By Gabriel Ameh
Abuja, Nigeria — The Federal Government has unveiled the Mine-Tech UniPod at Nasarawa State University as part of efforts to transform Nigerian universities into centres of innovation, industrial competitiveness and technology-driven economic growth.
The initiative was officially launched on Saturday on behalf of Vice President Kashim Shettima by the Minister of Education, Maruf Tunji Alausa.
According to the Federal Ministry of Education, the project was developed through a collaborative partnership involving the United Nations Development Programme, Tertiary Education Trust Fund and the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development.
The government said the Mine-Tech UniPod was established to strengthen research commercialisation, industrial innovation and enterprise development within Nigeria’s mining sector.
Speaking during the unveiling ceremony, Alausa described the facility as a transformative intervention designed to reposition universities as innovation ecosystems capable of producing entrepreneurs, industrial solutions and globally competitive talent.
He stressed that Nigeria’s vast mineral resources can only be fully maximised through value addition, local processing and technology-driven industrialisation.
The Mine-Tech UniPod features specialised laboratories dedicated to mineral intelligence, materials processing, geospatial innovation and green mining technologies, while integrating artificial intelligence, digital mapping and sustainability systems into industrial problem-solving.
The Federal Government also reaffirmed its commitment to establishing similar innovation hubs across the country to promote skills development, research commercialisation and stronger collaboration between universities and industries.
