Don frowns at low ranking of Nigerian universities

A former Vice Chancellor, University of Port Harcourt, Prof. John Ajienka has frowned at the low ranking of Nigerian universities in terms of research saying Nigerian Universities are not ranked high among other universities across the world due to lukewarm attitude of Nigerian scholars towards translating research works into innovation. In his paper titled, “Research […]

A former Vice Chancellor, University of Port Harcourt, Prof. John Ajienka has frowned at the low ranking of Nigerian universities in terms of research saying Nigerian Universities are not ranked high among other universities across the world due to lukewarm attitude of Nigerian scholars towards translating research works into innovation.

In his paper titled, “Research As Enterprise: Building Innovation, Commercialization, Entrepreneurship (ICE) Ecosystem” during a one-day conference organised by the Nigerian Defence Academy, the Professor said Nigeria as a nation can become a global player when it prioritized research.

While stressing that 90 percent of indicator to rank universities is based on research, he said many universities in Nigeria have gone past research for promotion but for development.

He added, “Havard University among other universities is 36 billion dollars richer than a country because it has placed importance on translating its research work into products and services.

“Research institutions must be extremely collaborative, globally recognised and strategically relevant because they are the engine that transform the economy of a country and create jobs for the teeming youth.”

He opined that culture of innovation, commercialization, entrepreneurship and knowledge value chain development must be embraced in Nigerian universities.

In his remarks, Commandant, Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Major General Adeniyi Oyebade said that Nigerian Defence Academy is committed towards ensuring that research is top on its agenda, noting that many great inventions started from the military.

He said the ideas to transform the country must come from institutions through research and innovations saying, “We have so many universities in Nigeria, but how much of their research is being translated into products and services?”

He urged Nigerians to continue to strive to promote research in order to make the country a better place for the future generation.