A broader conversation is emerging across Nigeria's university system about whether research should be judged solely by academic rigour or increasingly by its ability to solve real-world problems. This question shaped a recent research training session at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, where professors, research leaders and external practitioners gathered to examine how African universities can move beyond publication-driven models towards systems that connect knowledge more directly to industry, innovation and national development.
Industry Perspective on Research Impact
The session, hosted through the office of Professor Akanni Akinyemi, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research, Innovation and Development), featured industry keynote speaker Akin Monehin, whose work focuses on organisational execution, strategy delivery and bridging the gap between knowledge creation and practical implementation. During the engagement, Monehin challenged researchers to think more deliberately about usability, adoption, visibility and the practical impact of academic work beyond journals, citations and internal academic circulation.
"You should not just focus on publishing, awards, citations and internal circulation," he said. "There are organisations struggling with problems whose solutions may already exist somewhere on your shelf. The challenge is often not knowledge creation, but connecting what has been developed to the real world, where it is required."
Faculty Reactions and Institutional Shift
His remarks resonated strongly with several senior faculty members and research leaders present, many of whom described the session as prompting a deeper rethink of how research impact is measured and rewarded within universities. Professor Niran Oluwaranti, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering and Director of Partnerships at OAU, said the discussions aligned with wider national conversations around research commercialisation and industry relevance.
"The speaker is right; we really can't continue to have research that just stays on the shelf," he said. "He brought the industry perspective to us in a very vivid manner, which I personally appreciate." Oluwaranti argued that universities increasingly need to rethink how academic contribution itself is evaluated. "It should no longer be only about publishing papers and accumulating points," he said. "The question should increasingly become: who is adopting your research, and what value is it creating?"
Referencing ideas discussed during the session, he noted that the recurring question, "and so what?", may become increasingly important in determining whether research creates meaningful societal or industrial impact. "The fact that you have spent years on rigorous work does not automatically make it usable," he said. "This conversation needs to continue beyond this forum and into the whole university system." He added that some of the practical frameworks introduced during the engagement, including Monehin's "ABC" model for research adoption and industry relevance, offered useful ways of helping students and researchers think more deliberately about impact and usability.
Challenging Longstanding Assumptions
Professor Christianah Elusiyan, Professor of Natural Product Chemistry and Senior Research Fellow at OAU, said the discussions challenged longstanding assumptions about academic work and societal relevance. "The traditional orientation has largely been research, publication, citations and recognition," she said. "This is a fundamental shift to let our research impact society, which is where it is needed. We need that reorientation."
Professor Babajide Odu, Professor of Plant Pathology and Virology and Director of the OAU Research Office, also described the engagement as part of a broader institutional shift already underway within the university. "This is not the type of conversation that will end here," he said. "The university can play a more active role in national development and industrialisation if research becomes more usable to society and industry."
University Initiatives for Real-World Impact
Professor Akinyemi said the university was increasingly encouraging researchers to think beyond theoretical contribution alone and engage more directly with real-world problems. "We keep asking: 'and so what?'" he said. "Beyond publication, how does this research improve lives, solve problems, support development, or create value outside the university?"
According to him, the university is partnering with alumni and investing in structures designed to deepen this orientation, including an International Centre for Development intended to create stronger collaboration between researchers and practitioners around real-world challenges. The model, he explained, is designed to expose academic work earlier to industry realities, enabling practitioners to help shape problem definitions, challenge assumptions and co-develop solutions alongside researchers.
"The future of universities will depend not only on rigour, but on their ability to connect knowledge to impact," Akinyemi said. "Research becomes more powerful when the marketplace, policymakers and society can actually use it." A second initiative, the WEIRD Centre, is expected to focus more broadly on innovation, creativity and interdisciplinary experimentation, reflecting what university leaders describe as a wider effort to strengthen innovation ecosystems within the institution.
Aligning with National Development Goals
Several participants noted that the themes raised during the engagement aligned with broader conversations within the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) around research adoption, innovation ecosystems and the role universities can play in accelerating national development through stronger industry collaboration. For many involved, however, the deeper issue extends beyond funding or infrastructure. It is increasingly about whether universities can build systems that allow knowledge to move more effectively from classrooms and journals into the marketplace, policymaking and everyday life.
As universities across Africa confront mounting economic and societal pressures, the discussions at OAU suggest that the future debate may no longer centre solely on how knowledge is produced, but on whether institutions are structured to ensure that knowledge creates visible impact beyond their walls.
