The Federal Government has called for stronger collaboration between Nigerian universities and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) to turn academic research and innovations into commercial products, businesses and jobs.
Maruf Tunji Alausa, Minister of Education, made the call during a presentation to 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 proposed NASENI Campus initiative.
According to a statement signed by Ikharo Attah, Special Adviser (Media and Communications), Alausa said the partnership would help close the persistent gap between research institutions and the marketplace by connecting researchers with advanced laboratories, prototyping facilities, industries and investors.
According to him, Nigeria must deliberately move from research to commercialisation if the country is to derive greater economic value from its human capital.
He said research outputs should not end as academic publications or laboratory prototypes but should be developed into patented inventions, marketable products and viable businesses.
Drawing lessons from the innovation ecosystem around Cambridge, Massachusetts, the minister said Nigerian researchers should have access to the support required to patent inventions, develop products and attract investors to establish companies around promising innovations.
“This is how human capital can be converted into human development,” he said.
Alausa urged NASENI to establish stronger affiliations with universities located around its development centres, noting that institutions have a large pool of researchers, lecturers and students whose expertise could complement the agency’s work.
He said NASENI could provide a critical link between university research and commercial success by supporting patent registration, connecting researchers with venture capital and facilitating the creation of spin-off companies.
The minister also challenged NASENI to explore opportunities in lithium processing and battery manufacturing as Nigeria seeks to expand its renewable energy and industrial capabilities.
“the Federal Ministry of Education would continue working with NASENI, universities and other stakeholders to establish a functional pathway linking research and innovation to investment, production and employment.
“the objective under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda was not merely to increase the volume of research produced by Nigerian institutions, but to ensure that knowledge, skills and innovations translate into products, enterprises, jobs and sustainable economic opportunities,” the statement read
Earlier, Khalil Suleiman Halilu, Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NASENI, outlined the agency’s efforts to bridge the gap between research and production in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive to ensure that innovations move beyond prototypes to actual production.
Halilu said the proposed NASENI Campus was being developed within a 100-hectare free trade zone as an integrated environment where researchers, professors, prototyping facilities, industries and commercialisation opportunities could operate together.
He noted that several factories and industrial facilities had already been established within the zone, providing a potential platform for universities to connect their research with industry.
Hakeem Babatunde Fawehinmi, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Abuja, said the university’s existing partnership with NASENI demonstrated the potential of the proposed model.
He said the collaboration had resulted in facilities including an integrated agriculture incubation centre, greenhouse facilities, automated poultry systems and tissue culture laboratories supporting undergraduate and postgraduate research.
Fawehinmi said the university was prepared to deepen the partnership in areas including dairy science and renewable energy.
Similarly, Haruna Musa, Vice-Chancellor of Bayero University, Kano, said the institution was exploring expanded collaboration with NASENI in nanotechnology, vaccinology, toxinology and mathematical modelling.
Musa disclosed that two BUK research projects had reached the final stage of NASENI’s research commercialisation grant process.
The projects include a reusable sanitary pad and the commercial production of sweet potato-based starch derivatives.
