Your Research Must Go Beyond Journals, Alausa Tasks Varsities

The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has told Nigerian universities and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI that research must go beyond journals and prototypes and be turned into products, companies and jobs that grow the economy.

Speaking at a briefing with Vice-Chancellors, Directors of Academic Affairs, Directors of Postgraduate Studies and officials of the Federal Ministry of Education’s Directorate of University Education, Alausa said the proposed NASENI Campus offers a platform to link university research with laboratories, prototyping, industry partners and investors so ideas can move from campus labs into the market.

He said Nigeria cannot afford to waste its intellectual capacity by leaving discoveries on shelves.
Citing the innovation model around Cambridge, Massachusetts, the minister argued that scholars must be supported to patent their work, build market-ready products and attract investors to float companies.

That, he said, is how to translate human capital into tangible human development.

To achieve this, Alausa called on NASENI to deepen ties with universities located near its development centres because campuses hold the largest concentration of researchers, lecturers and students.

He said the agency should play the role of a bridge by helping with patents, linking innovators to venture capital and enabling spin-off firms.

He also urged NASENI to look into lithium processing and battery production to support Nigeria’s push into renewable energy and industrialisation.

Earlier, the EVC/CEO of NASENI, Mr. Khalil Suleiman Halilu, said the agency is aligning with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive to move past prototypes and get innovations into full production.

He described the planned NASENI Campus within a 100-hectare free trade zone as a hub designed to bring together researchers, professors, prototyping facilities, industries and investors in one location. According to him, several factories and industrial plants are already operating in the zone.

Also speaking, thr Vice-Chancellor of the University of Abuja, Prof Hakeem Babatunde Fawehinmi, said the partnership between his university and NASENI already shows what is possible.

He noted that the collaboration has delivered an integrated agriculture incubation centre, greenhouses, automated poultry systems and tissue culture labs that are used for undergraduate and postgraduate research.

He added that the university is prepared to expand the work to include dairy science and renewable energy.

On his part, the Vice-Chancellor of Bayero University, Kano, Prof Haruna Musa, said BUK is seeking broader cooperation with NASENI in areas such as nanotechnology, vaccinology, toxinology and mathematical modelling.

He revealed that two research projects from BUK have advanced to the final stage of NASENI’s commercialisation grant.
The projects, he noted include reusable sanitary pad and the industrial production of starch derivatives from sweet potatoes.