The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) is establishing innovation hubs in 45 beneficiary tertiary institutions across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones to strengthen research, encourage technological development and help transform academic discoveries into practical solutions.

The Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc. Sonny Echono, disclosed the plan at the closing ceremony of Cohort 34 of the Research for Impact (R4i) initiative in Abuja. He was represented at the event by the fund’s Director of Monitoring and Evaluation, Arc. Babatunde Olajide.

The initiative, implemented in partnership with Innov8 Technology Hub, is designed to equip academics and researchers with the skills needed to develop solutions to societal challenges. The planned facilities are expected to provide an environment where researchers can continue developing ideas and collaborate beyond formal training sessions.

Echono said the programme forms part of TETFund’s broader effort to strengthen research and development in tertiary institutions and promote economic growth through innovation. He stressed the importance of developing home-grown technologies to address Nigeria’s challenges rather than relying solely on solutions developed elsewhere.

According to him, participants in previous R4i cohorts have developed several prototypes, some of which have been patented. He expressed optimism that the latest participants would build on those achievements and produce innovations with practical applications.

The fund has also increased the number of nominees each participating institution can send to the programme from one at its inception to four. Echono said the expansion was intended to encourage multidisciplinary teamwork, strengthen collaboration among researchers and support the mentoring of emerging scholars.

He urged participants to apply the knowledge gained during the two-week intensive training to develop viable products and enterprises, noting that the next phase would focus on commercialisation. Innov8 Technology Hub’s Deputy General Manager, Deji Ige, also encouraged the academics to persevere through setbacks, describing collaboration, access to resources and continued experimentation as important to turning research into solutions that can benefit society.