Nigerians have spent the last 20-30 years complaining about the parlous state of education at all levels in the country. Many have advanced reasons for the poor state and proposed solutions that range in dimension from the realms of reality to the absurd! Unfortunately, all of the approaches proposed and adopted so far have failed to advance education. There have been more talks than actions and the results have been woeful, sinking the country deeper into mind boggling ineffectiveness in the application of knowledge to solving the myriad of practical human problems we face every day, in the midst of unparalleled human and natural resources. Most of us have become experts at identifying the problems! Unfortunately collectively we have not been able to agree on how to solve the problems. Twenty to 30 years of complaining is long enough! Most of us know the problems confronting the education industry! It is time for all of us to accept that pragmatic solutions must be found to turn the tide for the better.

The (Nigerian) Committee of Deans of Post Graduate Schools (CDPGS) and the New Jersey Chapter of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organization of the Americas (NIDOA-NJ) have jointly agreed that fundamental re-engineering of the approach to education and research in Nigeria must be carried out urgently to advance the process of making our knowledge work for our country the way it has not been able to do so far. We need to develop a workforce that is smart enough to (a) find solutions to the political and sociological challenges that have retarded growth since independence and (b) move Nigeria away from an import driven economy to a knowledge driven one. That is the only way Nigeria can survive the dynamics of the competitive economy the world faces in the 21 st Century.

If you share in the above realities and you are in the research and education field, or you sympathize with the poor state of education in Nigeria and are anxious to see some fundamental transformation in the sector, then the first CDPGS/NIDOA-NJ Research & Education Summit (CNRES) is for you!

This Education Summit is like none before it! It is conceptualized to forge solid and sustainable collaborations between reputable Nigerian academia at home and in North America. The First CNRES will identify the gaps in the research and education sectors in Nigeria and develop a plan-of-action targeted at bridging such gaps and purposed to drive the Nigerian economy in the 21 st Century. The plan-of-action will focus on high impact projects that can be measured and evaluated regularly; and flexible enough to be adjusted as necessary to meet the needs of a growing economy. The desired capacity building in sensitive areas of the economy will be at the forefront of the agenda. Also, fashioning of university curriculum to focus the student's mind on solutions to human problems will receive priority considerations.

CNRES will show case how R&E has transformed economies around the world, identify how and why they have been effective and define clearly the strategies to be applied to the new Nigerian R&E systems. You will have an opportunity to contribute to panel discussions and learn how you can be involved in bringing about the imminent transformation in the Nigerian R&E systems.

Come and be one of the active players in bringing about the “change that Nigeria needs .“