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Manufacturing Assistance Center (MAC) Partnership in Lagos, Nigeria

On Thursday, October 6, 2022, a partnership with Lagos State University (LASU), spearheaded by Pitt’s Center for African Studies (CAS), was sealed in Lagos, Nigeria.

Together, Pitt and LASU will establish a Manufacturing Assistance Center (MAC) and collaborate on research, share innovative ideas and teaching methods, organize events, and exchange students and faculty to create new opportunities for development. The MAC, which will train engineering students and graduates in different aspects of manufacturing, is already under construction on LASU’s Epe campus.

Since 1994, the Pitt Manufacturing Assistance Center (MAC) has provided workforce development training in skills relevant to contemporary manufacturing employment. The MAC is spreading her wings and already making a global impact. When Pitt alum, Mr. Adeola Adetunji and member of the Chancellor’s Global Advisory Council toured the MAC in Homewood he immediately recognized the tremendous potential for Nigeria and said “we need this in Lagos!”  It was Adentunji’s vision and commitment to make it happen that this partnership has become a reality. 

Over the next five years, Pitt faculty and staff will serve in an advisory capacity to the LASU MAC team, sharing the expertise that they gained during the creation of Pitt’s MAC. In return, they will have access to insightful new perspectives and knowledge from the LASU team, a cross-cultural exchange that will strengthen programming at both universities.

Dr. Bopaya Bidanda, MAC Founder and Ernest Roth Professor of Engineering and Dr. Catherine Koverola, Director of the Center for African Studies together with Adeola Adentunji and Project Coordinator, Mr. Yemi Osilaja joined the Vice-Chancellor of Lagos State University, Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello and members of LASU’s management and legal teams for the celebratory MOU signing ceremony after visiting the construction site of the MAC.

Koverola said “we are thrilled and proud to be launching the MAC in partnership with LASU; it is exactly this kind of partnership that is emblematic of Pitt’s commitment to bilateral engagement across Africa and the globe.”  Be sure to follow progress on this and other initiatives on the African continent at Center for African Studies at Pitt.

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