Introduction
A new wave of innovation within the Nigerian Academia is emerging. This wave, buoyed by TETFund in collaboration with Innov8 Hub, is leading a paradigm shift within the Nigerian Academia. The collaboration resulted in the initiation of the Research for Impact (R4i) initiative.
The Research for Impact initiative aims to accelerate innovation for addressing challenges generated by the United Nations’ SDGs. In 10 days, participants at R4i develop prototypes of their innovation with immense potential for commercialization. At R4i 13, the facilitators distributed participants into 5 teams to promote teamwork and collaboration.
R4i 13: A Grand Closing
The sun set on Cohort 13 of R4i on the 3rd of November 2023, following a grand closing ceremony. R4i Chief Facilitator, Dr. Obichi Obiajunwa made the opening remark and delivered an inspirational farewell speech to the participants. Following this, a cinematic representation of the R4i recap played, and then the representative of the Executive Secretary of NBTE took the stage. In his thoughts, certificates are becoming out of place, and “Sabi-ficates” are now prominent, due to technical skills now taking the center stage within academia.
R4i 13: The Prototypes
The climax of the closing event was the video pitch presentation by each R4i team.
- Team 1 (Clean Water & Sanitation) developed ‘R-Filter’, a water filtration system that refines wastewater through a triple filtration process.
- Team 2 (Good Health & Well-Being) developed ‘V-Trainer’ a virtual reality training platform where medical students and health workers can practice complex medical procedures in a controlled, immersive, and risk-free environment that mirrors real-world health settings.
- Team 3 (Good Health & Well-Being) developed ‘In-CharFertilizer’. This fertilizer reduces the level of cadmium contamination from soil and enhances crop production.
- Team 4 (Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure) developed ‘Recfilament’ an innovation designed to tackle the menace of plastic waste by collecting, shredding and extruding used PET bottles into polyactic acid pellets for 3D printing.
- Team 5 (Quality Education) developed ‘MOW’ (Modular Workshop), a toolkit specifically designed to facilitate the repairs and maintenance of mobile phones.
R4i 13: Conclusion
Having come to Innov8 Hub as academics with research ideas that are often stale, participants leave as innovators. These distinct individuals have gone through critical processes fundamental to innovation and have addressed critical challenges within society in the process. Thanks to the collaboration between TETFund and Innov8 Hub.