ACE for Development Impact (ACE Impact)

 

2025 Annual Workplan Narrative

(To be submitted along with the attached detailed work plan and budget)

 

Name of Center	Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Power and Energy Development (ACE-SPED)
Institution	University of Nigeria, Nsukka
Country	Nigeria
Center Leader	Engr. Prof. Emenike C. Ejiogu
Annual Workplan (Month – Month Year)	January-June, 2025

 

Narrative

 

1.     Centre highlights in 2024 (maximum of 3 Highlights, maximum 100 words each) In a concise, descriptive statement suitable for public understanding, provide up to three Highlights from the Center accomplishments in the past year.

 

v  The Centre prepared her Annual Work Plan document for 2024, which was finally approved after its revision by the WB/AAU along with the Subject Matter Expert. Construction of the Service Core building of the Centre was completed and verified alongside major equipment and project procured under DLI 4.3. The Centre also completed the rehabilitation work at the Scholar’s village residence of regional students.

 

v  ACE-SPED secured International programme accreditation of two (2) of her masters programmes with HCERES. Similarly, the Centre has concluded gap assessment Institutional Accreditation with Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA), UK.

 

v  ACE-SPED has graduated 55 Masters students with about 15 doctoral students getting ready for graduation.  R&D efforts have been sustained towards commercialization of some of her key research outputs. Additionally, provisional admissions for students of 2023/2024 was completed involving 60 students (52 national and 8 regional students of which 21 are PhD students and 39 Masters students). The students are drawn from Nigeria, Cameroon, Gambia, Uganda, Ghana, and Sierra Leone.

 

2.     Key Centre achievements in 2024 (Maximum 500 words) Describe the Key Accomplishments of the Center in the preceding Calendar Year.  Focus on: Teaching, Research, Center-level Operations.  In addition, comment on how the Accomplishments align with the ACE Impact Project Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs) and the Center Implementation Plan.

 

v  The Centre has achieved wide acceptance by applicant within the country and across the region. This is evident in the increasing number of provisionally admitted students in 2023/2024.  The Centre has capped up in new PhD, new Masters students and Professional short courses (DLI 3.1, DLI 3.2 and DLI 3.3). 

 

v  The Centre successfully capped up in DLR 4.3 (Teaching and Research Environment) following the successful completion and verification of the service core building, equipment, renovation work and procurement of project vehicle

 

v  Staff and students of the Centre successfully published in high impact journals. This enabled the Centre to cap up in Research Publication (DLR 4.2).

 

v  The Centre successfully submitted report for DLI 2.2 (Development Impact). The result is currently being awaited and will complement the 50% already earned in DLI 2.1 (Progress towards Development Impact). The will enable the Centre earn full 100% in DLI 2.

 

v  Staff and students of the Centre participated in staff mobility by the West African Centres of Excellence in Energy Network (WACEENET) to WACENET-member Centres in Togo and Ghana. The Centre is also successfully implementing a grant of £17,000 under the Transforming Energy Access – Learning Partnership (TEA-LP) funded by UK Aid and overseen by the Carbon Trust to develop to mount two (2) new masters courses in (1) Local Solutions for Energy Access and (2) Mini-grids: Design and Operations.

 

3.     Plan for Acceleration (Maximum 500 words) Describe in what ways, if any, the Center is behind schedule with respect to the Implementation Plan.  How will the Center adjust to achieve the anticipated project deliverables by the conclusion of ACE Impact?

 

v  The outstanding balance for DLI 5.2 Internships has been achieved and verified. The Centre will be credited when the next verification letter is issued.

v  All activities are now completed in DLI 5.3 Entrepreneurship. Final reporting is to be completed before the end of November, 2024 for the Centre to cap in DLI 5.3

v  Appropriate fiduciary reporting will be done in December 2024 for the Centre to cap up in DLI 6.1 Timely Fiduciary Reporting. All financial documents will be uploaded to the Centre website and reported accordingly for the Centre to cap up in DLI 6.3 Financial Online Transparency

v  All activities listed and budgeted for in the 2025 Annual Workplan will be completed before the end of June 2025 as a way of utilizing the outstanding funds, successfully complete the project, and positioning the Centre for sustainability.

 

4.     Key changes to approved IP, including COVID-19 Related Activities (Maximum 500 words) Describe in what ways, if any, the Center proposes changes to its approved Implementation Plan.  Focus on the reasons for the proposed changes, any impact on the proposed activities, and how the proposed changes will affect the anticipated projects deliverables.

 

v  Not applicable.