It is vital for the country to ensure that innovations developed through academic research are not confined in laboratories and universities but are commercialised to impact lives and help create jobs, the Minister of Environment, Science, and Technology, Dr Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, has said.
Dr Muhammad said this in a keynote address at the opening of the Biannual Environment, Science, and Technology (BEST) forum held in Accra on Tuesday on the theme, “Bridging the gap to improve Ghana’s Research and Innovation Commercialisation Ecosystem for Economic Development.”
He said, “Our innovation and research sector have not yet reached their full potential. We have brilliant minds in our universities and research institutions, yet too often, their ground breaking works remain confined to academic papers and laboratories rather than transforming them into vibrant products and services that can uplift our economy.”
“We must propel our research and innovation into the market place where they can create jobs, stimulate growth, and improve the quality of life of our people,” Dr Muhammed emphasised.
Furthermore, he said the collaboration between key stakeholders, including the government, academia, industries, and research institutions, through public-private partnership (PPP), was key to making research and innovation commercially and financially visible.
“The partnership is essential to drive innovation forward. We must establish networks that connect academia with industry, ensuring that our brightest minds are working hand-in-hand with those who can bring their ideas to life. By facilitating these connections, we can create a robust ecosystem where innovation thrives,” Dr Muhammad said.
Dr Muhammad also called for adequate investment in human capital and resource through training programmes and workshops on entrepreneurship and commercialisation strategies to harness the full potential of researchers and innovators.
He explained that competing policy decisions was a challenge for politicians in relation to the investment in research and the basic needs of the citizenry.
“There is always competing policy decisions to make between investing in research, which is good in the future, or investing in the basic needs of the people, shelter, health, accommodation, and water. Between the two, politicians will always choose the latter, because if you don’t do that, there will be demonstrations on the street and you will be booted out of power;” Dr Muhammad.
According to him, MEST had created the Ghana Innovation and Research Commercialisation Centre (GIRC), with the core mission to contribute to advancing innovation and sustainable development by supporting innovative research and commercialisation.
The GIRC, Dr Muhammad said, was strategically positioned to be an agency supporting STI, a secretariat that oversaw research and innovation and facilitated an innovative ecosystem.
He underscored the need to address the issue of intellectual property of researchers and innovators to provide support for intellectual property registration in collaboration with the Registrar Generals Department.
“The strengthening of the legal and policy framework will enhance and promote the research commercialisation in Ghana,” Dr Muhammad said.
For his part, the United Nations Resident Coordinator and Country Director, UNESCO, Edmund Moukala, pledged the United Nation’s support to the BEST dialogue.
He also called for a holistic approach that fostered collaboration among academics, industry, the government, and financial institutions in order to bridge the gap between research and innovation commercialisation.
BY CYNTHIA ASAMPANA
