Experts raise concerns over material research application
Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof. Folashade Ogunsola, yesterday, called for better collaboration between university and industry to boost the competence of budding engineers, tackle societal problems, and enhance national development.

She made the call at the commissioning of an innovation hub donated by the Association of Professional Women Engineers (APWEN), Lagos Chapter to the Department of Engineering.

Ogunsola noted that Nigeria as a developing nation cannot develop without working together, adding that the professionals are part of solutions to challenges.

She lauded APWEN for the donation, stressing that the association has created a space where students can think, incubate ideas and proffer solutions to some of societal problems.

Chairman of Lagos APWEN, Dr. Atinuke Owolabi, explained that the laboratory is a learning space for all engineering students, particularly the female ones.

She pledged that the association would continue to nurture female engineers from the primary school to the university level, and even build the capacity of established engineers.

In his keynote address, the Pro-Chancellor of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State, Prof. Toyin Ashiru, charged engineers to explore opportunities in thriving sectors that include health technology, agric technology, Fintech and renewable energy.

SIMILARLY, stakeholders including researchers and engineers, have called for a focused drive to close the gap between research and industry’s application of material science knowledge for sustainable growth in the nation’s industrial space and academia.

This was the crux of discussion at a two-day National Materials and Industrial Application Workshop themed ‘Materials Innovation for Nigeria’s Industrial Renaissance’, organised yesterday by Engineers Without Borders at Veritas University in Abuja.

Executive Director, Engineers Without Borders, Dr. Oladimeji Olutimehin, pointed out that the workshop was to tackle and create awareness of the importance of material science as a start-up raw material for all engineering work.

He added that the gathering showcased the practical application of material science and engineering for industrial development.

Dean, Faculty of Engineering of the university, Prof. Anthony Nzeako, said: “The choice of material science as a topic for the workshop is apt because everything about engineering is material. We use one material to create another and the raw materials are all around us.”

Environmental Scientist from the University of Calabar, Cross River State and Guest Lecturer, Lawrence Effanga, observed that one aspect of material science was waste recycling for wealth creation and sustainability.