Umar Bindir tasks industries on development of research

Prof. Umar Bindir, former Director-General, National Office of Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), said industries that are the end user of research results must take interest in the generation of knowledge.

Bindir made this remark while delivering a keynote address on the occasion of the inauguration of the NOTAP-Industry Technology Transfer Fellowship (NITTF) in Abuja on Wednesday.

Bindir, who is currently the Secretary, Adamawa Government, explained that industries must contribute to the generation of relevant knowledge to engender technological development.

According to him, industries that are the end user of research results must take interest in the generation of knowledge from tertiary institutions and on the proper application of research results.

“We discover that there is a wide gap between the academia and the industries and in filling this gap, the fellowship is initiated so that industries will take a keen interest in the technological development in the country.

“Nigeria must emerge as knowledge and learning society built on values; everywhere, universities are sustained and their research results are utilised for technological development.

“The way forward is for us to commit ourselves and understand that our knowledge institutions must work for Nigeria and their outputs and inputs must be measured.

“What we are not doing is that we are not challenging our institutions very well to ensure that they work on problems that are peculiar to our country.

“These three aspects must be done in this frame work of change so that we can be able to tackle our food problems, our water problems, infrastructure problems, and many others,’’ he said.

Bindir stressed that we cannot solve these problems by using the same kind of thinking used when we created the problems.

“We need to be strategic in solving these problems and the fellowship scheme is one intervention that we belief will proffer the solution that will solve our technological problems,’’ Bindir said.

Winifred Oyo-Ita, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, said the scheme will serve as a platform through which industries will voluntarily support the process of building the needed skilled knowledge workers.

Oyo-Ita, who is also the Chairperson of the NOTAP Governing Council, said that the fellowship would promote the development of specialised personnel, strategic managerial skills and of key technology acquisition process.

DanAzumi Ibrahim, the Acting Director-General, NOTAP, in his address of welcome, said the key objective of the NITTF was to create a pool of knowledge and skilled manpower that would facilitate technology acquisition.

He said NOTAP observed many inadequacies and disconnect between industries and the National Innovation System and took the step to bridge this gap by initiating the scheme.

“NOTAP has taken strategic steps to ensure that industries increase their local value addition and also endeavour to enhance national technological development through appropriate collaborations with relevant government agencies.

“It is a public-private platform designed to create indigenous critical technological competencies of elite applied knowledge workers in Nigeria through special Ph.D programmes tenable in Nigerian Universities,” she said.

Also they would be required to enter into clear agreements with NOTAP, Industry, University/Research Institute such that close relationship would be developed during the study period.

NAN