The 2025 Innovation Week may have ended a few weeks ago, its benefits has not, and will not end any time soon. At least, not in the next few decades, if properly harnessed. Harnessing the benefits of the programme entails looking at it just as an annual event. It involves viewing it through the lens of sustainability.
Interestingly and fittingly, the theme of the Annual Innovation Week was “The Future Now: Creativity and Innovation for Sustainable Development”. The sustainability element of the theme was further amplified in the welcome address of the Chairman, University Innovation Committee, Professor Iyeopu Siminialayi, who noted that “the theme, invites us to envision a future where the synergy of creative minds and innovative technologies propels us towards sustainable development.”
Siminialayi, who is the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research and Development), listed enhancing research quality, securing research funding, capacity building and talent development, innovation and commercialization, sustainability and community engagement and infrastructure development as the main areas of focus of his office in the last couple of years.
“Today, I challenge each one of you–students, researchers, professionals, and leaders–to harness your creativity and innovation for the greater good,” he said, charging participants at the event to “envision a world where creativity and innovation work hand in hand to build a sustainable, thriving future for all.” These evocative words of the Deputy Vice Chancellor aptly evinces the idea shaping the future with the thoughts and actions of today.
The five keynote speeches delivered at the event further stressed the need to harness the gains of the programmes. Former DG/CEO of National Office TAP, Engineer Umar Buba Bindir, whose lecture was entitled “Transforming Research into Revenue: Best Practices for Industry-Academia Collaborations”. He identified three key performance indicators of academia-industrial linkage as (i) totally eradicating absolute poverty, (ii) everyone having access to live a happy, safe, and fulfilling life, (iii) developing institution to ensure that the country emerges as knowledge and a learning society built on core values of development. He recommended among others, intense and proper promotion of Nigeria technologies and innovations through viable partnerships and thinking out of the box to link research to industry, noting that these will unleash opportunities for national development to evolve a united, modern, competitive and globally respected Nigeria.
In the second keynote lecture entitled “Responsible Use of AI for Research” Professor Chidiebere Ugwu of the Faculty of Computing that responsible use of AI for research involves employing artificial intelligence tools while adhering to ethical principles, adding that it has to do with key aspects such as transparency, data privacy, bias awareness, accuracy verification etc. He went through some pertinent ethical questions and some benefits of AI research tools which include accelerating innovation, collaboration etc.
The third keynote lecture entitled “Leveraging Industry Infrastructure to Drive Research-Driven Innovation in Nigeria” was delivered by Engineer Aniebiet Udoh of Kodellauz Solutions Planet Limited. He emphasized the importance of strengthening academia-industry collaborations, enhancing skills and building capacity of researchers, utilizing existing industry infrastructure and
developing a university innovation hub, urging researchers to proactively engage with industries to access resources necessary to drive impactful innovation.
The fourth lecture entitled “Implementation of Cyphercrescent Mathematical Library for Computational Mathematics” was delivered by Lateef Kareem on behalf of Engineer ThankGod Egbe, Managing Director of Cyphercrescent Limited. Observing that it is impossible to innovate without research, Egbe disclosed that CypherCrescent, as a company is carrying out research that is focused on solving advanced engineering problems through development of innovative technological solutions.
The fifth lecture entitled “Creativity in a Community that knows its Business: Towards Talents, Skills, Jobs and Entrepreneurship” was delivered by the Associate Dean, Faculty of Humanities, Dr. Obari Gomba. He observed that there is a direct relationship between creativity (creative action) and development, pointing out that no community develops beyond the quality of creativity within its borders, and that no community develops without investing in the creativity of its people. “Science and the arts should be complementary. All are needed to improve our creativity. As a university, we should foster respect for all forms of creativity and exercise our creativity inside and outside our various areas,” he noted.
Now that the celebration of the week has come and gone, it is now time to reflect on the lectures, seek ways of harnessing its gains and build a sustainable culture of innovation and creativity in the university. As an Entrepreneurial University, UniPort needs to continue placing premium on innovation and creativity. The University should continue to honour and celebrate Faculties, Departments, and staff and students that have made marks in innovation and creativity, through research, scholarship, writing, arts, science and technology.
It is commendable that the most cited researcher in the University with 6,321 citations, Dr Iheanyi Omezuruike Okonko and Second most cited researcher with 5,583 citations, Akpan Ndem Ikot were celebrated with Research and Innovation Awards. The immediate past Director of INRES, Prof Aduabobo Ibitoru Hart was recognized for leading a multidisciplinary team of researchers that worked with an industry partner (Boskel Ltd) to produce a pyrolysis machine that converts 500 kilograms of our waste plastic into 100 litres of diesel and other hydrocarbon fuels, while Prof Anthony Onoja of Faculty of Agriculture was recognized for heading a team that won an EU-funded CREATE-Green Africa consortium project, under its Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme.
The immediate-past Dean of Faculty of Agriculture Prof Ibisime Etela was honoured for leading the team on behalf of the University of to win the Mastercard funded and Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) implemented grant “Transforming African Agricultural Universities to meaningfully contribute to Africa’s growth and development Phase II” (TAGDEV 2.0).
Professor of Clinical Pharmacy, Vincent Idemyor, was honoured for winning the Donald E Francke Medal, which is given to individuals for their significant contributions to advance pharmacy practice, while multiple award-winning poet and dramatist, and Associate Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Dr Obari Gomba, was honoured for winning the 2023 Nigeria Prize for Literature with his play, Grit.
