UNN gives N1m seed grant each, to 12 students’ …

In order to boost research, the Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Power Energy and Development (ACE-SPED), University of Nigeria, Nsukka UNN) has approved N1m seed grant each, to 12 students’ research groups from different departments in the university.

Prof Emenike Ejiogu, Director (ACE-SPED) disclosed this in a remark in Nsukka on Wednesday in an event to issue certificate and disburse the money to benefiting research groups.

Ejiogu said many student’s research group in UNN applied for the grant but only 12 whose proposals centered on innovations, entrepreneurship and technology transfer were shortlisted because of their positive impacts on the society.

” The 12 student’s research groups are selected because they generated innovation, entrepreneurship and knowledge transfer ideas for sustainable energy and power development.

“That will lead to significant commercialisation and equally creating scalable solutions towards addressing energy and power problems

“The ACE-SPED seed grants for sustainable energy and power
development innovation for students researchers seek to encourage, honor, and promote
entrepreneurship and innovation across sub-Saharan Africa,”he said.

Ejiogu who is also the Dean, Faculty of Engineering in UNN said that the centre would monitor and evaluate the performance of the groups, those who did well would receive more grants.

“Our target is to adopt the best three and grow them into full commercial business and linked them to industrials.

“But if at end all the 12 groups performed very well that will be great as the country will benefit more since the research of the 12 would solve one particular need of the society or the other.

“The principal aim of the ACE-SPED Innovation Seed Grants is to furnish monetary backing for research endeavours that correspond with the innovation objectives of the centre,’ Ejiogu said.

The director explained that his centre as a World-Bank sponsored centre had focus on sustainable energy, electric
power system development, renewable energy, waste-to-energy
conversion, energy conservation, energy management, energy resource among others.

Speaking while presenting the certificates to the 12 groups, Prof Victor Aigbodion, Industrial Liaison Officer of ACE-SPED said that the groups were expected to deliver within six months period.

He explained that some items the research groups would produce as contained in their proposals include 1kv Solar Generator, Bio-ethanol from agro waste, kith to Test for Ripe Watermelon among others.

“I am Chairnan of the Selection Committee, we will monitor them to ensure they deliver within six months.

“The centre has over 52 industries nationally and internationally to link finished products of the groups for commercial production.

” The research we conduct in this centre is one that will be commercialised and not one that will be dumped in book shelves”he said.

Aigbodion, said the selected 12 groups should count themselves lucky as over 30 applications were received by his committee from different departments research groups in UNN.

“As Industrial liaison officer of the centre, I ensured that proposals selected are capable of solving one society problem or the other as well as be of interest to many industries,”he said.

According to Aigbodion, the N1m would paid in three installments N500,000 immediately, N300,000 and N200,000.

Responding on behalf of other groups, Modesta Eze who is a member of a group that would produce Bioo-ethanol and Innocent Okolie who is in the group that would produce 1kv Solar Generator pledged that the groups would deliver within six months time period as agreed.

They thanked the centre for given them the opportunity to showcase their intellectual endowment and creativity by given them the grant.

Our correspondent reports that, the event was witnessed by many top management staff of ACE-SPED

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