TETFAIR: TETFund Making Conscious Investment in Support of Research, Innovation and Development

TETFAIR: TETFund Making Conscious Investment in Support of Research, Innovation and Development

By Hannatu D. L,

The Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), Arc. Sonny Echono assert that the advocacy for the institutionalization of Research and innovation in our tertiary education arose from the need to address the myriads of underdevelopment problems plaguing our country and lack of capacity to tackle it.

The Executive Secretary said this at the closing ceremony of the Maiden Edition of the TETFund Alliance for Innovative Research (TETFAIR) in Abuja.

The event which held at the Innov8 Hub along the Airport Road, Abuja, had in attendance, innovators and scholars.

Echono also stated, the TETFAIR Showcase and Innovation Pitching program is the outcome of a fruitful collaboration between TETFund and Innov8 Technology Hub, an organization dedicated to the support and advancement of innovation Start-up Incubation, Technology Transfer, knowledge & Skill Impartation, Prototype Development and Fabrication in Nigeria.

TETFAIR is a year-long program, sponsored by TETFund, which provides a unique opportunity for our academics and researchers in Nigerian Universities to transform their ideas into market-driven solutions, including the development and fabrication of prototypes.

He further said, TETFund as the foremost interventionist Agency in Nigeria’s Tertiary Education Sector has deepened its intervention in content-based program.

”TETFund is making conscious investment in support of research, innovation and development as it remains the most compelling strategy for accelerating sustainable growth, in our bid to promote the institutionalization of research and development”

Minister of Labour and Employment Simon Bako Lalong said “The Innovation Pitching Event, which we have gathered to commemorate today, serves as an exceptional platform for academics and researchers to showcase their groundbreaking ideas and transform them into tangible solutions.

”These solutions have the potential to address pressing societal challenges, create job opportunities, and propel our nation towards sustainable development. I am confident that the invaluable experiences gained through this event will empower our scholars to contribute significantly to their fields and foster meaningful engagement at both national and international levels”.

Also speaking at the event, ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodoke, has asked the federal government to separate the budget of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund, from annual education budget.

While commending TETFund for the TETFAIR project, he assured that the men engaged in the scheme can solve Nigeria’s problems, stating that “we must come back home and use our ideas.”

“Nigeria is in deep crisis. Our best brains whether in the academic or medical are leaving the country. Thousands of our colleagues, the good ones are leaving the country. Some are leaving to go and farm. We must rescue our country. Allow the money for universities go into universities,” he said.

Read Also: TETFund – Sponsored Projects worth over N1.5b Commissioned…

Minister of State for Education Dr. Yusuf Sununu described the event as a very critical one for Nigeria which is in dire need of technological innovations for solutions to day to day challenges.

He said the Ministry of Education will continue to ensure that educational institutions translate research findings to tangible innovations useful for economic prosperity.

Sununu called on TETFund to scale up copyright ownership protection so that the innovators will not lose copyright ownership of their products and services.

In her remarks, the Chaiman House Committee on Tertiary Education, Princess Miriam Onouha, expressed satisfaction with the level of research efforts put together by Nigerian academics through TETFund’s partnership with Innov8 Hub under the TETFAIR scheme.

Onouha expressed hope that gains made in the project will eventually help to address unemployment in the country, while assuring that the legislature will provide the needed support to ensure success of the TETFAIR.

The TETFAIR have several teams that participated in showcasing their innovation. The teams have developed prototypes for application in agriculture and food technology ranging from a non-invasive, automated poultry measurement and data collection.

Another team designed and developed an Education Kit to be used as an experimental study kit for physics using characteristics of the flywheel.

Also, another team developed an automation solution for the textile printing for the small and medium businesses

For the oil and gas industry, a team developed an intelligent remote monitoring device to help oil and gas facility owners carry out maintenance of the Cathodic Protection Systems on their pipelines.