Our Spring 2019 alum, Dr. David O. Obada has been working to improve the state of research and teaching at his resident university, Ahmadu Bello University(ABU).
Mentorship
Dr. Obada coordinated the invitation of two PhD students from Ireland he mentors, to mentor undergraduate interns at his lab, Multifunctional Materials Laboratory (MFML) at Ahmadu Bello University(ABU). The event was The African Center of Excellence on New Pedagogies in Engineering Education’s(ACENPEE) Innovation Week. Amongst other activities, the invited students made presentations to ACENPEE postgraduate students. The mentorship and seminars were on career progression, research opportunities, and strategies for professional development in science and engineering.
Pedagogy: Implemented novel teaching method
The CACPLA (Communicate, Active, Collaborate, Problem-Based Learning, and Assessment) pedagogy was implemented to teach students from four departments at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. The students were divided into a control and experimental group to assess the effect of the new teaching method on Waiting Line and Inventory Management. The study showed that the implementation of this pedagogy is beneficial and can be successfully integrated into instructional frameworks across several engineering subjects.
Keynote Speech Address
The 1st thematic school, a fully funded conference in Natitingou, Republic of Benin, took place from February 24-28, 2025, focusing on “Materials for Depollution of the Environment”. The conference featured presentations on environmental pollution issues, and Dr. Obada presented on nano-clays and polymers for membranes. Four fully funded ABU students participated in the workshop. Two of the funded students, supervised by Dr. Obada, presented their MSc projects on practical methods to minimize environmental pollution and convert waste into wealth.
