Academia-industry partnership ensures Nigeria’s economic transformation – Alausa
By Uji A. Iliyasu, Abuja
The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, has called for stronger partnerships between Nigerian universities and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) to ensure that research and innovation are transformed into businesses, jobs and practical solutions capable of driving Nigeria’s economic transformation.
Alausa made the call during a presentation on the possibility of partnering with universities through the proposed NASENI Campus, attended by Vice Chancellors, Directors of Academic Affairs, Directors of Postgraduate Studies and officials of the Federal Ministry of Education’s Directorate of University Education.
The minister said Nigeria must deliberately bridge the gap between academic research and commercialisation, stressing that research outputs should not end as academic publications or prototypes.
He said the NASENI Campus would provide researchers with access to advanced laboratories, prototyping facilities, industry and investment opportunities, creating a pathway for promising ideas to move from the laboratory to the marketplace.
Drawing lessons from the innovation ecosystem around Cambridge, Massachusetts, Alausa said Nigerian researchers must be supported to patent their inventions, develop marketable products and work with investors to establish viable companies.
“This is how human capital can be converted into human development,” he said.
The minister urged NASENI to establish stronger affiliations with universities around its development centres, noting that tertiary institutions possess a vast pool of researchers, lecturers and students whose expertise could complement the agency’s work.
He further said NASENI can provide the crucial link between academic research and commercial success by supporting patenting, connecting researchers with venture capital and facilitating the establishment of spin-off companies.
Alausa also challenged the agency to explore opportunities in lithium processing and battery manufacturing as Nigeria expands its renewable energy and industrial capabilities.
Earlier, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer 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 beyond prototypes and ensure that innovations reach the production stage.
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.
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Abuja, Prof. Hakeem Babatunde Fawehinmi, said the institution’s existing partnership with NASENI demonstrated the potential of the model being advocated by the Minister.
He said the collaboration had produced facilities including an integrated agriculture incubation centre, greenhouse facilities, automated poultry systems and tissue culture laboratories to support undergraduate and postgraduate research.
Fawehinmi said the university was ready to deepen its partnership with NASENI in areas such as dairy science and renewable energy.
Also speaking, the Vice Chancellor of Bayero University, Kano, Prof. Haruna Musa, said the institution was exploring expanded collaboration with NASENI in nanotechnology, vaccinology, toxinology and mathematical modelling.
He disclosed that two research projects from the university had reached the final stage of NASENI’s research commercialisation grant process.
The projects include the development of reusable sanitary pads and the commercial production of sweet potato-based starch derivatives.
Reaffirming the Federal Government’s commitment to the initiative, Alausa said the Ministry of Education would continue to work with NASENI, universities and other stakeholders to build a functional pathway linking research and innovation with investment, production and job creation.
He said the objective of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda was not merely to produce more research, but to ensure that Nigeria’s knowledge, skills and innovations translate into products, enterprises, jobs and sustainable prosperity for Nigerians.