Varsity to Bridge Research, Market Through AI Commercialization

Esther Oluku

Babcock University is set to bridge the gap between research and market as it hosts the AI and Babcock Innovation Venture (BIV) Commercialization Summit 2026

The high-level gathering, scheduled for April 21–22, represents a strategic shift toward transforming academic research into tangible economic drivers through artificial intelligence and venture creation.

The primary objective of the two-day forum is to move beyond theoretical discourse, focusing instead on “practical pathways for building, funding, and scaling globally competitive, AI-driven enterprises.”

By bringing together technology leaders, policymakers, and innovators, the institution seeks to position itself as a central hub for Africa’s burgeoning AI ecosystem.

Central to the university’s mission is the operationalization of the Babcock Innovation and Venture Centre. This hub is designed to function as a commercialization engine, ensuring that intellectual property does not remain dormant in libraries but reaches the global market.

Vice-Chancellor and Chief Host, Afolarin Olutunde Ojewole, explained that the initiative is about creating a sustainable reward system for innovation. “We want to put all these into the market so that researchers can begin to earn from their intellectual properties. This will further encourage productivity and reward for labour,” he stated.

Ojewole noted that the university is committed to equipping students with “practical 21st-century skills” that bridge the gap between graduation and the startup world.

“The world no longer rewards certificates but skills. Empowerment without business education is incomplete. Our innovators must be both technically proficient and commercially aware,” the Vice-Chancellor remarked.

The event has garnered significant federal attention, with the Minister of Innovation, Kingsley T. Udeh, serving as the Guest of Honour. The alignment with the Federal Government’s goal of repositioning universities as AI hubs underscores the summit’s national importance.

As Ojewole cautioned, technological speed must be tempered by human values: “Before we can become better builders or entrepreneurs, we must first become better humans. Efficiency without transformation is just speed in the wrong direction.”