TETFund moves to actualise AU-EU partnership on research, innovation

THE Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has constituted the National Contact Point (NCP) to serve as a channel for information dissemination on opportunities as part of the commitment of the Fund towards actualising the African Union (AU) and European Union (EU) partnership on research and innovation.

Executive Secretary of TETFund, Sonny Echono, speaking at the launch and presentation of the Nigerian Contact Network and presentation of work programme for 2023-2024 in Abuja, said the NCP would also provide for researchers on various workshops.

Echono said TETFund, being an intervention agency for public tertiary institutions in country, had the mandate to facilitate the institutionalisation of R&D in tertiary institutions to support development.

The TETFund boss said Nigeria had not been able to participate effectively in the EU research funding framework programme until now, adding that the fund has initiated the process to ensure that the researchers from Nigerian higher education institutions participate effectively in the EU Research and Innovation framework programme, notably the Horizon Europe.

Echono also said the fund is providing further support to the NCP network to enable it mobilise the Nigerian research community effectively to benefit from the platform and training programme to be deployed by the EU delegation.

The executive secretary further stated that the fund had initiated several interventions aimed at resuscitating research activities in the nation’s tertiary institutions, and the interventions were intended to facilitate cutting-edge research, which would contribute to national developmental efforts as well as tackle global challenges.