The Federal Government of Nigeria granted an operating license to the Redeemer's University on 7 January 2005. In order to realize its dream, the Redeemed Christian Church of God, the Proprietors of the university, initially acquired a large expanse of land in Ede, Osun state, having obtained the Certificate of Statutory Right of Occupancy in 1997. The site of the university covers an area of about 812 hectares (2,010 acres).[2]
The university took off at the temporary site in the Redemption Camp on 11 October 2005 with 4 78 students admitted into three colleges. On 1 February 2006, 473 students matriculated into the colleges to pursue bachelor's degrees in various programmes and the university has produced 13 sets of graduates.[3]
Vice-chancellors
Aerial view of VC's office
Below is the list of vice-chancellors, from inception:
Redeemer's University provides on-campus accommodations for its students. It offers rooms designed to accommodate three students.[6]
View of an undergraduate hostel room in RUN
Halls of Residence
Undergraduate students at the University reside in the halls of residence, located on campus.
The hall of residence is divided into two: Queen Esther Hall for female students and Prophet Moses Hall for male students.[6]
African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID)
The Centre Director and other researchers in ACEGID
In 2013, the university won a World Bank Grant to fund the establishment of the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID). To win the grant, Redeemer's University entered a competition with 15 prestigious universities selected from West and Central Africa and after a rigorous exercise and based on the quality of work exhibited in her proposal, the university was awarded the grant which gave birth to the centre.
It is a World Bank funded collaborative research center. The partners are West African academic and medical institutions (Redeemer's University, University of Ibadan, Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital in Nigeria, University of Sierra Leone, Kenema Government Hospital in Sierra Leone and Universite Cheik Anta-Diop de Dakar). ACEGID has a mandate to build capacity in the field of genomics in young African scientists and identify and characterize pathogens of unknown origin using microbial metagenomics. Ultimately, the project aims to translate the research outcome into products that can be deployed to the field to contribute to the control, management and elimination of infectious diseases in the African continent.[7]
Some achievements of ACEGID
Accurate diagnosis of the first case of Ebola in Sierra Leone and Nigeria in the 2014 EVD outbreak[7][8]
Sequenced approximately 250 Ebola virus genomes and made available in open access databank[9]
Provided tools and training for disease diagnosis, sequencing and bioinformatics
Developed the capacity and provided facilities to study a BL4 pathogen in rural field settings (Nigeria and Sierra Leone)[7]
Developed Ebola virus rapid diagnostics test (RDT) for rapid diagnosis of the disease in 10mins[10]
Developed a new pan – Lassa fever rapid diagnostics test kit for diagnosis of the disease in 10mins.[7]
Discovered 2 novel highly divergent rhabdoviruses in Ekpoma, Nigeria[11]
Used clinical sequencing to uncover the origin and evolution of the Lassa virus
Discovered neutralizing monoclonal antibodies that target epitopes on Lassa virus glycoproteins giving potential for immunotherapeutic in Lassa fever.[7]
Participated in the 1000 genome project for the development of global reference for human genetic variation[12]
Received the 1st prize in the life sciences and Medicine category at the 6th Nigerian Universities Research and Development Fair.[7]
Trained approximately 1000 young African scientists in the field of Genomics and Bioinformatics between 2014 till date.
ACEGID was designated as one of the three Africa's regional reference laboratories for genomic sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 and other emerging pathogens.[13]
Academics
A garden between lecture rooms
The university runs both undergraduate[14] and postgraduate programmes.[15] Undergraduate programmes started at inception in 2005 with three colleges. They were the College of Natural Sciences, College of Management and Social Sciences and College of Humanities.
In the 2012–2013 academic year, the university admitted its first set of M.A., M.Sc., and PhD. students. So far, the university has produced 12 sets of graduates as of November 2020.
In the 2019/2020 Academic Session, the university changed from the Collegiate system to the Faculty system.[16] Also in that academic year, the university added two new Faculties, namely the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Environmental Sciences. Earlier in 2017/2018, the university commenced the Faculty of Law[17] and the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences.[18]
Awards and recognition
Highlights of some awards won by Redeemer's University
Winner, Overall best Nigerian University in the fields of Life Sciences and Medicine, NURESDEF (Nigerian Universities Research and Development Fair)[20][21]
Excellence in Adopting Emerging Technologies (Private University)[34]
Nigeria Technology Awards (NITAD)
Recognition and Rankings
The university has in recent times been on the receiving end of favorable rankings by various reputable, independent and international bodies, foremost of which includes the Times Higher Education Sub-Saharan university rankings 2023 which saw the university ranking as the 35th best university in Sub-Saharan Africa and the 5th best university in Nigeria.[35] In 2021, the Nigerian University System Rankings placed Redeemer's University as the second best university in Nigeria and the best private university in the country.[36]
