{"id":122100,"date":"2025-09-08T21:40:42","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T20:40:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=122100"},"modified":"2025-09-08T21:40:42","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T20:40:42","slug":"army-general-urges-nigerian-industries-to-fund-university-research-for-national-devt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/army-general-urges-nigerian-industries-to-fund-university-research-for-national-devt\/","title":{"rendered":"Army General urges Nigerian industries to fund university research for national devt"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">A senior Nigerian Army officer, Brigadier General Sikiru Adepoju Mohammed, has called on industries across the country to begin actively funding university-led research aimed at solving sector-specific challenges.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">He warned that the widening disconnect between academia and industry remains a major barrier to Nigeria\u2019s national development goals.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">General Mohammed made the call in Calabar while delivering the keynote address at the 2025 International Conference on Engineering, Science and Technology (ICEST), organised by the Faculty of Engineering, University of Cross River State (UNICROSS).<\/p>\n<div class=\"article\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<div class=\"container\">\n<div class=\"article_inner\">\n<section class=\"article__container\">\n<div class=\"article__content\" data-word-count=\"570\" data-p-count=\"14\">\n<p>The three-day event, themed \u201cConvergence of AI, Digital Economy and Decarbonization: Engineering Science and Technology for a Sustainable Future\u201d, brought together leading researchers, policymakers, and industrial stakeholders to chart a path for technological advancement and sustainable innovation.<\/p>\n<p>In his keynote presentation titled \u201cEmerging Technologies and Digital Economy: Sustainable STEM Practices in Focus\u201d, General Mohammed stressed the need for industries to stop relying solely on government initiatives and begin investing in practical, problem-solving academic research that directly addresses their operational needs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s no better time than now for Nigerian industries to fund targeted university research that addresses the unique problems they face,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is how innovation grows, and that is how nations develop.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He emphasised that the digital economy Nigeria envisions cannot materialise while engineering education remains largely theoretical. \u201cIndustries must invest in research. Universities must build functional labs. And together, we must deliver innovation that solves African problems,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>General Mohammed also urged engineering faculties to integrate structured, hands-on learning into all academic levels. \u201cUniversities need to stop producing engineers who have never used a screwdriver. Practicality must return to our classrooms,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Challenging the academic sector to break from tradition, he encouraged the adoption of systems thinking and interdisciplinary approaches as essential tools for navigating the age of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.<\/p>\n<p>The Army officer also shared key innovations from the Emerging Technologies Research Hub under his leadership, spotlighting real-life projects developed by students under his mentorship. Despite his military and academic commitments, he reaffirmed his passion for supporting young talent, including pupils and high school students.<\/p>\n<p>General Mohammed, who holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Leeds, further educated participants on the technology life cycle and the importance of knowing when to pursue in-house development versus adopting external solutions.<\/p>\n<p>He also highlighted essential tools for modern engineering practice, such as Power BI, 3D Printing, Raspberry Pi, Arduino, and operations research software.<\/p>\n<p>In his closing remarks, he commended the organisers of ICEST 2025 for fostering a critical interface between science, policy, and industry, and thanked the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Olufemi Oluyede, for granting him the approval to participate.<\/p>\n<p>Currently serving as Director of Logistics at the National Defence College, Brigadier General Mohammed is a chartered engineer and a fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), UK. His career spans key roles, including Military Plant Representative in Ukraine, Director at the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria, and Senior Lecturer at the Nigerian Defence Academy<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container  margin-top margin-bottom \">\n<div class=\"cleanslate360pv\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A senior Nigerian Army officer, Brigadier General Sikiru Adepoju Mohammed, has called on industries across the country to begin actively funding university-led research aimed at solving sector-specific challenges. He warned&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":122101,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-122100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Army General urges Nigerian industries to fund university research for national devt - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/army-general-urges-nigerian-industries-to-fund-university-research-for-national-devt\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Army General urges Nigerian industries to fund university research for national devt - Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A senior Nigerian Army officer, Brigadier General Sikiru Adepoju Mohammed, has called on industries across the country to begin actively funding university-led research aimed at solving sector-specific challenges. 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