.launches INARIC

.10 top projects to share N25m

By Adesina Wahab 

The Chief Executive Officer of  Iwemi National Academic Research Impact Challenge, INARIC, Mr Ejimofor Akah, has said research papers have economic value that the country is not taking adequate advantage of because there is no connection between research being done in tertiary institutions and the work place.

Also, Akah opined that many research projects are not kept in the format that would make them accessible to interested parties that may be within or outside the country.

Akah, who stated this while briefing the press during the launch of INARIC in Lagos, also said many high impact research works that could provide solutions to a number of societal and technological challenges are lying fallow in shelves and laboratories.

He added that his organisation has come to bridge the gap and allow researchers to even earn royalties from their works.

“INARIC 2026 is designed to celebrate excellence in academic research and to bridge the gap between scholarly work and real-world impact. Nigeria is blessed with great talents in all human endeavours, but harnessing the talents is a challenge. For instance, no fewer than 40,000 research papers are produced yearly in the country. Many end up being dumped somewhere and most are lost within five years. But to put an end to such wastes, we came up in 2019 with this idea. We started the Iwemi Engine and we are driving a lot of things.

“Right now we have over 65,000 users and we enjoy patronage from tertiary institutions, both public and private. In the next five years, we hope to have over 2.5 million users. We have come to solve the problem of repository date base that is central to all, where materials from various disciplines are loaded. 

“One novel thing we have done is that those whose works are in our repository earn royalties from their works. You sign an online contract to distribute your paper . We give you a log in detail to the backend and you have access to your work and you are able to monitor how your research work is doing, how people and organizations relate with it. Because you will have to open an ALAT account with Wema Bank, our partners, your royalties are paid into it.,” he explained.

On how to guide against plagiarism, Akah said any material downloaded from the platform cannot be transferred into another device. “It is for your use only,” he added.

On the INARIC 2026 challenge, he said the competition is opened to Nigerian students in tertiary institutions whether at home or abroad and at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

“The portal opened on June 1 this year and you only need to pay N2,500 to upload you research material. The top 10 research materials will share N25 million prize money. Our focal areas are Fintech, agriculture, health, SMES growth, economic diversification among others.  Our platform provides global visibility for your work, people from across the globe can access such projects and we have had people getting job opportunities when others fell in love with their research projects,” he said.

Akah said his organisation is working in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education and seeks support of government agencies such as the National Universities Commission, NUC, the National Board for Technical Education, NBTE and the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council, NERDC among others.

Also speaking on the occasion, the Regional Manager, Lagos Directorate of Wema Bank, Mr Gbenga Olorunrinu, said linking research to business and monetizing the process has become vital. 

He called on the business community to invest in research and create solutions across board and lauded Akah and his team for doing a great job. 

Another staff member of Wema Bank, Mr Abayomi Okomu, emphasised the need to meet the expectations of young people who want things done without stress.

The Librarian, University of Lagos, Prof. Olatokunbo Okiki; and Prof Faloju Olubunmi also of UNILAG; spoke on the need for government and corporate bodies to support initiatives that would promote research in the country.

According to the dons, research and development has become a vital tool for economic growth.

They also commended Akah and his team and reiterated the need for originality in research output.