Commercialization of research results: Alausa’s current challenge

The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, recently challenged Nigerian universities and research institutes to bring the country’s $1 trillion economic ambition to its intended target by turning research findings into profitable businesses that would create jobs.

Alausa made the challenge in his speech at the presentation of the proposed campus initiative of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI).

The minister said research and innovations must transcend mere academic publications and prototypes to be able to fuel practical economic growth.

He directed universities and research institutes to work closely with NASENI to produce business ventures that would create jobs and grow the economy in a bid to make Nigeria a trillion-dollar economy.

“Research results should not end up as academic publications or prototypes. Nigerian researchers should have the opportunity to patent their inventions, develop them into marketable products and work with investors to create profitable companies,” the minister insisted.

Alausa said the NASENI campus initiative offers a path to connect researchers with advanced laboratories, prototype facilities, industry and investment.

“NASENI can provide the missing link between academic research and commercial success by supporting patenting, connecting researchers with venture capital and facilitating the creation of spin-offs,” Alausa said.

The minister also challenged NASENI to explore the possibility of producing lithium batteries as Nigeria expands renewable energy and industrial capacity.

Nigeria is turning to solar energy as public energy supply proves incompetent. Lithium battery is the main source of energy for the solar system. It recharges via solar panels mounted on the roofs.

Thousands of homes and businesses already depend on solar energy. A large furniture company in Alakuko, Lagos State, has more than 200 solar panels mounted on its roof for electricity supply.

The NASENI Campus initiative, located within a 100-hectare free trade zone, was developed as an integrated environment where researchers, professors, prototyping facilities, industries and commercialization opportunities can operate together.

The universities’ partnership with NASENI has resulted in an integrated agricultural incubation centre, greenhouse facilities and automated poultry systems.

Some universities are already taking advantage of NASENI facilities by taking steps to commercialize research results. Bayero University Kano (BUK) is a practical example of commercializing research results in the real world.

Two key BUK research projects have reached the final stage of commercialization funding for NASENI.

The first project concerns starch derivatives based on sweet potatoes. The second project is the reusable sanitary napkin project. They are marketed.

The minister’s challenge to universities and research institutes is a timely intervention that would not only address the country’s alarming unemployment rate but also drive its ambitious goal of becoming a trillion-dollar economy by 2030.

For decades, Nigerian researchers and professors have had a propensity to poke fun at their own chests when their research findings were published in academic journals.

The minister wants them to take a cue from their colleagues in developed economies, where universities and research institutes work closely with investors to commercialize their research results.

Alausa stressed the need for Nigerian researchers and professors to go beyond simply publishing their research findings in academic journals.

He challenged them to patent the results of their research. Research results are patented only when a marketable product is produced and marketed from it.

The late Thomas Edison, a well-known American researcher who invented light bulbs, died in 1931 after obtaining 1,093 patents. This means that 1,093 products were marketed as a result of his research. One of them is the light bulb.

John Pierpont Morgan, an American financier who founded JP Morgan Bank in 1871, paid $50,000 in 1890 to Edison and marketed one of the results of his research.

This is what Alausa asks of Nigerian researchers and professors. It’s a difficult task, but achievable. The minister kicked off the task by entrusting the tasks to the nation’s researchers and professors. However, this task cannot be achieved if one does not have the incentive to do so.

Research facilities in Nigerian universities are in poor condition due to poor funding.

Government must fund research facilities in Nigerian universities and bring them to a sustainable status where researchers will be encouraged to work.

Furthermore, researchers and professors, especially those at federal universities, are poorly paid. The monthly salary of a professor in a federal university is about N400,000.

With astronomical food and energy costs, professors at federal universities can hardly feed their families comfortably.

A researcher who can hardly provide for his family is unable to concentrate on the assigned task and produce results.

Blueprint.ng The newspaper commends the Minister of Education for charging Nigerian researchers and professors on the need to commercialize their research findings.

This is one way to advance the nation’s ambitious goal of becoming a trillion-dollar economy by 2030. We therefore call on the federal government to empower researchers to enable them to do their job.