Nation
Don Seeks Better Synergy Between Academia, Manufacturing Industries
The Acting Vice Chancellor of Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete, Prof Shaykh-Luqman Jimoh, has advocated better synergy between the academia and manufacturing industries.
Jimoh said the commercialisation of research ideas was capable of promoting economic growth for accelerated national development.
He said this on Saturday during the maiden edition of the Quadruple Helix roundtable meeting organised by KWASU Centre for Entrepreneurship and the University-Industry Relations Committee.
The Tide’s source reports that the roundtable was themed “Commercialisation of Research Output: Key to National Development”.
The Acting Vice Chancellor said the roundtable brought together the academia, government, industries and communities together to brainstorm on mutually beneficial ways to forge a path to national development.
“We are privileged to stand at the crossroads of the academia, industries, government and the communities converging in the pursuit of knowledge, innovation and collective growth in the dazzling expanse of the knowledge universe.
“This is in the situation where academia sparks innovation, where industry transforms ideas into products and services, where governments provide the infrastructure and environment for growth, and where 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 also to bridge the divide between the lab and the market.
“We are here because we believe that true national development rests on the commercialisation of the brilliant transformative ideas born in our research institutions”, he said.
Jimoh added that it was necessary, now than before, for transformative ideas from research institutions to go beyond the confines of the academia into the realms of industry and entrepreneurship.
“The transformational power of research knows no bounds as it has the potential to revolutionise 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, urged the academia to begin to conceptualise 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 further encourage researchers to become intentional about their research and to commercialise the research output.
This, he said, would generate interest and investment in emerging areas of research.
Ajani said this would in turn improve access to research funding, job creation, scope and quality of innovation, growth of spinoffs, and economic sustainability of universities.
Earlier, the Director of KWASU Centre for Entrepreneurship, Dr Sunday Ojo, identified the growing challenge of unemployment in the country as solvable, with the robust ideas constantly being generated by the academia.
He called for more collaboration between stakeholders, which he described as long over due.
On his part, the Chairman of the University-Industry Committee of KWASU, Dr Aliru Mustapha, said a synergy between academia and industry would see companies tapping into the potentials of ivory towers for the benefit of all.
The Alliance Française Port Harcourt in conjunction with the Embassy of France Nigeria over the weekend joined the globe to campaign against the 2025 gender- based violence (GBV) with the theme: “16 Days of Activism Against Gender- Based Voice”
The event which took place at the event Hall of the Alliance Française Port Harcourt was in collaboration with the Female in Gaming Network, ( FIGN) and partnership with Nexal a body that seeks to promote online safety and responsible digital behaviour.
The Tide reports that the project which was aimed at promoting digital safety and girls inclusion in Gaming, with the initiative tagged ‘Gameover Gender- Base Violence’was part of the global campaign against gender- based Violence.
The activity which experienced a flavour of festivity was full of fun and excitements as participants took part in tournaments on popular digital games such as Mario kart and EAFC 25, with an intent to creating safer and more inclusive digital spaces.
The Director of the Alliance Française Port Harcourt, Mrs Marina Lacal said that these activities were designed to encourage inclusion of girls, team work and fair play on online gaming spaces, saying that the gaming world reflects these inequalities, where female players are often under represented.
According to her the main objectives of the initiative was to provide a supportive environment for girls and female in gaming network.
“GameOverGBV” is a project created to reshape this landscape by offering an innovative inclusiveness of girls on online digital Gaming community and digital environments that provide opportunities for creativity, learning and connection, but also fight against Gender-Based Violence Digital Gaming,”she said
She however, explained that the Digital Game, sport competitions, was launched to strengthen social and digital skills through games, workshops, and raise awareness among all young participants about respect, equality and digital citizenship.
The Tide News reports that in Port Harcourt, the competition brought together 100 young participants from three major universities: University of Port Harcourt, ( UNIPORT),Ignatius Ajuru University of Education(IAUE) and Rivers State University (RSU)as well as students from four selected secondary schools, Oginigba comprehensive Secondary.School, Vine lnternational, Virgo predicanda lnternational, and Excellent Montessori Secondary school.
“This is an approach where girls and boys can learn, play and collaborate in a more respectful and safe space for young women, while ensuring a safe, enjoyable and respectful digital environment. It also expose young women to cyberbullying, exclusion, sexist comments and online hate,” Mrs. Lacal said.
Earlier, a game developer Sophia Nei and her. team had engaged participants in an interactive session with the theme: “Can Video Games Be Safe Spaces For Girls?”
However, Mrs Nei and her team educated the girls on the benefits and violence on online digital gaming and urged them ( participants)to learn to say ‘No’ to Online hate, sexist and cyber bullying, while encouraging them(students) to stand up for themselves by reporting such issues to the appropriate authority.
Highlight of the competition was the awarding of prizes to winners by the Director of Alliance Française, Mrs Marina Lacal.
