The federal government has tasked universities in the country to serve as engine rooms of innovation, driving forward groundbreaking research initiatives that would place Nigeria at a global level.
The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, stated this on Friday, while presenting an award of excellence won by Veritas University at the Africa Telecommunication Union Innovation Challenge, held in Nairobi, Kenya, recently.
Tijani challenged other tertiary institutions in the country to emulate Veritas University so as to be able to see their roles much more than training employees, but driving innovation to change Nigeria’s economy.
He said, “You have taken your work seriously to be able to groom and raise young people who can compete on the global stage, thereby representing the level of excellence that we expect in our country to get to our desired destination.
“The second reason why this is important is because there is no nation in the world that can progress if their educational institutions and the education sector do not take their roles seriously.
“For many people may not understand the roles that you play in a society, you can almost see the direct implication of the quality of academic institutions to the quality of economy of any nation because nations rely on research and development to be able to progress.
“Humanity will constantly be looking for better ways to doing things and these better things can only come through research and development and the custodians of research and development are academic institutions.
“We live in a world that is constantly evolving and we can all see that modern day technologies are shaping our world in unprecedented manner, which means the future of work itself is changing.
“The way we look at education, our curriculum and how we train the workforce of the future is also changing as well, so not only that we need to raise and groom these strong people to become part of the workforce that will lead our nation and help with economic prosperity, we also need to understand that the world we live in today demands that we have innovators as well,” the Minister said.
Adding, he said it iwa also the responsibility of academic institutions to groom the people to become innovators, saying that if they are not grooming young people who are innovators, the country will struggle.
“This is why it is quite warming to see that not only are you training these people to become employees in the future but you are also giving them opportunity to be able to apply God-given talents to solve significant problems.
“We are challenging universities at the moment to join hands with the Ministry in coming up with ground breaking research results that can ensure that Nigeria is a true leader of the African continent,” he added.
On his part, the Vice Chancellor of Veritas University, Prof. Hyacinth Ichoku, said the commendation from the Minister was an extra inspiration for the university.
“To tell us that the Nigerian public and the government recognise what we are doing in Veritas and what our students are achieving.
“I think it’s a watermark in our own estimation because it is not being usual for a Minister to invite a university for events like these,” an elated Prof. Ichoku stated.
The VC added that the University was hoping go higher in terms of innovations.
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