NCC grants varsities with focus on innovations
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
More than N500 million has been granted by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to fund telecom research and innovation in universities and other tertiary institutions across the country.
NCC Executive Vice Chairman Umar Danbatta disclosed at a roundtable with Academia, Industry and Other Stakeholders in Kano that the beneficiaries include university professorial chairs in key areas to drive development in the telecom industry.
He said the NCC is now focused on supporting the academia in the commercialisation of prototypes from researches relevant to the policy of the Communications and Digital Economy Ministry to promote indigenous technology.
“The Commission collaborates with the academia in maximising the contributions of tertiary institutions to innovations and sustainable development of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry as finance is needed to drive possible success of these endeavours,” Danbatta stressed.
He said the initiatives have enabled the NCC to contribute to the national quest for the growth of the industry and create wealth for innovators, planks fundamental to NCC programmes in research and development (R&D).
Inventions and improvements in academia are required by industry for improved efficiency and productivity, he reiterated.
In his view, appreciable impact has been made since the NCC reinvigorated grants for telecom-based research innovations, focusing on successful commercialisation of local solutions to foster and deepen the uptake of indigenous technology.
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Development of research prototypes
NCC Executive Commissioner (Technical Services) Ubale Maska disclosed the Commission has awarded 49 telecom-based research grants to tertiary institutions, out of which 10 prototypes were developed and presented to industry stakeholders.
He said R&D schemes in the NCC are aimed at achieving part of Pillar Eight of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) 2020-2030 that focuses on Indigenous Content Development and Adoption, according to Vanguard.
The roundtable was organied by the NCC to provide the platform to support the commercialisation of locally-developed telecom innovations it sponsors.
The event, which featured panel discussions, drew participants from the academia, telecom industry, financial services, and other sectors.
Participants brainstormed commercialisation and entrepreneurial models with university and industry perspectives as well as investment in prototype development, sustainability, and getting new products to the market.
