RSIF PASET | Nigeria Archives - The PASET Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund

University of Port Harcourt Leads Innovation Drive with UP-ECOSIN Project

Posted on April 10, 2025April 10, 2025 by Janet Otieno

The University of Port Harcourt (UniPort) is making great strides in transforming its research and innovation into marketable solutions through its Strengthening Institutional Infrastructure for an Innovation Ecosystem” (UP-ECOSIN) project. The project empowers researchers, fosters industry partnerships, and transforms research into marketable solutions. The project is funded by Partnership for Skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering, and Technology (PASET) Regional Scholarship Innovation Fund (Rsif) to address a critical gap in Nigerian universities: the lack of structures to translate research findings into marketable solutions.

The project is led by Onyewuchi Akaranta, a Professor of Industrial Chemistry, and Ibisime Etela, a Professor of Animal Science and the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture. Their goal is to transform the university into a hub for entrepreneurial research and commercialization.

The UP-ECOSIN project trains faculty and graduate students in competitive grant writing, as well as transform research output into commercialized products through start-ups and spin-offs. The key beneficiaries are post graduates at the Africa Centre of Excellence for Oilfield Chemicals Research (ACE-CEFOR) who are carrying out applied research for the sustainable development of the oil and gas industry in Sub-Saharan Africa. They also promote university-industry cooperation and develop a sustainable innovation ecosystem framework, especially for the oil and gas sector in Nigeria.

Turning research into products and services

Speaking about what inspired the need for the UP-ECOSIN project at the university Prof Akaranta says, “There was a felt need to embark on the project because as researchers we realized that the university system does not have a clear structure or policy aimed at moving positive research results from the field and laboratories to the market or places where they can be commercialized. This gap has in the past made both the individual researchers and the university waste opportunities to benefit from projects with tangible results and potential for commercialization.”

Mobile Biogas Digester with improvised gas volume measuring device — Mobile Biogas Digester with improvised
gas volume measuring device

He adds that this was part of an effort towards actualizing the overall vision of the UniPort, to become an entrepreneurial institution.

It was the first university in Nigeria to declare so in 2010 so they had to ensure that it is a research-intensive institution, which shall transform its products and services for addressing social problems.

Prof Etela emphasized that through the UP-ECOSIN project they train faculty and graduate students on competitive grants writing and has helped in positioning UniPort as a research and innovation hub in Africa and beyond.

“In deciding to carry out the project on strengthening institutional capacity building, we also realized that increasing awareness of researchers to commercialize results also means they have to conduct high quality transformative research.”

He went on to say that conducting such high-quality research requires funds, which are ordinarily not readily available through conventional funding from the government . Hence, the need to build the capacity of researchers to be able to actively solicit for grants to support their innovative research works.

Patents

According to Prof Akaranta, UP-ECOSIN project has, indeed, facilitated the transformation of research projects from laboratories into patents and ready for commercialization.

“Through the project, the importance of multidisciplinary approach to implementation became obvious with each team member bringing on board their perspectives to enrich the outcomes. For example, through the funding of the project we were able to engage the services of a lawyer who specializes in filing patents and this approach enabled us to speedily secure the national patents within three months. It usually takes longer to achieve the same,” Prof Akaranta stated.

15L Essential Oil Ext15L Essential Oil Extractorctor — 15L Essential Oil Extractor

On the project were industrial chemists, engineers, agriculturists and other experts working together to move it from the theory to producing tangible products.

This gave rise to the five pilot plants: 0.5 cubic litres mobile biogas digester,15L essential oil extractor, 700 kg fish dryer with oil collector, organic manure pelletizer, and 54 cubic feet gas-fired kiln for ceramics.

“They were designed to be fired using biogas thus protecting the environment from greenhouse gas emissions and controlling deforestation since the plants do not depend on direct firewood as fuel. For example, the fifth pilot plant which is gas-fired kiln for ceramics will support sustainable education in ceramic studies at the Department of Fine Arts and Design in the Faculty of Humanities,” Prof Etela remarked.

Prof Etela indicated that in addition to the five pilot plants designed to be biogas-fired, there are five other green chemicals derived from agro-waste that are available for venture capitalists and other interested investors to promote commercialization.

