Vice President Kashim Shettima has been scheduled to launch the first University Innovation Pods (UNIPOD) in Africa at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) on April 7.

UNIPOD, an initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the Federal Government , aims to reconfigure Nigeria’s development architecture to transform universities into engines of innovation and enterprise creation, among other objectives.

Addressing reporters yesterday, Ibrahim Hadejia, the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, said the UNIPOD initiative “underscores the Federal Government’s commitment to repositioning our universities as drivers of economic growth, innovation, and enterprise development, addressing the disconnect between formal education and labour market outcomes”.

He added: “The UniPods are designed to address this by providing structured platforms within our universities where ideas can be developed, tested, financed, and translated into viable enterprises for societal impact and economic development.”

On the benefits of the programme, Hadejia said the initiative “is not merely an infrastructure intervention but a deliberate step towards building a coherent national innovation system – one that links talent, research, industry, and investment in a more purposeful manner”.