Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami, has emphasised the need for higher institutions to guide students on research innovation work that can lead to sustainable development in the country.
Pantami made the call on Friday at unveiling the Model of ACE Design Studio/ICT Gardens and commissioning of the Incubation Centre and Researchers Lodge held at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State.
Speaking on the topic: “Research innovation and sustainable development, Pantami said to achieve sustainable development in the country, there must be adequate mentorship for students and young innovators.
He advised Nigerians to be steadfast in whatever they are doing and to emulate developed countries on strategies put in place for their sustainable development.
Pantami, however, called on higher institutions to give accurate attention to research work of under and postgraduate students in order to find a lasting solution to problems facing the nation.
He emphasized that undergraduate research should be able to change the lives of minimal 10,000 people globally as he added that the research work should not be dumped in the school’s library.
According to him: “Research must be linked up with innovation and we must try to teach our students how to partake in complex surveys. Teaching today is beyond garbage in, and garbage out, just to allow the student to memorize their heart and pour it out during examinations, we have to teach them how to sit down and think critically on how to form a team and collaborate, identify the global problem and find a creative solution to it.
“We need reorientation and change our perception of research, a research today must come up with a new solution, institutions must allow the student to choose their topic three or four years before their graduation so that they can master it.”
Earlier the institution’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Simeon Bamire, said that “the university had undertaken giant strides in providing an enabling environment, being the leading ICT university in West Africa.
“The facilities you can see around you are major evidence. For example, the ICT facilities here at the Africa Centre of Excellence in Software Engineering for multi-site teaching, teleconferencing and e-learning besides the conventional applications, can be harnessed for remote human resource development,” he said.