The federal government says it has offered a N50 million venture capital grant to outstanding students in Nigerian universities. It was learnt that the grant was for students in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine (STEMM) fields.
The Student Grant Venture Capital Initiative will make available up to N50 million in grants to high-achieving STEM students in Nigerian universities, starting from 300 Level.
Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, who disclosed this in Abuja at the inauguration of the Research and Innovation Commercialisation Committee (RICC), revealed that the initiative would be rolled out between September and October this year.
According to him, the fund is set up through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) in partnership with the Bank of Industry (BoI).
Alausa noted that the panel, led by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Dr Tayo Aduloju, is also expected to give out eligibility criteria for the grant.
The education minister noted that the constitution of the panel to drive bench-to-market research commercialisation as a strategic initiative that syncs with the ministry’s overarching goal of repositioning Nigeria’s higher education sector as a catalyst for national development.
He noted that this is also in line with President Bola Tinubu’s vision to strengthen research and innovation capacity and move the country to a knowledge-based economy.
“Apart from translating research outputs into goods and services for addressing societal challenges, the commercialisation of research outcomes has several other benefits. It bridges the gap between academia and industry, thereby fostering strong collaboration between universities, research institutions, and the private sector. It also facilitates revenue generation for the institutions and researchers. The intellectual property rights, patents, licences, and royalties derived from commercialised research can provide alternative income streams for tertiary institutions and inventors, thereby promoting self-sustainability, he added.
