By Ifeoma Asika,  Senior Correspondent Campuses

The Director-General of the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), Dr. DanAzumi Mohammed Ibrahim has been appointed the Chairman of Government, Academia and Industry Board of Igbinediom University, Okada, Edo Sate, south south, Nigeria.

A statement seen by Cyber Era NG and authored by Raymond Onyenezi Ogbu, on behalf of the Head Public Relations and Protocol Unit of NOTAP, says, this appointment was announced by the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Lawrence Ikechukwu Ezemonye at the University Research Day conference “Tagged Greening Academia/Industry Research Synergy to promote sustainable development in Nigeria” held recently at the University complex where Dr. Ibrahim was a keynote speaker.

The VC at IUA, who inaugurated the board, said that NOTAP was very strategic to the development of Science and Technology and Innovation (STI) in the country, adding that Dr. Ibrahim’s wealth of knowledge and experience in Industry and Academia linkage would boost the Institution’s drive to technological development.

He said the Institution had watched closely the activities of NOTAP under the Director-General and had firmly resolved that with a technocrat of his caliber chairing the board, the sky would just be a starting point in terms of inventive and innovative activities expected to be carried out in the University.

The  IUA VC further stated that the DG had shown strong commitment to his duties and responsibilities with regards to strengthening the strategic relationship between government, academia and the industry in the development of programmes and projects.

Earlier in his acceptance speech, the NOTAP Director-General said he was humbled by the appointment considering the fact that IUA was a pioneer privately owned University System in Nigeria, established in 1999 with focus on teaching, research and entrepreneurship. He added that the technological growth and development of Nigeria as a nation should be the collective responsibility of every Nigerian irrespective of his or her ethnic or religious affiliation.

The NOTAP DG lamented that Nigeria had one of the largest knowledge infrastructure in the West African sub-region, but regretted, however, that over 90 per cent of the technology that powered the Nigerian economy was imported and for a nation that aspired to be one of the top 20 economies in the world in 20:2020, it could not depend solely on importation of technologies from other countries. Dr. Ibrahim emphasized that Nigeria as country should leverage on the existing foreign technologies to stimulate domestic inclusive growth of her economy.

He reiterated that the reason for low technological development of the country was as a result of low intellectual property culture in Nigerian tertiary institutions where technologies were generated and applied in the industries. He added that with the introduction of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Offices in forty eight (48) Nigerian tertiary Institutions including that of IUA, patents had started coming out based on the improved research activities.

Dr. Ibrahim further revealed that in order to fast-track linkage between the academia and Industry, NOTAP launched a programme called NOTAP, Industry Technology Transfer Fellowship (NITTF). A programme, he said was for PhD scholarship sponsored by the Industry to young talented Nigerians with Master’s degree and was ready and willing to undertake PhD programme in any Nigerian University of which fifteen (15) fellows were already benefiting from.

Ibrahim thanked the  IUA Vice Chancellor and the University Community for the honour and promised to do his best to ensure that the confidence reposed in him and the board members would would not be treated with levity while the institution’s objectives would be strategically achieved.