Students across higher institutions are set to compete for the N25m total prize money in the IWEMI National Academic Research Impact Challenge.
INARIC is an academic initiative by the Retail Development and Investment Company Africa designed to unlock the intellectual potential within Nigeria’s tertiary education system.
Chief Executive Officer of RDIC Africa, Ejimofor Akah, announced the opening of the portal for submission of applications at an event held in Lagos, saying owners of the top 10 research papers will be rewarded.
Akah said the competition aims to generate research papers that provide practical, implementable solutions in areas such as healthcare, agriculture, energy, financial inclusion, technology, SME expansion and the economy.
He announced that the INARIC submission portal will remain open till September, while the top 10 entries will be awarded at a ceremony scheduled to be held in Abuja in December.
He said, “INARIC is a nationwide annual initiative designed to unlock the immense intellectual potential that resides within Nigeria’s tertiary education system and to convert that potential into measurable, real-world economic and social impact.
“Nigeria’s universities, polytechnics and colleges of education collectively produce tens of thousands of research papers annually. The overwhelming majority of these papers never leave the institution, never reach industry or policymakers, and never attract the investment or recognition they deserve.
“By creating a credible, independently adjudicated, nationally visible competition with a combined prize pool of N25m for the top 10 research papers, INARIC gives Nigeria’s academic community a reason to aim higher, a platform to be seen, and a reward system that reflects the true value of impactful research.”
Akah decried what he described as one of the most persistent structural failures in Nigerian higher education, the disconnect between research produced in academic institutions and real-world challenges facing Nigeria’s economy.
“INARIC is specifically designed to close this gap. By requiring that all submitted research papers address practical, implementable solutions in areas such as healthcare, agriculture, energy, financial inclusion and technology, INARIC ensures that academic effort is channelled toward outputs that can be directly adopted by industry, government and investors. Every paper submitted to INARIC is an attempt to answer a real Nigerian challenge,” he said.
“Nigeria’s tertiary institutions collectively enrol approximately 6 million students, yet only a fraction of that population ever pursues research to its full potential. The primary reason is the absence of meaningful incentives.
“INARIC addresses this directly; a total prize pool of ₦25,000,000, distributed among the top 10 researchers, creates a nationally visible, financially compelling reason for undergraduate and postgraduate students to invest seriously in the quality of their research. This incentive structure, applied annually, will progressively raise the baseline quality of academic research output across the country.”
Akah said INARIC aligned with the Federal Government’s National Laureate Annual Prize Programme, which awards up to N20 million to students whose dissertations and theses demonstrate outstanding intellectual and commercial potential.
Speaking at the event, the Executive Director of INARIC Project Organisation, Mr Amadi Iheukwumere, stressed that African research should create value, lead to the emergence of startups, businesses and job creation.
He noted the need to move away from the reality that many research works never leave the libraries, adding that African intellectual output should have commercial value and contribute to economic growth.
He called for support for the initiative, saying: “Stakeholders outside government, institutional stakeholders, foundations and corporate organisations should be part of this, because this is something that can rewrite the existing narrative and support job creation and wealth creation. Collaboration is very key for this to succeed, because there are research initiatives that die at the point of conception due to lack of funding. Funding from private sector organisations, foundations and other stakeholders is therefore welcome.”
Speaking, Prof. Faloju Olubunmi of the University of Lagos called for stronger academia–industry collaboration to ensure real-world application of research.
He said companies should establish research units within their systems and fund them to generate practical solutions to societal challenges.
On his part, Prof. Olatokunbo Okiki, the UNILAG Librarian, spoke on the importance of evidence-based governance.
He noted that original research can solve local challenges and grows in value over time.
The event also had in attendance representatives of Wema Bank, including its Head of Payment Business, Abayomi Olomu, and Head of Youth Banking, Bunmi Ayodele.
Read the full article here
