The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) is establishing innovation hubs in 45 tertiary institutions across Nigeria to help researchers turn academic discoveries into marketable products and businesses.
The initiative is designed to strengthen research and development, promote indigenous technology and reduce reliance on foreign innovations by supporting the development and commercialisation of locally developed solutions.
TETFund Executive Secretary, Sonny Echono, disclosed this in Abuja at the weekend during the closing ceremony of Cohort 34 of the Research for Impact (R4i) programme.
Represented by the fund’s Director of Monitoring and Evaluation, Babatunde Olajide, Echono said the hubs would provide researchers with facilities to apply the skills acquired during training, sustain collaboration and develop products for the market.
He said the investment reflected TETFund’s commitment to building a knowledge-based economy through research and innovation.
“Education remains a critical cornerstone of nation-building, while technology has taken centre stage globally in transforming lives, generating wealth and shaping nations,” Echono said.
He stressed the need for Nigeria to develop home-grown technologies capable of addressing local challenges rather than depending solely on innovations from other countries.
According to him, participants in previous cohorts have developed prototypes, some of which have been patented, demonstrating the potential of the programme to bridge the gap between academic research and commercial application.
The two-week R4i programme, delivered in partnership with Innov8 Technology Hub, equips academics with practical research development skills, expert mentorship and techniques for converting ideas into marketable products and viable enterprises.
Forty-eight academics from 12 TETFund beneficiary institutions participated in the latest cohort, gaining hands-on experience in developing research-based solutions to societal problems.
Echono said the fund had increased the number of participants nominated by each selected institution from one to four to encourage collaboration among researchers from complementary scientific disciplines.
He said the approach would help build research teams capable of sharing knowledge and mentoring younger academics.
“The essence is to build a team of innovative researchers who will mentor upcoming scholars in the system, thereby promoting the entrenchment and sustainability of collaborative and innovative research practices in our institutions,” he said.
The TETFund chief urged participants to apply the knowledge acquired during the programme to challenges facing their institutions and communities.
He said completing the training marked the beginning of efforts to bring their innovations to the market.
“The completion of this phase signifies the commencement of the next phase of working towards commercialisation of the products you have developed,” Echono said.
Earlier, Innov8 Technology Hub Deputy General Manager, Deji Ige, said the partnership was helping academics move beyond theoretical research to practical solutions with the potential to address local needs, create businesses and generate wealth.
“Research for Impact is more than an initiative. It is a lamp unto the path of Nigerians, especially members of the academia, who have long awaited an opportunity to begin the journey towards translating ideas into innovation, solutions and action,” Ige said.
He encouraged participants to experiment and persist despite setbacks, noting that challenges were often part of developing new technologies.
Innov8 Technology Hub Director, Edward Singhatey, reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to the partnership, promising to deploy relevant technologies and learning resources to improve the programme’s impact.
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