By Gift Olivia, Samuel The Sight News
ABUJA: As part of its initiatives to strengthen the telecommunications industry in contributing to national development, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has awarded a total sum of N172,532,040.00 for 13 research projects and N60,000,000.00 as endowments in three universities.
The grants to the 13 tertiary institutions is for the Telecommunications-Based Research Innovations from Nigerian Tertiary Institutions and the endowment of Professonal Chairs was to the University of Port Harcourt, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, and Federal University of Technology, Minna.
Speaking at the event which took place on Thursday at the NCC headquarters, the Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta in his speech, congratulated the three beneficiaries of the 2021 Professonal Chair Endowment as well as the 13 successful research awardees.
The NCC EVC/CEO Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta with the Telecoms-based Research Grants beneficiaries
He noted that the programme demonstrates the NCC’s strong resolve in advancing the impact of digital technologies on our national economy, using indigenous products and solutions, adding that the Commission’s engagement with the Academia is to facilitate the application of knowledge generated in the tertiary institutions in the telecommunications industry.
He pointed out that the academia provides the knowledge resource and research results that govern transformational growth and facilitate innovations in industries worldwide, noting that the relevance of academia in the development of the Telecommunications Industry in Nigeria cannot be overemphasized.
According to him, “It was indeed in recognition of the role of the academia in the development of the sector that the Commission instituted the Telecommunications-Based Research Innovations from Nigerian Tertiary Institutions (Research Grant) Programme”, he said.
He explained that the tertiary institutions submit detailed and well thought-out research proposals, on specific thematic areas provided by the Commission, and the proposals must result in the development of commercially viable prototypes as the outputs.
He further noted that, “In the 2021 Request for Proposals, the Commission received a total of fifty-five (55) research proposals that focused on five emerging technology areas, namely: 5G Deployment; Innovative Clean Energy; Advanced Method of Quality of Service, (QoS) /Quality of Experience Management and Test Mechanism; loT Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) Technology; and Monitoring and Localizing of Drones.
“After thorough evaluations, thirteen (13) proposals were found to have met the stipulated criteria. This is indeed a clear testimony of the objectivity and complexity of the evaluation process at ensuring that the best quality is achieved and only researches that could produce prototypes with the potential of providing solutions to both local and global challenges are selected”, he remarked.
Prof. Danbatta also stated that the Commission has endowed Professorial Chairs in tertiary institutions across the Country, as a mechanism in entrenching innovations in tertiary institutions, as well as having graduates that are “industry-ready”.
“The endowment of Professorial Chairs in Universities is one of the Commission’s initiatives in supporting the academia, in focused research in ICT, towards the advancements of emerging technologies”, he said.
While each university was required to sign the Memorandum of Understanding that would guide the programmes, Danbatta disclosed that with these awards and endowments, the Commission would have provided more than N660,000,000.00 to Nigerian tertiary institutions for information and Communications Technolgy (ICT) focused research innovations.
He said, “These are part of the Commission’s efforts at vigorously driving the attainment of the goals of the Federal Government’s agenda on digital economy, as aptly captured in the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (2020 — 2030).
“It is therefore our expectations that the institutions would dedicate the required human and material rcsources to the success of the programmes. I look forward to being here again to receive our Telecommunications-based Research Innovations awardees”.
In his welcome address, the NCC Head, Research and Development Department, Mr. Kelechi Nwankwo said the NCC designed the Telecommunications-based Research Innovations from Academics in Nigerian Tertiary Institutions and the endowment of Professorial Chair programmes, to ensure that the Nigerian academic community is able to contribute to the life transforming solutions and products that the Information Society offers.
He stated that, “Since the Commission commenced these programmes, this is the year with the biggest research Grants to tertiary institutions, both in terms of the number of beneficiaries as well as the total amount being awarded.
“The Commission strongly appreciates the importance of working with stakeholders to engender innovations and build indigenous technological capabilities that would strengthen the ICT ecosystem not only in the provision of services, but also in the development of a communications manufacturing and supply sector within the Nigerian economy”.
While appreciating the NCC on behalf of other Vice Chancellors of the beneficiary universities, the Vice-Chancellor of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Prof. Lawal Bilbis, said he believes in the Nigerian education system and that innovation and knowledge economy should be the catalyst for national development.
“We are receiving this not for our universities but for the Nigerian education system and for those who believe in Nigeria. Local content is important in all we do. No one will solve our problems for us. We must create the technology by us and for us and for others to benefit.
“Research grants keeps the Universities growing in the developed world. If more organisations can do this, Nigeria will change within the shortest possible time”, he emphasized.
