The Federal Government has unveiled the Mine-Tech UniPod at Nasarawa State University as part of a major push to transform Nigerian universities into centres of industrial innovation, research commercialisation and technology-driven economic growth.
The initiative was launched on behalf of Vice President Kashim Shettima by the Minister of Education, Maruf Tunji Alausa, during an unveiling ceremony on Friday.
The Mine-Tech UniPod was developed through a collaboration involving the Federal Ministry of Education, United Nations Development Programme, Tertiary Education Trust Fund and the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development.
According to the government, the facility is designed to strengthen industrial innovation, enterprise development and research commercialisation within Nigeria’s mining sector, while equipping students and researchers with modern technological skills.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Alausa described the UniPod as a transformative intervention aimed at repositioning universities as innovation ecosystems capable of producing entrepreneurs, industrial solutions and globally competitive talent.
He stressed that Nigeria’s vast mineral resources can only deliver meaningful economic value through local processing, value addition and technology-driven industrialisation rather than raw mineral exports.
The facility features specialised laboratories dedicated to mineral intelligence, geospatial innovation, materials processing and green mining technologies. It also integrates artificial intelligence, digital mapping systems and sustainability tools to support industrial problem-solving and research advancement.
The Federal Government reaffirmed its commitment to establishing similar innovation hubs across the country to deepen university-industry collaboration, improve skills development and promote research-driven economic transformation.
