SDAU China at OAAD GUPASS

On 24th March 2023, the second edition of Global Universities Programs and Scholarship Series (GUPASS), was held virtually on the zoom platform with a recorded attendance of 80 + participants from 21 countries including Burundi, Nigeria, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, South Sudan, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Botswana, Gabon, Zambia, Benin Republic, Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Togo, Eritrea, Egypt, and China. Beyond the 80+ unique participants, a group of tens of students led by their lecturer, one of our members from Lukenya University joined from Kenya.

A Section of Participants at the OAAD GUPASS 2023 Sessions

GUPASS, a project under the Organization of African Academic Doctors (OAAD) Solutions for Communities Initiative (SCI) was established for four main purposes:

1) to measurably support the internationalization agenda of our guest universities as a way of contributing to their world university ranking through expected increase in student diversity.

2) to allow our guest universities provide information that increase their chances of attracting high quality prospective postdoctoral research fellows, academic staff, professors and other relevant human resources that advance compliance with global requirements for inclusiveness.

3) to allow interested applicants for undergraduate and postgraduate programs from tens of countries have direct conversations with key leaders of universities and relevant authorities who manage admissions and diverse scholarship options in universities around the world.

4) to contribute to global sustainable development through advancement of more inclusive international education across the world.

For this edition, OAAD hosted the leadership and staff of the International Cooperation & Exchange Office of Shandong Agricultural University (SDAU) China.

Second Section of Participants at the OAAD GUPASS 2023 Sessions

Beyond the Live GUPASS sessions, OAAD

circulates information about our guest universities across our online platforms.
our members help in spreading such information throughout their individual networks around the world.

OAAD is an international, inter-professional organization with a vision to enhance the quality of life in Africa through research, technology, and innovation. While our target numerical strength is 200,000 African PhD holders and PhD students; thousands of our current members are contributing to global sustainable development around the world as professors, innovators, entrepreneurs, early career researchers, government and diverse sectoral leaders in Africa, North America, Asia, Europe and South America. Through the structure of our 46 research groups, we are leveraging technology to remain in touch as we institutionalize research collaboration among African researchers and advance mutually beneficial engagements between them and entrepreneurs. The trust we build in the process and the cumulative social capital of our members empower us to work with real communities across Africa; consolidating human capital for sustainable development and facilitating people-led innovative solutions across diverse sectors of the economy.

Dr. Elijah C. ODII, Chairman OAAD Resident Think Tank, President and Resident African Resource Person, OAAD Global, introduced the objectives, leadership structure, and organizational drive of OAAD to attendees, further emphasizing the importance of cooperative efforts and global engagements.

An opening address by Dr. Elijah C. Odii; President and Resident African Resource Person, Organization of African Academic Doctors (OAAD) Global

Shandong Agricultural University (abbreviated SDAU) is a multi-disciplinary institution with over 100 years of history, having agriculture as its strength and life sciences as a distinctive feature, alongside natural sciences and social sciences. SDAU was founded in 1906 with the “motto: to climb higher, you must start from the bottom”, and vision and mission statements “to integrate learning with doing, and take practice as priority; put talent cultivation first, and worship academics.” SDAU is ranked No.143 in Best Global Universities in China in 2022 and currently engages in international cooperation with more than 70 overseas universities and research institutes. SDAU has three Chinese-foreign cooperatively-run programs and 1 school with universities from Germany, UK and USA from which more than 6000 students have graduated.

Representative authorities from SDAU included Prof. Lin Hai (Vice President of SDAU; Dean of the College of Animal Science and Technology, and Technical expert of the national laying hen industry technology system); Prof. Li Xianyao (Deputy dean of the College of Animal Science and Technology, Director of the Sino-US cooperative education in Animal Science); Mr. Jianshe Lv (Deputy Director of the International Cooperation & Exchange Office) and Mrs. Dongmin Xue (Staff, International Cooperation & Exchange Office).

An opening address by Prof. Lin Hai; The Vice President of Shandong Agricultural University; Dean of the College of Animal Science and Technology, and Technical expert of the national laying hen industry technology system, China

Prof. Lin Hai briefly addressed the participants highlighting agricultural production in China and the crucial role of Shandong province as the most significant province contributing to agriculture in China. He encouraged the enrollment of African scholars at SDAU and the initiation of cooperative efforts with African institutions citing an ongoing MoU with the University of Lome, Togo.

Mr. Jianshe Lv (Deputy Director of the International Cooperation & Exchange Office)

The Deputy Director of the International Cooperation & Exchange Office, Mr. Jianshe Lv also welcomed the participants for the event. The highlight of the event was a presentation on the admission’s guidelines and procedures for international scholars at SDAU given by Mrs. Dongmin Xue (Staff, International Cooperation & Exchange Office).

Presentation by Mrs. Dongmin Xue: Admission Staff, International Cooperation & Exchange Office, Shandong Agricultural University.

Mrs. Dongmin Xue further gave a detailed introduction to SDAU. Other discussions covered were the Scholarship and Programs at SDAU and the admission policies and guidelines for international scholars. This was actively discussed and the interactive session with participants addressed several issues such as admission requirements, scholarships offered, admission deadlines, contacting supervisors, research cooperation, and visa processing for international scholars. Prof. Li Xianyao from the College of Animal Science and Technology also remarked that the meeting was a great opportunity for interested candidates to connect with the institution and get familiar with the enrollment procedures to further drive the internationalization efforts of the school.

Prof. Li Xianyao, the Deputy dean of the College of Animal Science and Technology of Shandong Agricultural University, Director of the Sino-US cooperative education in Animal Science; Shandong Agricultural University delivers the closing address.

At the meeting, it was realized and affirmed that strategic efforts targeted at collaborative relations and cooperation achievements were fundamental to effectively promote the cultivation of research talents, achieve societal development, and open up a new chapter of cooperation and exchanges between the institutions, OAAD and SDAU. The facilitator of GUPASS 2 with SDAU, Dr. Victoria Uyanga, in her final words called on all participants to take full advantage of the opportunities presented either for themselves or for others in their networks who may find them useful.