From lab to market: Tetfund set to showcase Nigeria’s innovations

Most of the researches conducted by Nigerian tertiary institutions are often confronted with the challenge of translating findings and technological innovations to practical realities. Frequently, the media highlight groundbreaking technological advancements made by tertiary institutions, organisations and individuals. However, due to inadequate promotion and support, these innovations often remain unknown outside the institution’s walls, restricting their potential impacts and benefits to a wider audience.

A recent innovation that readily comes to mind is a fuelless electricity generating plant, also called a fuelless generator, developed by a team of engineers from one of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund’s (TETFund) beneficiary institutions – Delta State Polytechnic, Otefe-Oghara.

A team led by the Rector of the Polytechnic, Prof. Emmanuel Ufuophu-Biri, has been working on the fuelless generator for over a year. The prototype demonstrated a remarkable potential by continuously powering equipment for 21 hours without refueling, showcasing its ability to provide sustainable, dependable and cost-effective energy solutions.

TETFund is set to host a five-day exhibition to showcase these latest innovations in research and development. Tagged TETFund National Research Fair, the event which is billed to start November 17 at Eagle Square, Abuja, will bring together researchers, inventors and creators to share their cutting-edge projects and visionary ideas.

The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, had commended the Arc. Sonny Echono-led TETFund for proffering solutions to the missing link between academia and the industry. He said the research fair and exhibition will help create jobs and generate wealth.

Mamman added that the fair will encourage Nigerians, particularly the youth, to step forward and engage technologies in establishing viable enterprises for the production of goods and services. He also applauded the Fund for recognising the need to link the academia and the industry in the day-to-day life of the average Nigerian.

“This is in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which aims at ‘rebooting’ the economy through job creation and revenue generation,” he said.

To implement the mandate, TETFund had in July this year established a Research Fair Sub-Committee to serve as the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the event under the chairmanship of Umar Buba Bindir, an engineer.

The panel’s mandate was to urgently take stock of all research output technologies from universities, polytechnics, Colleges of Education and research institutes and document them; screen and select candidate technologies to be showcased at the fair with emphasis on technologies that will immediately impact humanity and grow the national economy. The committee was also charged to collaborate and work closely with all relevant stakeholders for the success of the fair.

Mamman commended the committee for its efforts so far.
“The Call Circular inviting the institutions and individuals to submit their technologies as entries to the fair has been finalised and released; the design and testing of the technology submission instrument has been concluded; the Eagle Square in the centre of Abuja has been secured to host the five-day Research Fair, intense and wide consultations are ongoing with institutions and organisations that can partner and support TETFund to engender the issue of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and address legal services, including technology licencing issues between the interested organisations, individuals, entrepreneurs and the technology owners,” Mamman said.

The minister added that financial institutions, funding agencies and venture capitalists have been identified to provide funding to the promising organisations, individuals and entrepreneurs who source technologies to establish enterprises.

Responding, the Chairman, LOC, Bindir, vowed to take bold and decisive actions to fulfill the President’s research mandate by tackling the challenges head-on to ensure successful delivery.

He said the fair aims to establish a continuous process to drive innovation and progress in Nigeria, similar to facilities in other countries.On his part, the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Echono, pledged the readiness of the Fund to harness the potentials recorded in the area of innovations and creativity in tertiary institutions. He called on private investors to take advantage of the fair to showcase their works.

“I want to express our profound appreciation to the Honourable Minister for flagging this off. Essentially, from today, Nigerians will see the efforts galvanised towards ensuring that we harness all the potentials, harness all the achievements that have been recorded in the area of innovation, invention and creativity, and it is open to all to all Nigerians.

“It is not limited to our beneficiary institutions. So, research institutes, private inventors and creators, if you know you have done anything that will add value, lead to the creation of jobs, development of products and services, improve the lives of our people, come and showcase them.

“We thank the minister for the sustained support to the Fund and we want to pledge that we will continue to come up with programmes that will help to address the current and future challenges of the country,” Echono said.