The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, has urged Nigerian universities and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) to close the gap between research and the marketplace by turning innovations developed in universities into businesses, jobs and practical solutions that can drive Nigeria’s economic transformation.

Dr. Alausa gave the charge Monday at a presentation to vice-chancellors, directors of academic affairs, directors of postgraduate studies and the Federal Ministry of Education’s Directorate of University Education on the possibility of partnering with universities through the NASENI Campus.

He said the initiative provides an opportunity to connect researchers with advanced laboratories, prototyping facilities, industry and investment, creating a pathway for promising ideas to move from the laboratory to the marketplace.

The Minister said Nigeria must deliberately move from research to commercialisation if it is to fully benefit from its human capital, stressing that research outputs should not end as academic publications or prototypes.

Drawing lessons from the innovation ecosystem around Cambridge, Massachusetts, he said Nigerian researchers should have opportunities to patent their inventions, develop them into marketable products and work with investors to establish viable companies, adding that this is how human capital can be converted into human development.

To make this possible, Dr. Alausa urged NASENI to establish stronger affiliations with universities around its development centres, noting that universities possess a vast pool of researchers, lecturers and students whose expertise can complement the agency’s work.

He said NASENI could provide the missing link between academic research and commercial success by supporting patenting, connecting researchers with venture capital and facilitating the creation of spin-off companies.

He also challenged the agency to explore lithium processing and battery manufacturing as Nigeria expands its renewable energy and industrial capabilities.

Speaking earlier, the EVC/CEO of NASENI, Mr. Khalil Suleiman Halilu, gave an overview of 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.

He explained that the proposed NASENI Campus, located within a 100-hectare free trade zone, is being developed as an integrated environment where researchers, professors, prototyping facilities, industries and commercialisation opportunities can operate together, with several factories and industrial facilities already established within the zone.

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Abuja, Professor Hakeem Babatunde Fawehinmi, said the university’s existing partnership with NASENI demonstrates 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 that support undergraduate and postgraduate research, adding that the university was ready to deepen the partnership in areas such as dairy science and renewable energy.

Further demonstrating the commercial potential of university research, the Vice-Chancellor of Bayero University, Kano, Professor Haruna Musa, said the institution was exploring expanded collaboration with NASENI in nanotechnology, vaccinology, toxinology and mathematical modelling.

He disclosed that two BUK research projects had reached the final stage of NASENI’s research commercialisation grant process, including a reusable sanitary pad project and the commercial production of sweet potato-based starch derivatives.

Reaffirming the Federal Government ’s commitment to the initiative, Dr. Alausa said the Ministry would continue to work with NASENI, universities and other stakeholders to build a functional pathway from research and innovation to investment, production and job creation.

He stressed that under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the objective is not simply to produce more research, but to ensure that Nigeria’s knowledge, skills and innovations translate into products, enterprises, jobs and sustainable prosperity for Nigerians.