The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC) Administration of the University of Ibadan, Professor Peter Olapegba, has urged Nigerian universities to prioritise entrepreneurship-driven research capable of solving societal problems and boosting the economy.
Prof Olapegba stated this at the opening ceremony of a three-day TETFund Capacity Building Training Workshop organised by the university’s Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation for early-career researchers in the institution.
According to him, the theme of the workshop “Promoting Entrepreneurial Mindset for Research, Productivity and Growth in the University Setting” is a survival strategy for researchers.
He noted that research findings should solve problems in host communities, and patented innovations from universities should move from the laboratory to the local market, encouraging participants to design research projects that address societal and industrial needs, embrace intellectual property literacy, and integrate entrepreneurship into teaching and learning.
The DVC, who represented the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Kayode Adebowale, clarified that adopting an entrepreneurial mindset does not mean every professor must become a trader but urged researchers to see the laboratory as a prototype factory, the department as an innovation hub, and the students as potential employers of labour and not just job seekers.
He acknowledged that although universities are faced with a myriad of challenges, TETFund has given tools through its interventions such as the National Research Fund (NRF) and Institutional-Based Research (IBR) fund, which provide opportunities and support for research development in the university system.
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The Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Professor Sherifat Aboaba, described the programme as a landmark initiative that represents a strategic institutional response to the evolving realities of higher education, national development, and global competitiveness, saying entrepreneurship has become central to institutional excellence.
She highlighted recent efforts by the Federal Government to strengthen entrepreneurship education in tertiary institutions, including the Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Business Incubation Certification (EIBIC) Programme, the TETFund research commercialisation frameworks, the Research and Innovation Commercialisation Committee (RICC), the Student Venture Capital Grant Scheme, and Innovation Incubation Support.
Prof. Aboaba disclosed that the training was carefully designed to expose participants to entrepreneurial pedagogy, innovation-led research, commercialisation opportunities, interdisciplinary collaboration, startup incubation, grant competitiveness, and industry engagement.
