The Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Professor Abdullahi Ribadu, has called for stronger collaboration between universities, industry, government, and international partners to reposition higher education in Nigeria for innovation, entrepreneurship, and societal impact.
Ribadu made the call on Tuesday in Abuja during a welcome address at the International Conference on Academic Entrepreneurship, Knowledge and Technology Transfer in Nigerian Universities.
The event brought together participants from universities, research institutions, development agencies, and international partners, including representatives of the University of Koblenz and the University of Erfurt.
The Executive Secretary, who was represented by the Director of Research, Information and Technology, Lawal Farouk, said the conference comes at a critical moment for higher education globally and in Nigeria, noting that universities are increasingly expected to move beyond their traditional roles.
Ribadu said, “This conference comes at an important time for university education, both internationally and within Nigeria.
“Across the world, universities are increasingly being called upon to move beyond their traditional roles of teaching and research and become centres of creativity, enterprise, and societal transformation.”
He stressed that the National Universities Commission remains committed to transforming the university system through reforms aimed at producing graduates equipped for a changing world.
Ribadu stated, “The National Universities Commission recognises that the future of higher education depends on its ability to prepare graduates for a rapidly changing world.”
According to him, this vision informed the development of the Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards, which emphasise competency-based and learner-centred education.
He said, “The CCMAS framework seeks to equip students not only with disciplinary knowledge, but also with entrepreneurial skills, digital competencies, critical thinking, and the adaptability required in today’s workplace.”
Ribadu further noted that universities must increasingly be assessed not only by teaching and research outputs but also by their capacity to translate ideas into innovation and enterprise.
“Increasingly, the success of modern universities will not be measured only by the quality of teaching and research. It will also be measured by their ability to convert ideas into innovation, innovation into enterprise, and research into societal impact,” he stated.
He emphasised the importance of stronger cross-sector partnerships and international collaboration as drivers of innovation ecosystems.
“Achieving this requires stronger partnerships among academia, government, industry and investors. It also requires institutional cultures that encourage creativity and reward innovation,” he said.
Ribadu also described collaboration with German universities as significant, noting that such partnerships could strengthen innovation systems and enhance global competitiveness.
“Our partnership with the University of Koblenz and the University of Erfurt demonstrates the value of partnerships in advancing these goals.”
He urged participants to engage in discussions that would produce practical outcomes for strengthening entrepreneurship and innovation in Nigerian universities.
A keynote address by Harald Korflesch of the University of Koblenz, Germany, focused on the need to professionalise academic entrepreneurship and improve the commercialisation of research.
Korflesch stressed that universities should embrace what he described as the “third mission” of higher education—translating research into societal impact.
He referenced global policy thinker Mariana Mazzucato, discussing “mission-oriented research” and the idea of the “entrepreneurial state” in driving innovation.
He argued that while many universities already run entrepreneurship programmes, incubation hubs, and hackathons, outcomes remain limited.
“So there is no budget. This is really something, again, which is driven by our heart, our own initiative,” he said, describing collaborative initiatives between German and African institutions.
Korflesch also pointed to gaps between academic research and commercial outcomes, noting that universities often produce strong research but struggle to translate it into viable businesses.
“We are very good at research and innovation, but we are not able to commercialise enough. We are not able to make much more out of the research,” he said.
He called for stronger entrepreneurship education embedded in real-world projects, deeper industry partnerships, and structured pathways for research commercialisation, including proof-of-concept funding and spin-off development.
Korflesch also emphasised the importance of alumni and diaspora networks in strengthening innovation ecosystems.
He concluded by urging universities to focus not only on whether entrepreneurship is taught, but on effectiveness and quality, saying, “it’s not about shall we do it, it is set, but how and how well we can do it.”
Universities have long faced concerns over graduate employability and weak links between academic research and industry needs, shaping ongoing policy debates on how higher education can better support development.
In response, regulators have introduced reforms such as the CCMAS, which stresses practical skills and entrepreneurship, alongside stronger industry partnerships and industrial training to improve workplace readiness.
