School of Infection & Immunity's Professor Harry de-Koning helps facilitate UofG-ABU MoU
Published: 12 May 2026
The University of Glasgow and Ahmadu Bello University have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding during a two-day visit coordinated by the School of Infection & Immunity's Professor Harry de-Koning. ABU is located in Zaria, Nigeria and has a student body of around 50,000, making it the largest university in Africa’s most populous nation.
The University of Glasgow and Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during a two-day visit coordinated by the School of Infection & Immunity's Professor Harry de-Koning.
ABU is located in Zaria, Nigeria and has a student body of around 50,000, making it the largest university in Africa’s most populous nation.
The Nigerian institution's delegation returned to Glasgow on Tuesday, 28 and Wednesday, 29 April 2026 to build upon a previous visit in December 2025, at which potential partnerships were explored.
ABU delegation:
- Professor Ahmed Adamu (Vice Chancellor of ABU)
- Professor Yakubo Kokori Ibrahim (Director of the Africa Centre of Excellence for Neglected Tropical Diseases and Forensic Biology)
- Professor Umar-Buratai Mohammed Inuwa
- Professor Aliyu Shuaibu Shehu
- Mr Abdullahi Bello Musa (Founder and chairman of AMA Medical Manufacturing)
- Professor Emmanuel Oluwadare Balogun (Coordinator, Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Office)
The opening session took place on Tuesday with multiple College of MVLS researchers in attendance to explore specific collaborations and joint project applications.
The delegation then met with UofG representatives the following day to sign the aforementioned MoU negotiated by Professor de-Koning.
The MoU was signed by Professor Adamu and Professor Rachel Sandison, Deputy Vice Chancellor for External Engagement and Vice Principal for External Relations for UofG.
Former Sii Head of School Professor Andy Waters witnessed the signing as part of his role as Dean of Internationalisation.
Professor Sandison said “I am delighted that the University of Glasgow has signed an MoU with Ahmadu Bello University providing a strong and enabling framework for deeper collaboration with one of Nigeria’s foremost institutions.
"The partnership will support joint research programmes, postgraduate co-supervision, and academic exchange with a shared ambition to tackle some of the most pressing global health challenges of our time.
"Particularly, neglected tropical diseases and the rapidly growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes in Western Africa."
Professor Adamu expressed optimism that the MoU will further solidify research cooperation and promote mutual understanding between the two institutions.
He congratulated UofG on its 575th anniversary and remarked that ABU, a 64-year-old university, will gain from Glasgow's centuries of experience.
He also pointed out that the MoU comes at a historic time for both institutions and is in line with shared ambitions for genuine partnership and research collaboration between African and European universities in areas of mutual interest.
Sii Professor of Parasite Biochemistry and Pharmacology Professor de-Koning said: "The first visit was in early December of last year and was exploratory in nature.
"Since then, I have helped negotiate a Memorandum of Understanding between ABU and the University of Glasgow.
"Two principal reasons for the visit at this time are the signing of the MoU and the continuation of the exploratory discussions in early December to develop concrete proposals for collaborative research and, potentially, graduate student exchanges."
First published: 12 May 2026