NUC Presses Varsities to Build Entrepreneurial Models for Development

The Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Abdullahi Ribadu, has called on Nigerian universities to adopt academic entrepreneurship and innovation as central to their mandate, saying this is critical to producing graduates who can drive the nation’s economic growth.

Ribadu made the call at the international conference on academic entrepreneurship, knowledge and technology transfer organised by the NUC in collaboration with German universities and development partners. He was represented at the event by the Director of Research, Innovation and Information Technology at the commission, Mallam Lawal Faruk.

Speaking at the conference, Ribadu said universities across the world are expected to move beyond their traditional roles of teaching and research to become centres of creativity, enterprise and social transformation.

He stated that the future of higher education depends on its capacity to prepare graduates for a rapidly changing world by equipping them with entrepreneurial, digital, and critical-thinking skills.

According to him, this conviction informed the NUC’s development and implementation of the Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS).

He explained that the framework emphasises learner-centred and competency-based education.

“The framework seeks to equip students not only with disciplinary knowledge, but also with entrepreneurial skills, digital competencies, critical thinking and adaptability required in today’s workplace,” he said.

Ribadu stressed the need to strengthen collaboration between universities and industry.

He noted that the success of modern universities would be measured by their ability to transform ideas into innovation and research into societal impact.

The NUC chief added that achieving this goal requires stronger partnerships among academia, government, industry and innovators, as well as institutional cultures that encourage creativity and reward innovation.

The executive secretary also said the NUC’s collaboration with institutions in Germany demonstrates the importance of international partnerships in building innovation ecosystems.

He explained that such partnerships can enhance global competitiveness while addressing local and national challenges.

Also speaking at the conference, Chris Vilas-Mote, Programme Officer at the German Academic Exchange Service Regional Office in Ghana, said the organisation remains committed to supporting partnerships between Germany and Nigeria in education, research and innovation.

Vilas-Mote explained that Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) is one of the world’s largest scholarship organisations, supporting university collaborations, scholarships and innovation initiatives aimed at empowering young researchers and entrepreneurs.

He cited the Falling Walls Lab competition as one of DAAD’s platforms for identifying and supporting innovative ideas among students and researchers.

According to him, many Nigerian students already possess entrepreneurial mindsets, but require greater institutional support to transform their ideas into sustainable enterprises.

In a keynote presentation, Prof Harald Von-Korflesch of the University of Koblenz, advocated a more structured approach to building entrepreneurial universities.

He said institutions must move beyond offering stand-alone entrepreneurship courses to embedding entrepreneurship at the core of their institutional ecosystems.

He listed professional mentorship, industry linkages, innovation support structures and technology commercialisation as essential components of that ecosystem.

Von-Korflesch noted that while many universities are making progress in entrepreneurship education, greater efforts are needed to convert research outputs into viable businesses and startups capable of generating jobs and economic value.

He emphasised the importance of strengthening mechanisms for knowledge and technology transfer to ensure that research conducted in universities directly contributes to national development and industrial growth.

The conference brought together university administrators, researchers, policymakers, development agencies and international partners to explore strategies for advancing entrepreneurship, innovation and technology transfer in higher education institutions.