The University of Benin (UNIBEN) has launched a Campus Green Belt Initiative and unveiled plans for a technology-driven innovation ecosystem aimed at strengthening climate action, youth skills development, and local entrepreneurship in Africa’s most poplous nation.
The initiative, sponsored by Renaissance Africa Energy Group and delivered by integrated service company The Offshore Lab, seeks to transform the university from a traditional centre of learning into a platform for technological production, environmental sustainability, and community development.
At the centre of the green initiative is a new 1,000-tree orchard that will serve as an experimental field site where students apply digital tools to ecological and agricultural challenges.
UNIBEN is the second university to join the Campus Green Belt network, following Bauchi State University, which hosted the first project in 2024.
The university has also launched a student-led Pioneer Club to support hands-on learning in data science, Internet of Things (IoT)-based environmental monitoring and sustainable agriculture.
The initiative is closely linked to a planned innovation ecosystem that will provide infrastructure for research, digital skills development, and entrepreneurship.
The facility will include an ICT Centre with 288 high-performance computing systems, a Deep Tech Hub equipped with artificial intelligence platforms and modular data-centre capabilities, as well as hardware fabrication and product development laboratories.
It will also feature a Virtual Museum of Benin, designed to preserve Edo cultural heritage and make it accessible globally through digital and immersive technologies.
According to the university, the initiative is built around a three-tier model linking technology, field experimentation and community development.
Students will use computing and analytics tools to monitor the orchard, improve resource use and test sustainable technologies.
The Pioneer Club will then share data-driven agricultural insights with neighbouring smallholder farmers, creating a link between university research and local food production.
Edoba B. Omoregie, SAN, Vvce chancellor of UNIBEN, said the initiative aligns with the university’s strategy of making teaching, research, and skills acquisition more practical and technology-driven.
“The Innovation Ecosystem will deepen our students’ exposure to advanced computing, artificial intelligence and hardware fabrication, while the Campus Greenbelt extends that same philosophy of applied learning to environmental stewardship,” he said.
Omoregie said the university had already planted more than 5,000 trees, adding that the new orchard would build on its sustainability efforts.
Olanrewaju Olawuyi, general manager, Nigerian Content Development at Renaissance Africa Energy Group, said the company was investing in the initiative to combine technological infrastructure, youth participation, and environmental action.
Emeka Obiwulu, CEO of The Offshore Lab, said the project was designed to move tertiary institutions from “passive learning” towards production, innovation, and sustainability. He said the model could be replicated across Nigerian universities.
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