The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) and the University of Abuja have agreed to establish a Center of Excellence in Reverse Engineering and Innovation, which will result in the development of indigenous engineering designs and manufacturing capacity to meet the challenges of improving the nation’s local industries.
The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Abdul-Rasheed Na’Allah announced this while leading a management team on a courtesy visit to deliver the request on Tuesday in Abuja
The visit, according to the Vice Chancellor, was intended to extend the two organizations’ current Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which was signed in 2014.
The proposed facility will also provide manufacturing value added processes, resulting in job creation and a higher level of living, according to the statement.
NASENI workers would readily cooperate with the University as joint research staff on many fronts, as the center of excellence would be located on the University campus and maintained through collaboration efforts by the two organizations, as stated in the University plan.
“It will focus amongst others on furnace manufacturing, energy and power equipment, miscellaneous components and devices and systems, and many more,” he added.
In a similar vein, the Nigerian Army’s Chief of Transformation and Innovation Center, Maj.-Gen C. Ofoche, led another delegation to NASENI on behalf of the Nigerian Chief of Army Staff, Lt.General Farouk Yahaya, to revive all existing working collaborations between the Agency and the Nigerian Army, particularly in the areas of innovation, research, and development (R&Ds).
He stated that with R&Ds, Nigeria could begin manufacturing machines and spare parts using its indigenous resources (human and material), as the country could no longer rely on imported finished goods, adding that it is wasteful and a lack of diligent exploration of citizen’s creative minds and innovation that has led to the country’s current state.
He praised NASENI’s efforts to promote the development of science, technology, and innovation in Nigeria, saying that partnering with the Agency will allow the two parties to better foster the country’s abundant natural resources.
In response, NASENI’s EVC stated that the Agency was willing to collaborate with the University of Abuja to establish a Center of Excellence in reverse engineering and innovation. He said such action was within the Agency’s mandate, and he told both the Army and the VC, Uniabuja, that the Agency was ready to collaborate with them in promoting the importance of R&D in the nation’s economic development.
