Collaboration Between Academia, Oil, And Gas Sector Key to Development – Baru

 

  • Baru says the inclusion of Alumni as mentors for students, setting up venture funds will support innovative entrepreneurship.
  • Says collaboration in addressing funding issues associated with low crude oil price or production disruptions imperative.

The Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Maikanti Baru has noted that collaboration between the academia and oil industry as key to growth and development in the sector.

Baru stated this at a Convocation Lecture at the Federal University of Petroleum Resources Effurun, on Friday in Warri, Delta state when he spoke on the topic “The role of petroleum university in bridging the gap between industry and academia for sustainable growth and economic development.”

The NNPC boss noted that the academia and industry stand a chance of benefiting from one another through all effective collaboration that would ease the difficulty of investment in the university research through improving the needed sustainable resources which will ease academia’s reliance on government funding.

He said this collaboration will be imperative in addressing funding issues associated with low crude oil price or production disruptions which have led to budget cut and downsizing of the number of employees.

According to him, a well-designed collaboration is, therefore, necessary to speed up economic recovery and competitiveness in the industry.

Baru, who called on the industry must make effort to support higher education by providing the support needed to help students build their employability and technical skills.

Speaking on the part taking by the oil and gas sector in the collaboration, Baru said the NNPC has provided support to the academia under the corporate social responsibility in so many ways which he said includes infrastructure, research and development, human and capacity building.

He, therefore, advised the academia not to restrict themselves to asking for funds from stakeholders but to provide advice and research work for the development of the industry.

“In Order to boost the growth of the oil and gas industry globally, trained workforce and sustainable strategies are needed. This can be realised through the conjunction of academic and industrial human resources,” he added.

The NNPC boss suggested ways to build sustainable collaboration to include the development of Entrepreneurship cells in Universities and technology incubation centres.

He pointed that the inclusion of Alumni as mentors for students, setting up venture funds will support innovative entrepreneurship and provision of incentives for research and development.

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