| University of Buea | |
|---|---|
| Université de Buea | |
| Motto | Knowledge with Wisdom |
| Established | 1992 |
| Vice-Chancellor | Prof. Vincent P.K. Titanji |
| Location | Buea, South West Region, Cameroon |
| Nickname | The place to be |
| Affiliations | University of Manchester |
| Website | http://www.ubuea.net/ |
University of Buea or Université de Buea is located in Buea in South West Cameroon near Mount Cameroon. It was founded as a university centre in 1985 and it became a university in 1992 on basis of government decree.[1] It is one of the two Anglophone universities alongside the newly created university of Bamenda in Cameroon.[2][3]
The university was born following wide-ranging university reforms in Cameroon. UB, as it is fondly referred to, was conceived in the English-speaking tradition; the University of Buea seeks to foster the essence of that system, while situating itself within the larger bilingual and multicultural context of Cameroon.
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UB is in the historic town of Buea, former capital of German Kamerun, former capital of the federated State of West Cameroon and now the provincial capital of the South West region of Cameroon. Although the university draws its students mainly from the English-speaking part of Cameroon, it also serves the other provinces of the country.
Admission into the University of Buea is competitive and based on selection from the pool of admissions applications. Application packages normally go on sale in early August. Application packages are available at the University of Buea and at the following Presbook bookshops: Buea, Limbe, Kumba, Mamfe, Bamenda, Kumbo, Douala, Tiko and Yaounder.
Applicants may obtain the application package after paying a non-refundable processing fee of 10.000 FCFA into one of the university's accounts at BICEC BUEA, SCB/CL LIMBE or BANK ATLANTIQUE LIMBE. The original receipt can be exchanged for the application package at any of the distribution centres.
Before completing forms, applicants are advised to read carefully through the information leaflet and instructions for filling the OMR forms enclosed in the application package.
Applicants awaiting G.C.E. 'A' Level and Baccalaureate results may also apply. They do not need to wait until the results are published. It is their responsibility to furnish the university with their results when they are published.
Applicants may obtain the application package after paying a non-refundable processing fee of 20.000 FCFA into one of the university's accounts at BICEC BUEA, SCB/CL LIMBE or BANK ATLANTIQUE LIMBE. The original receipt from any of these banks can be exchanged for the application package at any of the distribution centres.
The mission of the University of Buea is to provide opportunities for quality education through teaching and research in an environment that is conducive to such pursuits and in ways that respond to market forces. The University is dedicated to the continuous quest for excellence, the promotion of moral and human values, and service to the community. Its teaching and research programmes emphasize relevance, encourage tolerance and promote creative, critical and independent thinking. The University of Buea is dedicated to the provision of programs of study and research of the highest standards. It also produces high quality graduates with skills to satisfy the ever increasing demand of the Cameroonian, African and international job markets. The academic staff hold advanced qualifications and several possess international reputations.
The student population is over 12,000, including over 50 who are physically and visually disabled. Adequate welfare provision for this later category of students remains a challenge and a priority for the university administration.
A highly qualified and diversified staff (about 300 permanent and 200 part-time) cater for the students, with partners in more than 40 universities in Africa, Europe and North America. In addition to teaching, the staff undertake research in fields that are relevant to national development. In addition to the academic staff, UB has about 473 support staff.
The University of Buea is made up of eight faculties (Engineering, College of Technology Arts, Education, Health Sciences, Science, and Social and Management Sciences, Agriculture and Veterinary medicine ) and one professional school, the Advanced School of Translators and Interpreters (ASTI).
Training at the University of Buea is supported by modest infrastructure including lecture halls, teaching and research laboratories, amongst others. For effective implementation of the New Policy on University Governance which lays emphasis on effectiveness, efficiency and management principles based on rigor, transparency and results, the university is connected to a fiber optic link to Camtel, a major local telecommunications company. In keeping with the New University Governance Policy of Cameroon, the outreach activities of the university are increasingly involving the private sector in funding and training so as to ensure that the graduates are relevant to the labour market. The University of Buea provides mentorship and plays a supervisory role to several tertiary education institutions all over Cameroon.
As in most English-speaking institutions, the governance system of the university is based on concentration and devolution of management, with structures such as Council, Senate, Congregation and Committees on which staff and students are represented. This has enabled the university to make considerable strides and to be recognized as a progressive African university of choice.
The main campus has a campus-wide optical-fiber network linking most of the buildings. Internet connectivity is provided via a VSAT link. Plans are underway to improve on the available bandwidth for Internet connectivity.
Staff can connect to the university network directly from their offices. Additionally, the IT Centre runs a cyber café for Internet access by staff and students at a modest cost. Plans are underway to greatly expand the number of access points available to both staff and students.
The Research mandate of the University of Buea is spelt out in Decree No. 93/034 of 19 January 1993 as follows: Encourage, promote and conduct research in all fields of learning and human endeavour; Contribute to national development and promote social and cultural values.
To be a world class university, that excels in research for development. In view of its vision and aspiration of becoming a leading university in the quality and relevance of its teaching, research and services by 2015, the University of Buea is emphasizing sports, entrepreneurship and civics and ethics in its training programs; and providing a healthy competitive atmosphere devoid of sex, racial and religious discrimination.
The University of Buea will conduct research for sustainable development to enhance the quality of life of Cameroonians. Both fundamental and applied research will be done to address issues of relevance to the local, national and global communities as well as to industry.
The Buea University Library operates in two buildings. The main library is housed in a newly constructed building. It houses the open stacks book collection, quick reference and general reference books. The annex library contains special collections — reserve Books/Lecturers Notes, Archives, Journals and Cameroon collection. In addition to these, the Annex Library houses a collection of cassettes, video tapes, micro-film and multi-media (CD-ROM) resources.
The Annex Library is located behind the Faculty of Arts Building. The Main Library stands majestically between the university’s science laboratories, the Faculty of Arts Building and the Annex Library.
All faculty, staff and students of the University of Buea may borrow and use the library collection. Alumni, users from institutions affiliated with UB and members of the public can with due authorization use the library.
Outreach and cooperation activities of the university seek to create strategic alliances with institutions and organisations at home and abroad to exploit the opportunities of an increasingly globalised world. The University of Buea therefore has linkages with many foreign universities and cooperation with some international organisations. The linkages usually aim at the exchange of staff and students whilst international organisations usually assist the university with capacity building of staff and funding for research. There is also increasing collaboration with national institutions and enterprises. Whilst institutions provide support in teaching and research, enterprises, for now, only provide facilities for practical training of students. There is therefore great potential for growth in the collaboration of enterprises in the areas of research and development.
Another area of an outreach activity is the establishment of partnerships with private institutions of higher education. The aim of these partnerships is to help young private institutions grow in stature to produce graduates with skills corresponding to the needs of the job market.