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The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has challenged Nigerian academics and researchers to move beyond publishing scholarly papers and develop practical innovations capable of solving societal problems, creating jobs and generating wealth.
The Executive Secretary of TETFund, Dr Sonny Echono, gave the charge in Abuja, through the Assistant Director, Research and Development, Dr Hadiza Ismail, at the closing ceremony of the 35th cohort of the Research for Impact Initiative (R4i).
Implications of initiative
Echono said the initiative, implemented in partnership with Innov8 Hub, was part of the Fund’s strategy to institutionalise research and development in public tertiary institutions while strengthening collaboration among academia, industry and government.
He stressed that Nigeria needed to develop home-grown technologies to address its challenges rather than remain dependent on foreign innovations.
“We must empower our scholars to create local solutions for our societal problems. This is why a commitment to education is a commitment to our nation’s future, ensuring that our people are not just consumers of foreign technology, but innovators who can drive sustainable growth,” he said.
The TETFund boss said technological advancement had become a major driver of economic transformation, adding that countries seeking sustainable development must invest in quality education, research and innovation.
According to him, the Fund is refocusing its interventions to strengthen research capacity, promote innovation and establish stronger links between research institutions and industry.
“At TETFund, we are refocusing and reinvigorating our intervention activities to drive the institutionalisation of Research and Development in public tertiary institutions, enhance research capacity, and support research-industry linkage, among others,” Echono said.
He explained that R4i was designed to reposition public tertiary institutions as drivers of a knowledge-based economy by encouraging researchers to develop solutions that could be tested, refined, adopted and commercialised.
Echono commended Innov8 Hub for providing technical expertise and mentorship to participants, urging the graduating researchers to apply the knowledge acquired during the intensive training to address challenges in their institutions and communities.
He disclosed that some innovations developed through previous editions of the programme were showcased at the maiden TETFund National Research Fair and Exhibition in November 2024.
The second edition of the fair, he said, would hold from November 23 to 27, 2026, at the Abuja Trade and Convention Centre, Airport Road, where researchers would have opportunities to exhibit their innovations, engage industry stakeholders and explore partnerships for commercialising their research outputs.
Innov8 Hub boss speaks on programme
The Deputy General Manager of Innov8 Hub, Dr Deji Ige, said the programme was helping to establish a culture in which research and development serve as foundations for innovation, enterprise creation and national development.
Ige explained that academics needed to rethink the purpose of research by moving from the conventional emphasis on publications to developing practical solutions with measurable benefits for society and industry.
“Innovation thrives in a culture where research and development are the primary languages of interaction. If we can learn, understand and revive this culture, the outcomes will include inventions, solutions, technological advancement, enterprise development, job creation, wealth generation, meaningful impact and societal development,” he said.
He described the initiative as a shift towards stronger collaboration among government, academia, industry and society, arguing that research without practical impact could limit the contribution of tertiary institutions to technological advancement.
“Impact-driven research and development is what keeps it afloat and enables it to navigate safely. Without impact flowing from research and development, academia becomes an immobile vessel, bereft of progress, possibilities and the power to navigate,” Ige said.
He added that the partnership between TETFund and Innov8 Hub was helping researchers bridge the gap between academic knowledge and practical innovation.
Participants laud initiative
One of the participants, Farida Adamu Mohammed of the Federal Polytechnic, Damaturu, said the programme had transformed her understanding of research by shifting her focus from academic publication alone to solutions with commercial potential.
Mohammed said the 10-day intensive training equipped participants with skills in identifying real-world problems, developing viable ideas, understanding users’ needs and producing prototypes.
She said the programme also introduced participants to the responsible use of artificial intelligence, the Business Model Canvas, user co-creation and effective communication techniques for presenting ideas to potential funders and collaborators.
“Indeed, R4i has completely changed my perspective on research, shifting my focus from research for publication to research that creates impact, drives commercialisation, and generates profit,” she said.
