A team of 15 Spanish academics were in Sierra Leone during January to further strengthen the bilateral relationship between Universidad San Pablo, Madrid, and the University of Makeni. The visitors were specialists ranging from medicine, entrepreneurs, architecture and mass communication.
There was a joint meeting between the Spanish team and staff of UNIMAK on Sunday 21st January 2018 to meet with the different faculties departmental heads and directorate of various units of the university. Several meetings were held during the week with various departments and faculty members. A communication expert from the Universidad San Pablo, Elena Lebrian, held fruitful meetings with the staff and students of the UNIMAK Mass Communication Department. Dean of Faculty of Mass Communication and Information Technology, Joseph Ezekiel Thulla, said he was very grateful to see Professor Elena Librian in the department of Mass Communication as this is marked the beginning of a fruitful relationship between the UNIMAK Mass Communication Department and the Universidad San
Pablo School of Journalism .
UNIMAK Mass Communication Head of Department, Leonard Mamoud Kamara, hoped that the two institutions would make an agreement on staff and students exchange, lab equipment, research, scholarship opportunities for staff and students, and long and short term training in Sierra Leone and Madrid. He explained that UNIMAK’s Mass Communication Department is a training ground for journalists and media experts in the country since 2005.
In her response, Professor Elena said she was happy to meet the staff and students of the departments. “We would work together to collaborate in the areas you have mentioned. I will go back and report to the Dean of my school the outcome of this meeting and then we will start collaborating” Professor Elena explained.