BUK student wins ₦300,000 as university pushes for research commercialisation

A 200-level Electrical Engineering student of Bayero University Kano (BUK), Nura Idris, has won ₦300,000 after emerging overall champion of the BUK Students Innovation Challenge 2026, as the institution intensifies efforts to commercialise research outputs.

The competition, organised by the university’s Directorate of Research, Innovation and Partnership (DRIP) as part of the preconference activities of the maiden National Conference and Exhibition on Research and Development held at the university.

The competition attracted 12 student innovators who pitched ideas aimed at solving real-world problems. Idris outshone 11 other contestants with his project, Vertical Energy, designed to tackle Nigeria’s persistent electricity shortages.

“What inspired me is seeing people suffer because of electricity shortages. Students struggle to study without power, communities sleep in darkness, and businesses are crippled. This motivated me to develop a solution,” Idris said after receiving his prize.

He explained that the innovation aligns with key Sustainable Development Goals, including affordable and clean energy, decent work and economic growth, and climate action.

Speaking at the opening of the conference on Tuesday, BUK Vice-Chancellor, Professor Haruna Musa, said the university is committed to moving beyond research for publication to research that produces commercially viable products.

He stressed that Nigeria’s pressing challenges in agriculture, energy, healthcare, and education demand practical solutions.

“This conference is meant to bring government, industry partners, and academia together to translate research into meaningful commercial products,” he said, noting that BUK is ranked third best in Nigeria by the Times Higher Education Ranking (2026) and first in international outlook, with partnerships across 15 African countries.

The Director General of the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), Dr. Obiageli Edith Amadiobi, also underscored the importance of patenting research results.

She explained that NOTAP is bridging the gap between academia and industry through initiatives such as the Industry Technology Transfer Fellowship, which sponsors PhD candidates to conduct industry-based research.

“Research must move from the shelf to the market. If you research into something original, you must own it by patenting. That way, even when you are gone, your children will benefit from your intellectual property,” she said.

Chairman of the conference Local Organising Committee, Professor Mohamed Maina, said prizes were awarded to the top six innovators, with ₦300,000 for first place, ₦200,000 for second, and other cash rewards for third and beyond.

He added that even participants outside the top six received incentives to encourage their efforts.

“This competition marks a milestone in BUK’s efforts to bridge academia and industry. Students must embrace innovation as a tool for solving real-life problems,” he said.

Professor Maina also said the conference is designed to address Nigeria’s long-standing challenge of bridging the gap between academic research and industrial application.

He noted that for decades, Nigerian universities have produced world-class research that remains on library shelves, unpatented, uncommercialized, and disconnected from industry needs.

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