NUC Pushes Universities, Industry Link to Boost Innovation in Nigeria

(The Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Professor Abdullahi Ribadu. Photo Credit: NUC)

The Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Professor Abdullahi Ribadu, has called for stronger collaboration between universities, industry, government, and international partners to reposition higher education in Nigeria for innovation, entrepreneurship, and societal impact.

Ribadu made the call on Tuesday in Abuja during a welcome address at the International Conference on Academic Entrepreneurship, Knowledge and Technology Transfer in Nigerian Universities. He was represented at the event by the Director of Research, Information and Technology, Lawal Farouk.

The conference brought together participants from universities, research institutions, development agencies, and international partners, including representatives of the University of Koblenz and the University of Erfurt in Germany.

Ribadu noted that the conference comes at a critical moment for higher education globally and in Nigeria, stressing that universities are increasingly expected to move beyond their traditional roles of teaching and research to become centres of creativity, enterprise, and societal transformation.

He said the NUC remains committed to transforming the university system through reforms aimed at producing graduates equipped for a changing world, pointing to the development of the Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards framework as a reflection of this vision.

The CCMAS, he explained, is designed to equip students not only with disciplinary knowledge but also with entrepreneurial skills, digital competencies, critical thinking, and adaptability required in today's workplace.

Ribadu stressed that the success of modern universities would increasingly be measured not just by the quality of teaching and research but by their ability to convert ideas into innovation and translate research into societal impact.

He described the partnership with German universities as significant in advancing these goals and urged participants to engage in discussions that would yield practical outcomes for strengthening entrepreneurship in Nigerian universities.

A keynote address by Harald Korflesch of the University of Koblenz focused on the need to professionalise academic entrepreneurship and improve the commercialisation of research.

He stressed that universities should embrace what he described as the "third mission" of higher education translating research into societal impact referencing global policy thinker Mariana Mazzucato's concept of mission-oriented research and the entrepreneurial state.

Korflesch acknowledged that while many universities already run entrepreneurship programmes, incubation hubs, and hackathons, outcomes remain limited.

He pointed to persistent gaps between academic research and commercial results, noting that universities often produce strong research but struggle to turn it into viable businesses.

He called for stronger entrepreneurship education grounded in real-world projects, deeper industry partnerships, structured pathways for research commercialisation, and greater engagement of alumni and diaspora networks in building innovation ecosystems.

"It's not about shall we do it, it is set, but how and how well we can do it," he said.

The conference reflects broader policy concerns around graduate employability and weak links between academic research and industry needs challenges that have shaped ongoing debates on how higher education can better support national development.