Industry collaboration

Since the project emphasizes university-industry collaboration, four partnerships have been established so far. This has facilitated easy access to real-life societal/industry problems and resources, enabling staff and students at the university to conduct more relevant and impactful research.

Organic Manure Pelletiser with Rotating disc, electric motor and control panel

“The partnerships have created valuable networking opportunities for faculty members and students, fostering hands-on internship programmes and career planning and development for our students. Curricula reviews of academic programmes of students who benefited from the partnerships with the industry, through internships, have seen the integration of classroom learning with hands-on experience,” Prof Akaranta said.

Overcoming challenges

Despite challenges such as fluctuating exchange rates and vendor compliance issues, the team employed meticulous financial reporting and proactive follow-ups to ensure smooth implementation.

Transforming mindsets

“Before UP-ECOSIN, less than 1 per cent of UniPort staff and students understood the importance of commercializing research results. Training workshops have sparked curiosity among participants, paving the way for future innovation. The workshops have created awareness about commercialization of research outputs. Now more than50 of staff and students understand the importance of commercializing research products,” said Prof Etela.

Lessons for African universities

Both the professors pointed out that teamwork emerged as a cornerstone of success in implementing UP-ECOSIN. This offers a model for other African institutions seeking to strengthen their innovation ecosystems.

“UniPort technical staff were indispensable in translating theoretical concepts into tangible products,” Prof Akaranta stated.

The UP-ECOSIN’s impact extends beyond its initial funding period through grantsmanship workshops that have led to major wins like the Mastercard Foundation Grant for African universities and Erasmus Mundus funding for graduate programmes in Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity. Because of UP-ECOSIN, several research teams at UniPort have also secured grants ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 over the last three years.

With its focus on capacity building, commercialization, and industry collaboration, UniPort’s UP-ECOSIN project exemplifies how universities can drive sustainable development while fostering innovation across Africa.

How Nigerian Communities are Building Flood Resilience with DIY Adaptation Strategies

Posted on November 15, 2024November 15, 2024 by Janet Otieno

As the risk of floodwaters rise each rainy season, the people of Kano, Nigeria, face a battle against nature that feels more urgent each year. But there is hope at last, a project at Bayero University, under the vision of Prof Aliyu Salisu Barau, is changing the game. Through the PASET Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund (Rsif), this initiative by Prof Barau and his team is teaching communities to tackle flood risks head-on with Do-It-Yourself (DIY) adaptation strategies. Bayero University is one of the15 Rsif African Host Universities (AHU), focusing on climate change. This approach empowers the community to develop their own flood risk communication methods, equipping them to face the mounting impacts of climate change with resilience and resourcefulness.

Attending COP 29 this week with his team, Prof Barau is at the fore front sharing the successes and lessons of this initiative, showcasing Nigeria’s community-driven approach to resilience on the world stage. This is a significant step in climate change adaptation strategies.

We caught up with Prof Barua and had this conversation:

Q: What motivated you to initiate the “Do-It-Yourself Adaptation” project, and what specific challenges does it aim to address in Northern Nigeria?

A: People in every community have inherent and inherited strategies to cope with a wide range of issues based on their nature of environment. On this note, our project explored some of the local knowledge

systems and experiences that could help in promoting and integrating them in addressing flood risks. These knowledge systems are key motivations and also the inherent failures associated with government-driven flood mitigation interventions that have failed to support affected communities.

Q: Can you describe the main goals of the project and how they align with the needs of rural communities facing climate risks?

A: The main goals are to promote communication strategies that demystify the science of climate change and flood adaptation in such ways that such knowledge will be available to people in their local language and regardless of their level of literacy.

Q: Could you explain the key features of the flood risk hazards toolkit and how it will empower communities to adapt to climate change?

A: Loss of shelter and farm produce are critical forms of loss and damage for rural communities. However, development of knowledge streams of how to promote resilience through cartoons, stage dramas and songs, a flood messaging app, that specifically educates communities on pre-disaster, during, and post-disaster scenarios.

Q: What immediate benefits do you anticipate for communities involved in this project, and how will you measure its success?

