The Director-General, Na
tional Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), Dr Umar Bindir, recently said that plans were underway to improve technological competence among Nigerians, through technology transfer scheme.
Bindir  said at a sensitisation workshop in Lagos that several inadequacies existed between the industries and the National Innovation System.
The workshop was jointly organised by NOTAP- Industry Technology Transfer Fellowship (NITTF) scheme.
The director-general said that such inadequacies and disconnect had resulted in the absence of value creation beneficial to the national economy.
He said NOTAP had taken strategic steps to ensure that industries increase their local value addition.
According to him, NOTAP has also enhanced national technological development, through linkages with universities and research institutes.
“The NITTF is a Public-Private Partnership platform, designed to create indigenous critical technological competences of elite-applied knowledge workers in Nigeria, through special Ph.D programme tenable in Nigerian universities.
“The support is for a maximum period of four years, to be jointly implemented by NOTAP and the industry.
“The fellows will basically be all future academic workers in universities and research institutes, and will be required to enter into clear contracts/agreement with NOTAP, industry and universities/research institutes,’’ he said.
Bindir said that the scheme was a tripartite arrangement, where industry would provide fund and laboratory facilities.
He added that the universities would train and employ the fellows, while NOTAP would initiate and manage the interface to produce ‘’pool of critical mass of manpower’’ for speedy economic development.
Bindir said that the mode of fellowship would ensure speedy technology transfer.
He said the NITTF programme would create a pool of knowledgeable and skilled manpower that would facilitate technology acquisition, assimilation and diffusion.
According to him, the scheme will provide academic staff with broad and direct experience of industry, to benefit research and enhance the relevance of teaching.
“It will stimulate and translate research results to the private sector, to develop a sustainable technology-based economy. NITTF will establish appropriate linkages between universities, research institutions and industrial sectors,’’ he said.
Bindir said that the project would encourage the use of spin-out and spin-off companies as vehicles for promoting technology transfer and commercialisation.