Universities in the country have been urged to commercialize research to raise revenue.
The Minister of State for Education, Prof Anthony Anwuka, urged university authorities in the country to commercialize the end product of their researches as a way of generating revenue to run their institutions in the event of short fall of funds from the government.
The minister, while speaking at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NAU) Awka, during the sixth Nigerian Universities Research and Development Fair (NURESDEF), organised by the institution, in conjunction with the National Universities Commission (NUC), said commercialisation of research remains the way forward.
His words, “There is need for our universities to revise and specify mission statements; access new sources of funding; meet requirements for accountability; and consider participation in globalisation and international competition.”
the minister described the theme of the event ‘Research and Innovation: A Panacea for National Industrial Transportation’ as appropriate and timely, adding that the country is currently at a cross road.
He maintained that, “Not only is the price of oil down, there is a global desire to move away from the use of fossil fuels because of their association with climate change. Government has therefore declared an urgent need for diversification of the economy.”
He said the know-how for the achievement of the goal is expected from the universities, which in addition to educating students should create research that can be commercialised into new products and services.
Anwuka noted that the fair would afford participants, drawn from over 50 universities in the country, the opportunity to show what they are doing, learn from what others are doing and in the end combine efforts into innovations which will become the pivot for the diversification of the country’s economy.
In his remarks, the Vice-Chancellor of NAU, Prof. Joseph Ahaneku, said what distinguishes universities from other tiers of tertiary institutions is research, rather than academic content delivery per se, thus it is of utmost importance that a greater thrust be given to research in Nigerian universities.
He said through these fairs and in addition to other measures, the NUC had begun to play its expected role, adding that considerable research findings abound in Nigerian universities serving no further purpose for society at large as a result of lack of linkage with industry and the attendant non-contribution towards the development of the national economy.
This he said informed the urgent need to move beyond basic research to applied research and development/innovation which in addition to creating new knowledge/technologies leads to discovering solutions to the country’s extant problems and promoting the competitiveness of industries.
The Executive Secretary of NUC, Prof Julius Okojie, who was represented by Dr. Ramon Yusuf, said the purpose of the fair was to promote the importance of research in Nigeria, adding that the idea of looking inwards can only be possible if research is perfected and universities build partnership with the private sector.
