Bennett Oghifo
The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and Iwemi, a Nigerian digital analysis and publishing firm, are exploring a partnership to remodel analysis in polytechnics and technical faculties into marketable improvements, employable abilities and new sources of earnings.
The proposed collaboration, mentioned throughout a go to by Iwemi’s delegation to the NBTE headquarters in Abuja, seeks to bridge the hole between educational analysis and sensible purposes by offering digital infrastructure for preserving, publishing and commercialising analysis outputs from Nigeria’s technical establishments.
The initiative comes amid rising requires technical and vocational schooling establishments to strengthen trade linkages, enhance abilities improvement and produce improvements able to creating jobs and producing wealth.
Leading the delegation, Iwemi’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Ejimofor Akah, offered the Iwemi Academic Publishing and Research Platform as a digital ecosystem designed to protect college students’ tasks, theses and institutional analysis whereas increasing entry to educational assets and creating alternatives for lecturers to earn royalties from printed studying supplies.
Akah disclosed that the platform was already operational in 5 tertiary establishments, together with Edo State Polytechnic, Usen, and hosted greater than 500,000 titles.
He mentioned the platform may present polytechnics with institution-branded digital repositories for National Diploma (ND) and Higher National Diploma (HND) tasks, guaranteeing that analysis work was preserved, accessible and obtainable for future educational and industrial purposes.
Under the proposed association, lecturers would additionally give you the chance to publish digital textbooks for technical and vocational schooling and coaching (TVET), with digital rights administration safety and royalties paid inside 48 hours.
The platform can be designed to enhance the worldwide visibility of institutional analysis by means of indexing that makes educational outputs searchable internationally, probably strengthening the web presence and analysis profiles of taking part establishments.
In addition, its distance-learning part, obtainable by means of Iwemi School, would allow establishments to ship quick programs and different studying content material to college students and professionals past their bodily campuses.
Akah mentioned Iwemi would offer coaching for librarians and data and communications expertise officers, whereas bearing the price of deploying the platform, thereby decreasing the monetary burden on taking part establishments.
A significant part of the initiative is the Iwemi National Academic Research Impact Challenge (INARIC) 2026, which presents a prize pool of N25 million for polytechnic college students and workers. The grand award ceremony is scheduled for December 11, 2026, in Abuja.
Speaking in the course of the assembly, the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of NBTE, Prof. Idris Bugaje, welcomed the delegation however emphasised that the Board’s precedence was to transfer past analysis publication to sensible innovation.
He mentioned analysis inside the technical and vocational schooling sector ought to produce tangible outcomes, together with marketable merchandise, viable enterprises and employable abilities.
According to him, the central goal of technical schooling is abilities improvement, making it essential for analysis initiatives to contribute straight to industrial development and financial productiveness.
Bugaje indicated that digital platforms able to connecting analysis outputs with sensible coaching and trade wants would benefit severe consideration.
His place highlights a essential problem dealing with Nigeria’s technical schooling system: guaranteeing that analysis performed inside establishments interprets into options for industrial issues, enterprise alternatives and improved workforce capability.
The Rector of Auchi Polytechnic and Chairman of the Committee of Federal Rectors of Polytechnics (COFER), Dr. Salisu Umar, who spoke on behalf of the polytechnics, counseled Iwemi for creating a home-grown platform that might assist establishments protect and publish their analysis.
He additionally highlighted its potential to enhance institutional visibility and create extra earnings alternatives for tutorial workers.
Other members included the National Coordinator of the Committee of States Commissioners of Education in Nigeria (COSCEN), Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Dr. Leo; NBTE Deputy Director, Dr. Rabiat Bello; Regional Head of Wema ALAT, Mr. Adesanya Ogunyemi; and Ikay Aiyegbusi of Interswitch, Iwemi’s cost and banking companions.
At the top of the assembly, each events agreed to proceed discussions in the direction of a proper partnership, starting with a pilot programme involving establishments to be nominated by NBTE.
Akah thanked Bugaje and his workforce for the reception, reaffirming Iwemi’s dedication to serving to Nigerian establishments convert data into employment alternatives, innovation and nationwide wealth.
Iwemi operates a digital publishing, analysis indexing and distance-learning ecosystem, with cost companies supported by Interswitch and Wema Bank’s ALAT.
