INNOVATION WITH A HUMAN PURPOSE. At Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), innovation is not limited to laboratories, but is found in classes, in communities, in the intelligent young minds of the learners. Since OAU is a research-based and culture-oriented university, it still proves that science and technology should not be just the way to enhance knowledge, but also to...