A: The use of smart technologies is an important and easy way for communities to share flood risk information easily and immediately, which is very important. Similarly, the cartoons and songs are tool for easily reaching out to women and youths in

particular through these tools’ entertainment dimensions.

Q: How does this project fit into Nigeria’s broader climate adaptation strategies and its commitments under international agreements?

A: African countries and Nigeria inclusive at the moment need to give top priority to community-focused adaptation education, information sharing and engagement as best ways to achieve adaptation and climate resilience from the grassroots.

Q: What specific messages or outcomes do you hope to bring to COP 29 regarding community-led adaptation efforts?

A: African needs more creative ways to enhance, upgrade and improve climate resilience and adaptation strategies that include local knowledge systems and experiences.

Q: In what ways do you believe grassroots initiatives like yours can influence national and international climate policies moving forward?

A: This kind of effort must start from somewhere. We are glad to be among the set of researchers to push this forward.

Q: What final thoughts would you like to share about the importance of community engagement in addressing climate change at COP 29 and beyond?

A: Rounds of COP are for the privileged and messages of communities are expressed through intermediaries. However, community engagement is a vehicle that takes communities through COPs meetings through verifiable results of what communities can do on their own to achieve resilience and positive climate actions.

From research to market: Universities have a key role to play in the transformation of societies

Posted on August 11, 2022 by RSIF PASET

Universities provide the rich scientific knowledge base, which is the foundation for innovation and economic development. The African Institute of Science and Technology (AUST) in Nigeria is one of the six African universities that have received financial and technical support from the Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund (RSIF) to create an enabling environment for innovation and entrepreneurship in the university. With initial funding support from the African Development Bank and in collaboration with innovation hubs in the region, the university inaugurated an institutional based technology business incubator called AUSTInspire, to bridge the gap in innovation and research commercialization especially in healthcare, energy, shelter, water, oil and gas sectors in the region. RSIF financial support has picked up to further help the hub implement several activities as well as attract additional funding for its operationalization

RSIF financial and technical support has enabled AUST through its Pan African Materials Institute, African Centre of Excellence in Materials, to strengthen and expand the capacity of AUSTinspire and support and promote a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation among its faculty and students.

Through this support, a strategic policy document on innovation and entrepreneurship including intellectual property (IP) and commercialization of research outcome was developed with support from the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), Nigeria. Further a capacity building workshop on innovation and entrepreneurship was facilitated to 105 students and 65 faculty in collaboration with various industry and government trainers. A follow-on ten-day innovation and entrepreneurship bootcamp was organized which attracted participation of 150 students and 25 faculty. The bootcamp was culminated by a pitching competition where 13 groups presented their ideas to a panel of judges from the business innovation space. Five start up projects with support from RSIF grants were selected to receive business incubation support from the AUSTInspire.

As an offshoot of bootcamp, which was partly sponsored with matching funds provided by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the university received additional support from the AfDB to operationalize the AUSTInspire hub. Part of the AfDB funding was used to carry out a feasibility study of some innovation and incubation hubs in the country to draw lessons and best practices for the operationalization of the AUSTInspire hub.

AUST Centre for Lifelong Learning (AC4LL) was launched as an off shoot of the RSIF support. the funding is what supported the establishment of the Centre for life long learnning and rolll out of the courses. The centre offers opportunities for many working-class persons to engage in various continuing professional education programs especially in entrepreneurship, project management and other relevant subjects. Four short courses have already been launched under this program, one on Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation, one in Advanced Project Management and two on Monitoring and Evaluation. A total of 55 persons have successfully completed these certificate courses in AC4LL.

AUSTInspire has enabled the university community to engage and collaborate more with innovation hubs within Abuja thus improving our ability to solve real life problems through innovation. Prof. A. P. Onwualu, Ag Vice Chancellor, AUST

The university also organized an industry open day that attracted 28 industries from various sectors of the Nigerian economy to exhibit their products and services and interact with the students and faculty. It was also an opportunity for the university researchers to showcase their research outputs from different departments for possible collaboration with industry partners.

To foster University-Industry collaboration, the AUST Industry Advisory Board (AIAB) was launched in April 2022, with a membership of 11 industrial partners, the board will work closely with the university to strengthen its linkage with relevant industries to enhance it capacity in innovation development.

