By Ifeanyichukwu Ibe
The University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (UAES), Umuagwo, Imo State, has unveiled a series of achievements recorded since its establishment, as the institution prepares to graduate 505 pioneer students at its maiden convocation ceremony scheduled for Saturday, September 5, 2026.
The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor Christopher Chiedozie Eze, disclosed the achievements on Wednesday, September 2, during a press conference held ahead of the historic ceremony.
The Vice-Chancellor said the maiden convocation would provide the university with an opportunity to present its achievements to the public, noting that UAES had recorded significant progress in academic development, infrastructure, research, innovation and human capacity development within a relatively short period.
Professor Eze said the university, established by law on February 6, 2019, and which commenced academic activities on May 6, 2021, had grown steadily despite being a young institution.
He explained that the 505 pioneer graduates comprised 115 graduates from the 2024/2025 academic session and 390 from the 2025/2026 session.
According to him, the first graduating set produced six First Class graduates, while the second set produced 14 First Class graduates, bringing the total number of First Class graduates to 20.
He identified the overall best graduating students as Miss Alfred Ugochi Juliet of the Department of Business Administration, who obtained a CGPA of 4.92 in the 2024/2025 session, and Mr. Oji Shedrach Ozeum of the Department of Marketing, who graduated with a CGPA of 4.90 in the 2025/2026 session.
Professor Eze said the pioneer graduates had distinguished themselves despite being students of a university that was still developing its infrastructure and academic systems.
On the credibility of the certificates to be awarded during the convocation, the Vice-Chancellor disclosed that 24 academic programmes currently have full accreditation, while four others are on interim status and undergoing improvement.
He said the steady improvement in the university’s accreditation record since the 2022/2023 cycle was evidence of its commitment to academic standards.
The Vice-Chancellor further disclosed that UAES currently has 689 staff, comprising 284 academic and 405 non-academic staff.
He said the student population had increased from 291 pioneer undergraduates in the 2021/2022 academic session to 584 in the 2025/2026 session, with a cumulative 2,355 students admitted since inception.
Professor Eze also highlighted the university’s achievements in research and innovation, disclosing that UAES researchers had attracted several externally funded projects supported by organisations including the European Union, the United Kingdom’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Gates Foundation, RTI International and RUFORUM.
He added that the university had secured a TETFund National Research Fund grant in each of the last three consecutive cycles.
He particularly cited the AgroNova Dryer, a hybrid solar-battery powered multi-crop drying system developed by a UAES team.
According to him, the innovation emerged as the Overall Champion and won the Pitch Deck Champion Award at the 2025 TETFund Alliance for Innovative Research (TETFAIR), where UAES was among only 11 institutions selected nationwide and the only university from the South-East.
He further disclosed that the innovation was formally patented by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment in November 2025.
On infrastructure, Professor Eze said the university had undertaken more than 160 construction, repair, rehabilitation and procurement projects between November 2022 and August 2026.
He listed some of the projects as the renovation of the Faculty of Engineering complex, construction of a 500-capacity lecture hall, rehabilitation of the Medical Centre, improvement of hostel and laboratory facilities, and provision of solar lighting across student hostels.
He also said the university had invested significantly in staff development. According to him, 144 staff members had been sponsored to attend conferences since 2023 at a cost exceeding N100 million, while 288 staff had benefited from TETFund-sponsored training, 105 through Institution-Based Research Grants and 55 were currently on TETFund doctoral scholarships.
Another 289 staff, he added, had benefited from free training provided by the FUTO Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards.
Professor Eze expressed profound appreciation to the Visitor to UAES and Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodimma, for his visionary leadership and immense 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 contributed significantly to the remarkable transformation recorded by 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲.
The 𝐕𝐢𝐜𝐞-𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 appealed to individuals, families, corporate organisations and sister institutions to support the university, particularly in the areas of scholarships, 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, laboratory expansion, staffing, 𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 and security.
He also called for stronger partnerships with research institutions, development agencies and industries, stressing that UAES had demonstrated its capacity to deliver credible, fundable and patentable research.
Professor Eze urged prospective students and their parents to consider UAES, noting that the university equips students with knowledge in their chosen disciplines as well as agriculture, environmental sciences and entrepreneurship. He disclosed that admission into the 2026/2027 academic session was ongoing.
At the press conference were key members of the university’s management team, including the Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Dr. Obinna Adumanya; Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), Dr. Emmanuel Uzodimma; Acting Registrar, Dr. Olachi Ihejirika; Acting Bursar, Dr. Iwunna Ada; and University Librarian, Professor Chidi Nwosu, among other management staff.
