Bridging research commercialisation gaps in Nigerian universities: Problems and prospects

Abstract

Research generates knowledge, fosters innovation, and offers evidence-based solutions to societal challenges. Unfortunately, in developing countries like Nigeria, research is largely confined to academic publications without real-world or industrial applications. The study explored the key problems hindering effective research commercialisation in Nigerian universities, the factors contributing to these gaps, and the prospects for addressing them. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire administered to 120 university researchers selected through a multistage sampling procedure. Data analysis was performed using frequency count, percentage, standard deviation and analysis of variance. The results indicated that 15% of the researchers had conducted up to 10 research projects within the last five years; however, none had succeeded in commercialising any of their outputs. The major factors contributing to this gap were lack of knowledge of commercialisation processes (40%), inadequate funding (13.3%), and limited institutional support (5%). A considerable commercialisation literacy deficit was also identified, as 45% of the researchers were unaware of whether their institution had an intellectual property (IP) policy, while 85% of those with access to such policies had never read them. Although the R4i training was described as impactful, only 1.7% of respondents reported initiating any commercialisation effort after the training. The study concludes that research commercialisation efforts in Nigerian universities remain low and recommends mainstreaming research commercialisation modules into research objectives.