Research has been described as useless, if it does not translate into innovation and development.
Making the statement was the Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan (administration), Professor Peter Olapegba.
Professor Olapegba represented the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Professor Kayode Adebowale, at the opening of the institution’s Research and Development Fair (UI-Town Connect 2024), heralding the 76th anniversary of the university held at the international Conference Centre, UI.
The theme of the fair, organised by the UI Research and Development(UIRESDEV)was ‘Re-focusing Research and Innovation Towards Scaling-up Nigerian Braands for Commercial Value.’
Professor Olapegba emphasised the need for researchers to focus their findings on general values that could lead to commercial values and regional development, calling on researchers to learn to turn research into innovation and development for community effects as well as practical outcomes.
According to him, the Fair was part of the anniversary celebration that served triple purposes namely, home-coming, networking for the past, current and future collaborations as well as brainstorming to review future plans.
The chairman of UIRESDEV and deputy vice chancellor, (Research, Innovation & Strategic Partnerships), UI, Professor Oluyemisi Bamgbose, in her address, stated that research is not a tool for academic purposes as it plays a vital role in shaping economies and building industries, adding that it helps in analysing market trends and giving industry stakeholders the ability to make informed decisions.
She noted that “research is the key instrument in the journey towards scaling-up Nigeria brands commercial value. Through research, Nigerian brands have the power to create novelties, innovate and expand the economic horizons of our dear country.
“We can create solutions in the forms of products and services that apply to our unique problems. Through proper research, we can give the term “Made in Nigeria” a new meaning.”
Former MD/CEO of the Bank of Industry, Pastor Olukayode Pitan, who was the keynote speaker at the event, and also an alumnus of the institution, described research as the part of business that tries to find ways to improve existing products and to develop new ones.
Stating the current trends about research and innovation, he said there is an apparent disconnection between the gown and town; a situation he explained as where research is being churned out but not translated into innovation and generation of revenue, thereby resulting in net loss for the country.
He described “research as a process of creating ideas, processes, technologies, services or techniques that are new in the world, saying this is the responsibility of the gown-university, while innovation is reproducing something new with a business dedication and it is the responsibility of both town and gown – the industry where I come from.”
This current state he stressed is an apparent disconnection between the ideas being generated and the reality of utilising the same ideas.
He affirmed that there are lots of ideas, processes, technologies, services and techniques being created but they are not translated into a changed life of the industry.
He lauded the UIRESDEV on its attempt at drawing the attention of the industry to some of the revolutionary ideas of the institution in a bid to bring a handshake that could translate the modern wealth trapped in these ideas to real commercial value.
He charged scholars at the event to look inward to annex the potential in them saying that, “it is those who intentionally and deliberately look inward to discover new ideas and tap into such potential that will come out strong and reap the fruit of economic empowerment.”
In his remarks, the director-general of the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria Commission (DAWN Commission) Dr Oluseye Oyeleye, said the collaboration of his commission with UIRESDEV was to technically simplify the nexus between the town and gown at the same time to disrupt the much-perceived dichotomy that exists between university researchers and development practitioners
He stated that by re-focusing research efforts, fostering innovation ecosystems and building strategic partnerships, Nigeria brands could be supported in realising their full potential.
He, therefore, called on researchers, entrepreneurs, government bodies and the private sector to break the silos that separate research from commercialisation to bridge the gap between ideation and market impact for sustainable development.
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In his address, the chairman of the occasion, also an alumnus of UI, Prince Yemisi Shyllon, emphasised to researchers the place of licensing the patents of their intellectual properties,
He charged the University of Ibadan to ensure that patents are obtained for all its research discoveries/innovations and that the licensing of such patents must be given out for commercialisation, saying “when we take ownership of our intellectual properties rightly, we will generate substantial revenues for our university’ use and operations.”
This will further boost the hereto, largely untapped huge revenues waiting to be tapped by the University of Ibadan for its better global positioning, annual revenue-generation, job creation, growth and development.
He commended the management and research and fair team of the institution for making the researches of the premier university available to the world, even beyond the limits public universities can attain in Nigeria.
The highlight of the event was the pitching f innovative ideas of the six students-teams Dokia, Clyme Technology, Uniguide, Edugaze and Campus Market) that participated in the UIRESDEV Gen-Z Hackathon 2.0 grand finale and a presentation of awards and cash prizes to the three winning teams.
Team Dokia took the first position with a cash prize of N200,000; Team Clyme Technology, second position with a cash prize of N150,000 and Team Uniguide with N100,000 cash prize.
