Jane Salihu
The Federal Government has challenged Nigerian universities and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) to transform research and innovations developed in universities into businesses, jobs and practical solutions capable of driving Nigeria’s economic growth.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, CON, gave the charge while addressing Vice-Chancellors, Directors of Academic Affairs, Directors of Postgraduate Studies and officials of the Federal Ministry of Education’s Directorate of University Education on the possibility of partnering with universities through the NASENI Campus.
Alausa said Nigeria must deliberately bridge the gap between research and the marketplace if the country is to fully harness the potential of its human capital.
He stressed that research outputs should not end as academic publications or prototypes, but should be supported through patenting, product development, investment and the establishment of viable companies.
According to him, the proposed NASENI Campus provides an opportunity to connect university researchers with advanced laboratories, prototyping facilities, industries and investors, thereby creating a pathway for promising ideas to move from the laboratory to the marketplace.
Drawing lessons from the innovation ecosystem around Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Minister said Nigerian researchers should have opportunities to patent their inventions, develop marketable products and work with investors to establish businesses.
He said such a model would help transform Nigeria’s human capital into human development by creating enterprises, employment and wealth.
Alausa therefore urged NASENI to strengthen its affiliations with universities located around its development centres, noting that the institutions have a large pool of researchers, lecturers and students whose expertise could complement the agency’s activities.
He said NASENI could serve as the missing link between academic research and commercial success by supporting researchers with patenting, connecting them to venture capital and facilitating the establishment of university spin-off companies.
The Minister also challenged the agency to explore opportunities in lithium processing and battery manufacturing as Nigeria expands its renewable energy capacity and seeks to strengthen its industrial base.
Earlier, the EVC/CEO of NASENI, Mr. Khalil Suleiman Halilu, outlined the agency’s efforts to bridge the gap between research and production in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive to move innovations beyond prototypes and into actual production.
Halilu explained that the proposed NASENI Campus, located within a 100-hectare free trade zone, was being developed as an integrated environment where researchers, professors, prototyping facilities, industries and commercialisation opportunities could operate together.
He added that several factories and industrial facilities had already been established within the zone, creating an ecosystem capable of supporting the transition from research to production.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Abuja, Professor Hakeem Babatunde Fawehinmi, said the university’s existing partnership with NASENI demonstrated the potential of the model being advocated by the Minister.
Fawehinmi said the collaboration had produced facilities including an integrated agriculture incubation centre, greenhouse facilities, automated poultry systems and tissue culture laboratories, which support undergraduate and postgraduate research.
He added that the university was ready to deepen the partnership in areas such as dairy science and renewable energy.
Similarly, the Vice-Chancellor of Bayero University, Kano, Professor Haruna Musa, disclosed that the institution was exploring expanded collaboration with NASENI in nanotechnology, vaccinology, toxinology and mathematical modelling.
Musa said two research projects from the university had reached the final stage of NASENI’s research commercialisation grant process.
The projects include a reusable sanitary pad initiative and the commercial production of sweet potato-based starch derivatives.
Reaffirming the Federal Government’s commitment to the initiative, Alausa said the Ministry would continue to work with NASENI, universities and other stakeholders to build a functional pathway from research and innovation to investment, production and job creation.
He stressed that under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the objective was not simply to produce more research, but to ensure that Nigeria’s knowledge, skills and innovations translate into products, enterprises, jobs and sustainable prosperity for Nigerians.
