Knowledge is Power. Today, knowledge is the major currency of socioeconomic development. The University of Ibadan is producing leaders of tomorrow with a mission and vision focused on solving the challenges and meeting the societal needs of Nigeria.

In 2014, the University of Ibadan took a giant step to establish the first Research Foundation in Nigeria. The University of Ibadan Research Foundation (UI-RF) is serving as a research and capacity building platform to support leading edge research that can be translated to evidence, innovations, products and to nurture future research leaders for sustainable economic development of Nigeria. The outputs of the innovations are expected to become a driving force to diversify the economy of Nigeria.

The University of Ibadan Research Foundation is creating the Library of Tomorrow (LoT) to equip our graduates with knowledge and expertise that can be used to address the challenges of the nation as never before. Today’s library in advanced countries provides leaders with e-book, digitalized collections of historic documents; powerful visual images of concepts and access to the world of knowledge without leaving their institutions. The libraries organize poetry slams for young people, students do collaborative work on class assignment on electronic platforms. Our libraries in Nigeria today need to be modernized to provide knowledge to meet the needs of our people.

The Library of Tomorrow of the UI Research Foundation is designed to proactively engage young and inquiring minds on discussions on leading edge knowledge on-education; arts; sciences; innovations and novel technologies that can uplift our society. The LoT is a proactive centre designed to share new knowledge and provoke discussions on innovations that can generate better life for Nigerians without waiting for the communities to seek change. The ‘Library of Tomorrow’ is created for researchers and leaders of today with a mission to provide the information on your desks and door steps so that they are equipped to move our nation forward.

In two years of its existence, the UI-Research Foundation has started to set the building blocks of a robust new knowledge generation, proving research grants to seven innovative research projects on Agriculture, Energy, Health and Infrastructure. We have awarded Research Career Development Grants with built in international sojourns for promising young faculty members to bring new competencies to research at the University of Ibadan.

The Vice Chancellor stated the program with a grant of One hundred million Naira, two hectares of land and a startup fund of ten million naira for construction of the UI-Research Foundation Centre. The pioneer Chairman of the Board of the UI-Research Foundation- The Rt. Hon. Chevalier Uduimo J. Itsueli, KSG, OON, is leading the construction of the first phase of the UI-Research Foundation Centre with a commendable donation of One hundred million Naira.

We invite you to kindly join this laudable course to strengthen research and leadership of University of Ibadan in producing innovations for economic development of Nigeria.

We are seeking your funding support to create the Library of Tomorrow at the University of Ibadan Research Foundation. Your contributions will support efforts to provide information and knowledge that can be used to address the challenges of the nation as never before. Our aim is to launch the Library of Tomorrow as a cornerstone for national research community and leaders of the industry.