9News Nigeria
From Princely Onyenwe
In a historic move, the Federal Polytechnic Nekede has established a Technology Incubation Centre in collaboration with the National Board for Technology Incubation.
The event which took place at the Entrepreneurship Centre of the Polytechnic Thursday was attended by officials of the Board led by Amb. Cletus Amaraegbu. In a speech at the event, the Rector, Engr. Dr. Michael Arimanwa FNSE, JP, welcomed the Board and other guests at the event which he described as "epoch-making".
He also thanked NBTI for the naming the Technology Incubation Centre after him. The Rector took the august audience through a brief history of his sterling stewardship which has resulted in many technological breakthroughs in the polytechnic, acclaimed as best-performing and most-sought-after in Nigeria.
He also recounted how his institution had excelled brilliantly in the area of research and development."As a leading technology-based institution in Nigeria, we have taken bold steps at securing TETFund research grants for a good number of our academics to the tune of N400M.
" Recently, two of our academics won national research grants, owing to the viability of their proposals. The exercise gave our institution an edge over others, which got only one each, with some getting nothing.
The development is a bold testament of the importance my administration attaches to research. We have also deliberately sponsored so many of our academics in workshops, seminars and conferences to enhance productivity and excellence. From the beginning, I made it clear that my administration would be intentional in enthroning excellence in all our operations."
The Rector also gave a brief on some technological inventions which the polytechnic had made under his watch. "Today, Federal Polytechnic Nekede can boast of an electric car that is powered by solar energy. This vehicle is environment-friendly as it burns no fossil fuel. The good news is that we have capacity to improve on the vehicle and even produce it en masse for intra-city transportation across the country.
"Let me also inform this august audience that we have produced various farm implements that can aid in commercial agriculture and food security.
"We have, for instance, produced a coconut-dehusking machine, rice destoning machine, palm fruit digesting machine, palm kernel cracking machine, horizontal cassava sifter and centrifugal cassava dewatering machine, among others.
"In an unprecedented move, our institution has also produced a spy jet that has capacity to take security reconnaissance and report to a projected security formation. What more, we have produced what can best be considered the fastest gas fired crucible furnace in the country, having capacity to melt steel in less than 15 minutes.
"May I state that the Polytechnic under my watch has been breaking new grounds in technological research and development within the limits of the funds available to us. In the light of this, we have amassed the needed capacity, passion and courage to do even more to make our country better."
In the light of the foregoing, the Rector expressed optimism that the inauguration of the Centre would provide institutional services that would promote and link up the technological products of the polytechnic to potential investors and entrepreneurs.
According to the Rector, "The Centre is projected to, among other things, provide institutional infrastructure and mechanisms for the development and commercialization of Research and Development outputs and inventions."
In the end, the Rector charged the Centre to hit the ground running because there was much work to do. He recalled how his institution invented an electric car but lacked a vital outlet to make it visible to the world of technology, expressing optimism that the establishment of an incubation centre would give needed visibility and profitability to the inventions of the Polytechnic.
In an address earlier, the Centre Manager, Mr. U.P. Nwankwo described the Technology Incubation Programme (TIP) as "a popular economic development tool which has been used by both developing and developed economies to fast track local and regional economic development."
He further described the programme as a credible tool for the speedy commercialization of research results and innovative efforts. He posited that the Centre would be economically beneficial to both the institution and her students as opportunities abound to be leveraged upon by all parties.
Mr. Nwankwo described Institution-based Incubation Centre such as the one in Federal Polytechnic Nekede as "a well thought out concept by NBTI to reach out to the main sources of Research and Development (R&D) results." He emphasized that the Centre has taken up the challenge of encouraging researchers to go into problem-based research areas that are needed to accelerate industrial growth, promising that the Centre would contribute reasonably to the industrialization of the nation.
In an address at the occasion, Dr. C.N. Chijioke of the NBTI Zonal Office asserted that the National Board for Technology Incubation was created to provide platforms for speedy commercialization of technologies by effectively linking talents, technology, capital and knowledge. He further established that the board has it as a duty to create and nurture value-added technology-based enterprises, as well as promote and facilitate the application of indigenous technologies and knowledge.
The zonal director expressed optimism that the Engr. Dr. Michael Chidiebere Arimanwa Technology Incubation Centre would be a "priceless opportunity for job and wealth creation, unemployment reduction, and the building of future big corporations and multi-national companies from the cradle of the National Board for Technological Incubation (NBTI) and the Federal Polytechnic Nekede. After an interactive forum at the event, a board member of NBTI, Amb. Cletus Amaraegbu, inaugurated the Technical Committee of the Centre which had the Rector as chairman, while Engr. Dr. Chijioke Chiemena of the Research and Development Directorate of the Polytechnic serves as secretary.
The membership of the committee cut across selected staff of the polytechnic and partnering agencies of NBTI such as SON, NAFDAC, NEPC and Ministry of Science and Technology, among others.High point of the event was the tour of numerous technological exhibitions at the Centre by the Rector accompanied by officials of NBTI.
It will be recalled that the Federal Polytechnic Nekede has had productive collaborations with local and international organizations including Innoson Vehicle Manufacturers, Lofty Farms (Lome), Occupational Safety and Health Association (UK), Zinox Group, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), among numerous others. These collaborations have engendered institutional excellence and promoted intellectual industry.
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