Research security, intellectual property theft, and malignant foreign actors, among others, formed the crux of discussions as stakeholders in the academia and research institutes gathered at a Briefing to Operationalize Research Security in Selected Nigerian Universities.
The two-day event, organized by the African Research Security Consortium (ARSC), in collaboration with the U.S. Department of State; Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) Global; and Sandia National Laboratories, was held at the Arthur Mbanefo Digital Resource Centre (AMDRC), UNILAG from Tuesday, November 5 to Wednesday, November 6, 2024.
The workshop was a hybrid gathering of over three hundred (300) participants from the University of Lagos, University of Ibadan, University of Nigeria, Nsukka and other tertiary institutions and research-focused institutes in Nigeria.
In his welcome address, Founding ARSC Committee Member and Project Lead, Prof. Chidozie Nnaji, mentioned that research outputs – whether in the form of published articles, patents, methods or products – can be exploited by malignant foreign actors to pursue goals detrimental to global peace and security. He noted that research outputs and intellectual property theft is rife in Africa, therefore making most progress go unnoticed.
On account of that, it has become imperative that awareness about research security should be created. It is for that reason a series of sensitization workshops have been conducted across Nigerian universities with the intention of spreading them across the African continent.
According to the Chair of ARSC and a Professor of Environmental Biochemistry, Miriam Igwo-Ezikpe, the workshop sought to provide a holistic understanding of the challenges and solutions pertinent to research security in Africa.
The briefing featured short addresses from representatives of the U.S. Department of State, R. J. Silva; Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) Global, Joshua Carpenter, and Sandia National Laboratories, Noelle Camp. The Vice-Chancellors of UNILAG, UI and UNN were represented respectively by Prof. Wale Okunuga (Director, Research Management Office, UNILAG); Prof. Ayodele Jegede (Director, Research Management Office, UI), and Prof. Johnson Urama (Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academics, UNN).
The event also featured concurrent breakout sessions at the three (3) host universities where a number of Keynote Addresses were delivered.
The African Research Security Consortium (ARSC) is a not-for-profit organization with the mandate of promoting research security in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and research-producing organisations (RPOs) in Africa. It was formed on August 30, 2023 after a 10-week intensive virtual training on research security and a 3-day in-person workshop in Johannesburg, South Africa organized by the Sandia National Laboratories. The consortium started with twenty-five (25) foundation members: six from the University of Ibadan, nine from University of Lagos and eight from University of Nigeria. It started as part of efforts of the US Department of State to combat the activities of malignant actors who exploit unsuspecting researchers.
Report: Ndidi J. Odinikaeze
Photographs: Samuel Dosumu
