The Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi, is set to collaborate with the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC) to establish a Nuclear Research Centre aimed at building staff capacity in smart agriculture, medicine, power and other areas of science and technology.
Vice chancellor of ATBU, Prof Ibrahim Hassan Garba, disclosed this during a two-day workshop on National Research Fund (NRF) Grant Implementation Strategy towards Commercialisation, organised for 100 selected academics from ATBU and Sa’adu Zungur University (SAZU).
Prof Garba said the partnership will also pave the way for the introduction of undergraduate degree programmes in Nuclear Sciences and Nuclear Engineering.
He noted that the National Universities Commission (NUC) has already developed four Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS) for the programmes.
“Atomic energy goes beyond power generation. It has immense applications in smart agriculture, medicine, and technological innovation. Through this collaboration, we intend to build a foundation for national capacity in these areas,” the vice chancellor said.
Delivering a paper titled “From Research to Revenue: Advancing ATBU’s Economic Growth through NRF Commercialisation,” Professor Garba revealed that the university is working with the Bank of Industry (BoI) to fund start-ups and commercialise research outputs through the Innovation Park established by the bank within ATBU.”
He further stated that the institution is engaging with several development partners to secure seed funding for start-ups and the commercialisation of products, stressing that developed nations thrive because of their strong investment in research, innovation, and development.
He therefore called for increased support from government, organisations, and the private sector to drive sustainable economic growth in Nigeria.
Earlier, the acting director of the Directorate of Research, Innovation and Development (DRI&D), Dr Isah Yakub Mohammed, said the workshop was designed to transition researchers from the stages of ideation and research to enterprise and market-oriented innovation.
Mohammed acknowledged the challenges posed by limited research grants and seed funds but highlighted some innovations developed by ATBU, including IT solutions capable of identifying firearms to tackle insecurity, as well as other prototypes awaiting industry adoption.
