A professor of Food and Industrial Microbiology, Olubukola Kuforiji, has advocated effective collaboration between tertiary institutions and industries for economic gain and improved well-being.

While speaking at the hooding ceremony for Covenant University’s postgraduate students, as part of the schools’ 18th convocation ceremony, Kuforiji said it is time for all research publications at the postgraduate level to be turned around for economic value.

She noted that effective relationships between town and gown will support novel solutions and opportunities that would enhance national development.

Kuforiji, who spoke on the lecture titled: “Towards turning postgraduate publications into products,” noted that postgraduate education across tertiary institutions, is designed to drive innovations through problem-driven research.

She advised academics not just to abandon their works on the bookshelf, saying the society should benefit from their wealth of experience.

“Your published works don’t have to end in your libraries, somebody must gain from what you have acquired. The society must be better for it. It must not just remain dormant because we have challenges in the world today,” Kuforiji stated.

Meanwhile, about 283 graduated with first class out of the 1, 175 students at the institution’s convocation ceremony for the 2022/2023 academic session.

While giving the breakdown, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Abiodun Adebayo, said 656 made Second Class Upper, 214 Second Class Lower, 22 made Third Class, while 204 were post-graduate students.

Nelson Ifechukwu, a student in the Department of Electrical/ Electronics Engineering, emerged as best graduating student with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.98.

The Vice Chancellor expressed joy at the recent ranking by Times Higher Education (THE), which placed the school ahead of other universities in the country.

He assured that the institution would continue to transform students into experts, thinkers, innovative managers and resourceful technocrats in all fields of learning.

The Chancellor, Dr David Oyedepo, said Africa should take up the responsibility of addressing its challenges by looking inwards for solutions.

Oyedepo reminded that no solution can be more enduring than home-grown solutions.