Afe Babalola University, commonly referred to as ABUAD, has partnered with the British Council to promote sustainable and eco-friendly university administration through the EcoScriber Capacity-Building Programme for University Administrators.
The initiative, supported by the British Council and organised by ABUAD’s Institute for Oil, Gas, Energy, Environment, and Sustainable Development (OGEES Institute), focused on promoting green, carbon-neutral, and paperless administrative systems in higher education institutions, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The programme, held at the university’s Senate Chambers, attracted university administrators, sustainability experts, ICT professionals, digital media practitioners, student innovators and participants from several higher institutions across Nigeria and beyond.
With the theme, “From Paper to Digital: Optimising Administrative Processes for Sustainable Higher Education,” the event highlighted the need to improve administrative efficiency, reduce dependence on paper-based workflows, strengthen memo tracking systems and encourage evidence-based sustainability reporting in universities.
In her welcome address, the Vice-Chancellor of ABUAD, Prof. Elisabeta Smaranda Olarinde, praised the British Council for supporting the initiative and commended the OGEES Institute, Sustainability Innovation Hub, project team and participating administrators for their contributions.
She noted that the EcoScriber initiative addresses long-standing administrative challenges in higher education institutions where printed memoranda, manual document routing and repeated paper usage still dominate operations.
According to her, sustainable administration must become part of daily university operations for institutions seeking efficiency, accountability and global competitiveness.
Prof. Olarinde linked the initiative to the vision of ABUAD founder, Aare Afe Babalola, to build an innovative, responsible and sustainable university.
She added that ABUAD’s ranking as first in Nigeria for sustainability impact for four consecutive years, third in Africa and 84th globally places a responsibility on the institution to align its administrative systems with global standards of accountability and efficiency.
Delivering the opening remarks, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research, Innovation and Strategic Partnerships, and Director of OGEES Institute, Prof. Damilola Olawuyi, described the programme as a major step toward strengthening sustainable administrative practices in higher education.
According to Olawuyi, sustainability goes beyond environmental policies and also includes how universities manage documents, preserve records, reduce waste and track institutional decisions.
“By exemplifying our institutional commitment as a green and sustainable university, ABUAD is well-placed to remain at the forefront of global best practices on sustainability impact, eco-entrepreneurship and preparing young leaders who will solve complex environmental challenges,” he said.
The British Council Programme Manager, Tosin Adeoti, explained that EcoScriber is part of the Innovation for African Universities initiative aimed at promoting innovation, entrepreneurship and practical problem-solving across African universities.
He disclosed that the EcoScriber project would be showcased alongside other innovation projects at a final pitch event scheduled to be held in Ghana in May 2026.
Technical sessions at the programme featured practical training on the use of artificial intelligence and digital workflow tools in university administration.
Innovation Lead at OGEES Institute, Abraham Adeniran, delivered a presentation on using AI and digital tools to manage administrative tasks, highlighting the inefficiencies associated with paper-heavy administrative systems.
Participants were introduced to practical applications of AI tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini for memo drafting, document summarisation, report structuring and email improvement.
The Registrar of ABUAD, Lady Christie Oluborode, also spoke on the importance of communication, record-keeping, ethics, confidentiality and institutional discipline in effective university administration.
In another lecture on the “Sustainability Imperative in University Administration,” Prof. Olarinde stressed that every unnecessary printout, duplicated memo and delayed file contributes to financial, environmental and institutional costs.
The final lecture, delivered by Prof. Bayo Ogundipe, focused on digital readiness for university administrators.
He encouraged administrators to develop digital confidence in areas such as word processing, official email etiquette, digital filing, spreadsheets, cybersecurity awareness and responsible AI usage.
The programme also featured an interactive session where participants discussed digital adoption, confidentiality, AI use, data protection and the implementation of paperless administrative systems in universities.
At the end of the event, participants expressed interest in additional hands-on EcoScriber training sessions, while organisers announced plans for a dedicated onboarding and demonstration programme.
The organisers described the EcoScriber Capacity-Building Programme as a major milestone in ABUAD’s efforts to promote sustainable, efficient and evidence-driven university administration while reinforcing the role of Nigerian universities in driving practical innovation and accountability.
More than 300 participants attended the programme physically and virtually, including representatives from Obafemi Awolowo University, Admiralty University of Nigeria, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Durban University of Technology and National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies.
#ABUAD #BritishCouncil #EcoScriber #Sustainability #PaperlessAdministration #HigherEducation #DigitalTransformation #GreenCampus #SDGs #UniversityAdministration #NigeriaEducation #AIinEducation
All rights reserved. The content on this website, including text and other digital materials, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed in part, without the express written consent of The News Accelerator Network.
For advertising inquiries, news coverage, or press releases, please get in touch with us at
📧 thenewsacceleratornetwork@gmail.com
📞 08051017159
Kindly follow us on: https://www.facebook.com/thenewsaccelerator
You can also subscribe to our YouTube channels here:ucvelrc3winkz7tdmhmzarmqhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/sub_confirmation=1
إرسال تعليق