The Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, has appointed Professor Raymond Bacsmond Bako of the Institution’s Faculty of Education as the Pioneer Centre Leader of the World Bank funded Africa Center of Excellence on New Pedagogies in Engineering Education (ACENPEE), domiciled in ABU.
Born on 6th, March, 1958, Raymond attended ECWA Primary School Kafanchan between 1965 – 1971. He proceeded to Kufana College, Zaria, in 1972 where he finished in 1976 and later proceeded to Katsina College of Arts, Science and Technology, Zaria, for his Interim Joint Matriculation Board (IJMB) and was later admitted into the Ahmadu Bello University in 1979 where he obtained his B.A (Ed) History Degree in 1982.
Raymond proceeded to university of Jos in 1985 for his M.Ed (Philosophy of Education) and PhD (Philosophy of Education) in 1999 where he graduated in 1988 and 2007 respectively.
He joined the services of Ahmadu Bello University in 1990 as an Assistant Lecturer and rose to the rank of Professor in 2013.
Professor Raymond B. Bako is a Fulbright Scholar having been to the University of Maryland, College Park, USA in 1998, for the Fulbright programme. He has been an active member of the Fulbright Alumni Association of Nigeria (FAAN) becoming the National President of the Association 2010-2014. He is also a United States Government sponsored International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) participant on “Alumni Leadership Development” in 2010. Prof.Bako was the Coordinator of the Education and Development Research Network of the Institute for Development Research (IDR), Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He has received research grants including the World Bank STEP-B project grant, US State Department and the US Embassy in Nigeria grants.
Professor Bako’s interest in Engineering Education started in 2007 when a US Fulbright scholar, Professor Bernard Van Wie from Washington State University (WSU), Pullman, USA came to the Department of Chemical Engineering, Ahmadu Bello University. His Fulbright programme research was in Engineering Education and he requested Professor Bako (Fulbrighter) to join his team as the education specialist. Professor Van Wie and the team eventually won the World Bank STEP-B grant in 2008 to deepened their work on the Cooperative, Hands-on, Active, Problem-solving Learning (CHAPL) pedagogy using a miniaturize Desktop Learning Module (DLM) equipment.
Professor Bako and his team have received training and certification on Engineering Education from Washington State University (WSU), Pullman, USA and Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. In addition, Professor Bako has attended international conferences and delivered papers on Engineering Education. He has been published by the International Journal of Engineering Education (IJEE), USA. Professor Bako is a member of the African Engineering Education Association (AEEA), American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) and a network member of the International Federation of Engineering Societies (IFEES).
Prof. Bako has also been involved in community development work for over 10 years working as a Senior Researcher in the implementation of projects such as Leadership Development for Political Leaders in Reproductive Health and Family Planning (LDP/RH/FP), Transforming Education for Girls in Nigeria (TEGIN), Gender Disparity in Education in Northern Nigeria, Gombe Mai Ruwa and the Samaru Car Wash projects. He has also been involved as a Senior Researcher in the evaluation of Mobilizing for Development (M4D) project and Child Development Grant Programme (CDGP). Similarly, he was involved in the World Bank project onWomen’s Initiative for Socio-Economic Engagement(WISE).
In addition, Prof.Bako has an in-depth knowledge of conflict resolution mechanisms having worked with the Abraham Research Group, Florida International University, Florida to organize an Interfaith Conflict Resolution workshop. His leadership and organisational skills coupled with the ability to team work has helped in the successful implementation of the various projects he has been engaged in. His project experience also include ability to carry out in-depth review of literature, good understanding of various research methodologies, qualitative and quantitative analysis of data and project report writing. Prof.Bako is well published in national and international journals and has attended conferences in the United States of America (USA), South Africa and China.