The Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) has trained and certified 34 staff members as professional institutional rankers to boost its global visibility and strengthen its drive for international academic relevance.

A statement signed by the Deputy Registrar, Centre for Information, Communication and Public Relations, Mr Adekunle Adams, on Saturday, noted that the initiative aligned with YABATECH’s long-term vision of becoming a globally recognised institution of technical and vocational education and training.

He added that the college remained committed to excellence, competitiveness and international visibility.

He said the six-week training programme, titled “Mastering University Rankings for Global Visibility,” was facilitated by the Virtual Institute for Capacity Building in Higher Education under Emeritus Prof. Peter Okebukola.

He said participants were exposed to major global ranking systems, including Times Higher Education, QS, ARWU, Webometrics, AD Scientific Index and Clarivate Analytics.

Mr Adams stated that 34 participants successfully completed the programme, with 18 earning distinction, 10 credit, two merit and one pass, and were inducted as pioneer chartered rankers.

According to him, the participants also became members of the newly established Association of Ranking Professionals and acquired expertise in research visibility, citation impact, digital presence and institutional data management.

He noted that Nigerian polytechnics remained largely absent from major global ranking platforms, but added that YABATECH now had trained manpower to help reverse the trend.

Mr Adams said the Rector of YABATECH, Dr Ibraheem Abdul, commended the participants for sponsoring themselves and described their achievement as a significant institutional milestone.

He said Mr Abdul noted that, unlike many sponsored trainings with limited impact, the participants distinguished themselves through strong performance and returned with knowledge capable of transforming the college.

Mr Adams added that the rector approved letters of commendation, endorsed the global ranking committee, and directed the newly certified rankers to cascade their knowledge across schools and units.

He said Mr Abdul expressed confidence that the initiative would enhance YABATECH’s national, continental and global standing and advance its vision of becoming a globally recognised technical and vocational education institution. 

(NAN)