Higher education institutions are gradually embracing the importance of innovation, commercialization, and entrepreneurship, and creating value for their communities. African governments together with their development partners have committed to support the strengthening of research and innovation capacity of African universities through the RSIF program of the Partnership for Skills in Applied Science, Engineering and Technology (PASET). Read here for more information on RSIF funded projects.

Nicknamed “Professseur” by my peers, I was inspired to pursue a PhD

Posted on July 5, 2021July 22, 2021 by Maureen Agena

Jean Baptiste HABINSHUTI from Rwanda is a PASET-RSIF Scholar in Material Science and Engineering at African University of Science and Technology (AUST) in Nigeria. Being a recipient of RSIF PhD scholarship opportunity meant a lot to him. First, it was an avenue to upgrade his academic qualification, but it also gave him a chance to realize his high school dream to earn the title of professor after having been nicknamed “Professseur” by students from his community for organizing science tutoring sessions during high school holidays. Little did they know that it was a catalyst for him to build himself and achieve his personal goals and development.

He was awarded PASET-RSIF scholarship to pursue a PhD degree in Material Science and Engineering in the thematic area of Mining, Mineral and Materials Engineering at AUST (Nigeria). At AUST, the PhD program comprises two components: course work and research. To-date, Jean has completed his course work and is now on a sandwich program at Worcester Polytechnique Institute (USA) for part of his research. His research has four projects, of which he has completed two of them, while one is ongoing. He has one manuscript for publication under-review and he is working on the second one.

Why study material Science and engineering?

Jean believes that his study will add significant value to African mineral resources. The research focuses on processing and extraction of tantalite ores using simple, affordable, and environmentally friendly techniques. He is exploring how these techniques can be applied in mining and processing of African tantalite ores and add value to the mineral resources from Africa instead of exporting them in their raw form. By working closely with academic institutions, relevant investors and governments, and other stakeholders within sub-Saharan Africa; this specialized knowledge will be integrated in the region and transferred to the future generation.

When the Covid-19 pandemic spread to Africa, Jean, like many other scholars away from home had worries about his family and they were also worried about him. Getting updates about the Covid-19 status in his country was part of his daily activities. Regular calls to his family and relatives to raise their awareness and help them understand the importance of implementing and following the government preventive policies, was a need. USA was one of the most affected countries in both confirmed cases and mortality, something that caused more worries to Jean, his colleagues and his family. Consequently, staying indoors was the only way to avoid being exposed to the virus. Psychological instability resulting from repetitive activities and being away from the family members begun to affect him and other colleagues.

COVID-19 and the future

All his social life was affected by COVID 19 and as far as his research work was concerned, he had done some of the preliminary experiments before the pandemic paralyzed the activities in the University. When the University was closed in March 2020, access to facilities such as the Laboratories and Libraries became impossible and some activities shifted to remote access. The regular meetings with supervisors for discussion and presentation of research progress also slowed down significantly.

Covid-19 affected Jean’s research work plan because there was no laboratory work during the pandemic. The University has since resumed laboratory access with some restrictions. He admits that he has quite a lot of work to do, as recommended by his advisors, and he is currently trying to maximize on literature review, such that when things normalise, most of his time will be focused on laboratory work. However, there is a clear delay in his work plan, but he is committed to squeeze himself and work hard as he can see the possibilities of meeting the planned timeline to achieve his goals and objectives on time. The only big challenge is about his sample stuck in France due to radioactive material detected in. He, with the help of his host University tried to work on the shipment of other samples from Africa, but the samples were missed completely. FedEX has requested that he file claim to the shipping agency.

Jean is very grateful to RSIF and all collaborators of the program for giving him such an opportunity to shape his future, that of his family and his Country. He urges the management of RSIF to be aware of the impact and delays caused by the pandemic and work collaboratively. The University must do their best to allow access to facilities and tools that enable students to achieve their academic targets on time. RSIF should communicate with student advisors and encourage them to respond as fast as possible when students write to them seeking guidance and or recommendations.

Contact Jean Baptiste Habinshuti via jhabinshuti@wpi.edu