Commercialization of research ideas will promote economic growth for accelerated national development while an effective collaboration between the academia and industry will also ease realization of desired goals, Acting Vice-Chancellor of Kwara state University, Malete, Professor Shaykh-Luqman Jimoh, has said.
A statement made available to Team@orientactualmags.com on Saturday noted that Professor Shaykh-Luqman Jimoh said this while giving his speech during the maiden edition of the Quadruple Helix roundtable meeting jointly organized by the institution’s Centre for Entrepreneurship and the University-Industry Relations Committee.
The Ag. Vice-Chancellor ,who noted that the roundtable discussion that has brought the academia, government, industry, and community together to brainstorm on mutually beneficial ways, has shown the university’s commitment to collaborations and forging a path to national development.
‘We are privileged to stand at the crossroads of academia, industry, government, and the community converging in the pursuit of knowledge, innovation, and collective growth in the dazzling expense of the knowledge universe, where academia sparks innovation, and industry transforms ideas into products and services, where governments provide the infrastructure and environment for growth, and the community reaps the rewards of our collective efforts.
The future prosperity of our nation depends on our capacity to not only push the boundaries of knowledge but to also bridge the divide between the lab and the market.
We are here because we believe that true national development rests on the commercialization of the brilliant transformative ideas born in our research institutions’ he said.
While stating that commercializing research output is a core feature of the institution’s strategic plan, Professor Jimoh also added that it has become necessary now more than ever before, for transformative ideas from research institutions to go beyond the confines of academia into the realms of industry and entrepreneurship.
‘The transformational power of research knows no bounds as it has the potential to revolutionize industries, cure diseases, mitigate environmental crisis, and enhance the quality of life for people around the world’ he added.
An industry consultant, Mr. Deji Ajani, in his presentation, urged the academia to begin to conceptualize research as much more than just a criteria for getting promotion, but also as an avenue for creating enterprise.
He called on the government and universities to provide infrastructure that will encourage researchers to become intentional about their research and to commercialize the research output.
This, he noted, would generate interest and investment in emerging areas of research which would in turn improve access to research funding, job creation, scope and quality of innovation, growth of spinoffs, and economic sustainability of universities.
In his welcome address, the Director of the institution’s Centre for Entrepreneurship, Dr. Sunday Ojo described the growing challenge of unemployment in the country as solvable citing the robust ideas constantly being generated by the academia.
He called for more collaboration between the stakeholders, which he described as long overdue.
In his speech, chairman of the University-Industry Committee , Dr. Aliru Mustapha submitted that synergy between academia and industry would see companies taping into the potentials of ivory towers for the benefit of all.
The roundtable discussion that had as its theme ‘Commercialization of Research Output: Key to National Development’ was attended by representatives of parastatals and government agencies in the state, the academia, entrepreneurs, and members of the public- Team@orientactualmags.com
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