Mohammed added that the experience would help her develop research outputs with practical value and greater prospects for commercialisation.
Similarly, Engr. Austine Omoraka of the Federal Polytechnic, Orogun, Delta State, said the programme had strengthened his commitment to applying engineering research to practical challenges, particularly those affecting his state.
Omoraka explained that the combination of research, prototyping, market validation and business planning had provided a more structured approach to transforming ideas into potentially marketable solutions.
“The training has encouraged me to view research not merely as an academic exercise but as a pathway to innovation and societal transformation,” he said.
He added that applying the knowledge gained could promote affordable local technologies, entrepreneurship, employment and sustainable economic growth.
Innovations target food safety, water purification, agriculture
The 35th cohort presented a range of innovations addressing challenges in food safety, water purification, agriculture, waste management, logistics and public health.
Team One unveiled Bake Check, a web-based application designed to screen bread for bromate by analysing colour changes in a test solution through image capture and calibration.
The innovation seeks to provide a technology-driven approach to screening bread, a widely consumed food product, for a substance whose use in bread-making is restricted in Nigeria. Its effectiveness, however, would depend on appropriate validation and testing against established laboratory methods.
Team Two developed EcoCeramix, a bio-absorbent clay geofilter cartridge produced from locally calcined clay, silica and rice husk ash. The device is designed to fit standard household water-storage buckets, potentially offering a locally produced approach to household water filtration.
Other innovations included EcoSort, a hardware-based device designed to scan waste at dumpsites and recycling facilities; Agrivault, a cooperative-operated storage facility; a real-time delivery-tracking application; and a solar-powered mosquito-responsive device.
The projects demonstrated how researchers could combine local materials, digital technology and practical design to address problems affecting households, businesses and communities.
However, translating these prototypes into widely used products would require further technical validation, user testing, investment, regulatory compliance where applicable and sustainable business models.
Bridging the gap between research and the marketplace
The Research for Impact Initiative was established by TETFund and Innov8 Hub in 2022 to address the gap between academic research and its practical application.
The programme provides hands-on training in problem identification, user research, ideation, prototyping, testing, pitching, business planning, fundraising and business incubation.
Rather than treating publication as the final destination of research, the approach encourages academics to identify the needs of potential users and develop solutions capable of attracting adoption, investment and commercial interest.
It also promotes collaboration between government, academia and industry, while incorporating society as a fourth stakeholder in the innovation process.
The approach recognises that research becomes more economically and socially valuable when researchers engage with the people expected to use their inventions and the businesses capable of producing or distributing them.
TETFund’s broader research interventions similarly seek to strengthen institutional research capacity and improve the prospects of translating discoveries into useful technologies and commercial products.
For Nigeria, where tertiary institutions generate substantial scholarly work across numerous disciplines, the challenge is to ensure that promising discoveries do not remain confined to journals, laboratories and conference presentations.
The R4i initiative seeks to address that challenge by equipping researchers with the technical, entrepreneurial and communication skills required to take ideas beyond the academic environment.
Its long-term success, however, will depend on more than the number of participants trained or prototypes exhibited. The innovations must attract further investment, undergo appropriate testing, reach their intended users and demonstrate that they can deliver sustainable benefits.
Echono urged the graduating researchers to build on the knowledge acquired during the programme and remain committed to developing solutions that respond to Nigeria’s development priorities.
He reaffirmed TETFund’s commitment to supporting research and development in public tertiary institutions as part of efforts to strengthen the country’s innovation ecosystem.
The message from the 35th cohort’s closing ceremony was clear: Nigerian universities and polytechnics must not only produce knowledge but also help convert that knowledge into technologies, businesses and practical solutions capable of improving lives.
For the researchers, the next test will be whether the ideas developed during the 10-day training can progress from prototypes to validated products, attract industry partnerships and deliver measurable impact in the communities they are intended to serve.
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