We support the Ife-institute of Advanced Studies (the Institute). The Ife-Institute’s mission is to advance postdoctoral research focused on issues of national identity, culture, and society.
The Institute is committed to the following:
- Improving the quality of faculty, academia within Nigeria;
- Fostering cutting-edge, innovative research beyond standard university levels;
- Encouraging the exchange of ideas among scholars and promoted deep knowledge in different disciplines;
- Ultimately, accommodating postdoctoral research for international scholarly communities, possibly in cooperation with other African countries.
- Fosters the participation of senior and junior scholars in interdisciplinary research;
- Actively engages non-university intellectuals, Nigerian and African thought-leaders and civil servants in matters related to Africa’s economic growth and policy development;
- Hosts several research programs and themes.
The Summer Institute is one of the first initiatives of the Olupona Foundation and served as a catalyst for its larger project to build and develop Nigeria’s first Institute of Advanced Studies.
In collaboration with the Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, Nigeria, the Foundation hosted the first Summer Institute in 2017; a two-week summer program on The Knowledge Society and the Challenges of Doing Research in Africa: Theoretical Perspectives and Methodological Approaches.
What are the goals of the Summer Institute?
The main goal of the summer residential program is to facilitate and foster innovative research of young scholars in the academy, particularly those in the humanities and social sciences, by exposing them to relevant theoretical and methodological tools in their respective disciplines.
The program is also aimed at encouraging the participation of senior and junior scholars in interdisciplinary research and in various areas of knowledge by providing them with access to a strong infrastructure to carry on important research.
Finally, another objective of the Summer Institute is to foster deliberations about how to shape Nigeria’s future through scholarships and establishing a network of non-university
intellectuals, Nigerian and African society thought-leaders and civil servants.
Olupona foundation in collaboration with other supporting organization sponsors the annual summer institute for doctorate and post-doctorate students.
