Nigerian academics and research experts have called for a fundamental shift in the country’s research culture, urging universities and scholars to move beyond academic publications and ensure that knowledge, innovation and creativity translate into practical solutions to national challenges.

The experts spoke on Tuesday in Abuja at the Second Annual Research Week of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), themed “Trans-disciplinary Research, Innovation and Creativity: Pathways to National Development.”

Declaring the event open, the Vice-Chancellor of NOUN, Prof. Uduma Oji Uduma, challenged Nigerian researchers to ensure that research findings do not remain within academic journals but are converted into innovations, policies and solutions capable of transforming society.

Uduma said Nigeria’s universities must bridge the gap between research and its practical application, stressing that research should ultimately move through a chain of “knowledge generation, validation, dissemination, adoption, adaptation, implementation, evaluation and impact.”

He said, “Our challenge as a university is therefore to shorten the distance between what we know and what society is able to do with what we know.”

The Vice-Chancellor warned that knowledge, innovation and technological advancement do not automatically translate into development, noting that societies could possess enormous scientific knowledge while still making poor public decisions and experiencing inequality and institutional dysfunction.

He consequently called for stronger collaboration among researchers across departments, faculties, disciplines and universities, as well as between academia and wider society.

According to him, the complex challenges confronting Nigeria could no longer be effectively addressed within rigid disciplinary boundaries, citing climate change, food insecurity, public health, artificial intelligence and insecurity as issues requiring expertise from multiple disciplines.

“Reality is not organised according to our departmental structures,” he said, describing trans-disciplinary research as “increasingly indispensable.”

Uduma also urged Nigerian scholars to deepen research into African realities and indigenous knowledge systems, arguing that Nigeria and the continent must not remain mere consumers of knowledge produced elsewhere.

He called for critical examination of African knowledge traditions rather than either romanticising or dismissing them.

Earlier, the Convener of the Research Week and Director, Directorate of Research Administration, Prof. Gloria Anetor, said the theme was significant because the programme was designed to move research beyond publications to tangible impact.

Anetor said the event would provide a strategic platform for “transforming knowledge into impact” by connecting disciplines, stimulating innovation and creativity, strengthening partnerships and translating research evidence into practical solutions to national development challenges.

She said the programme would bring researchers and other stakeholders together to generate new ideas, technologies, methodologies and approaches to development, while supporting evidence-based policymaking through credible research evidence and innovative solutions.

The convener added that the programme would build the capacity of young academics and postgraduate students through mentorship, networking, research presentations and exposure to emerging research methodologies.

She said researchers would also be connected with funding agencies and exposed to grant opportunities beyond the familiar sources of research funding.

Anetor said the Research Week would showcase impactful research by members of the university community, with outstanding researchers recognised and rewarded for their contributions, while sessions would also examine open and distance learning research and its relevance to national and international development.

She stressed the need to break disciplinary boundaries and encourage collaboration among researchers across faculties and disciplines rather than working in isolated academic silos.

In his keynote address, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Chrisland University, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Prof. Ebenezer Farombi, said Nigeria does not lack problems, talents or ideas, but needs a stronger system for connecting its talents, knowledge, creativity and innovation to the problems that matter most. .

Speaking on the topic, “From Knowledge to National Transformation: Harnessing Trans-disciplinary Research, Innovation and Creativity for Sustainable Development,” the Professor of Biochemistry and Toxicology called for a shift from disciplinary silos to collaboration, and from knowledge generation to innovation, enterprise and measurable impact.

According to Farombi, national development is not simply about the creation of more knowledge but about the intelligent convergence of knowledge, innovation, creativity and action.

He said, “Let us therefore move from disciplines to collaboration, from knowledge to innovation, from innovation to enterprise, from enterprise to impact, and from impact to national transformation.”Experts urge research that translates knowledge into national development