By Oluwaseyi Otitoju.
The Director General/CEO of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) Professor Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso has said that the Council and the organisers of the the 2nd edition of the International Conference on Science, Technology and Innovation (STIConf) 2026 will engage stakeholders from academia, industry, government, research institutions, and the innovation ecosystem at the event to foster collaboration and accelerate Nigeria’s technological advancement.
He gave his nod for the Council and the organisers to jointly ensure that the 2026 International Conference on Science, Technology and Innovation (STIConf), which has been planned to be a three-day conference and exhibition designed to hold from June 16th to the 18th, 2026, at the TY Danjuma Foundation, Abuja, will be nothing short of a conference that lives up to its theme which is: “Bridging the Tech Divide: Strengthening Research Institutions–Industry Technology Linkages.”
Furthermore, he also said that the event aims to provide a strategic platform for researchers, innovators, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders to showcase innovations, exchange ideas, build partnerships, and explore practical pathways for translating research outcomes into commercially viable products and services. He added the fact that the theme of the conference speaks to a critical need in the nation’s industrialisation efforts, and the conference is structured to address this need proactively.
Earlier during the meeting, the team lead for the organisers of the Conference, Mr. Isa Yago informed the DG and other members of his senior management team that, “The time has come for the Federal Government to consider the nation’s technological activities as premium commodities which must be backed by the required finance to convert them into practical applications aimed at developing the nation industrially”. He also said that, “The nation’s technological discoveries should be guarded by laws which make it illegal to whisk them away to other shores indiscriminately”. Mr. Sago explained that this is the practice in developed countries where a premium value is placed on technological discoveries to the extent that there are legal structures in place to prohibit any attempt to whisk them off to other shores indiscriminately.
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He also said that the STIConf 2026 conference is focused on addressing one of the major challenges facing Nigeria’s science and technology ecosystem—the gap between research findings and industrial applications. By promoting stronger collaboration between research institutions and industry players, STIConf seeks to drive innovation-led growth, enhance competitiveness, and contribute to sustainable national development. He also said that an objective of the conference is to ensure that participants engage in knowledge-sharing sessions that highlight successful models for strengthening technology transfer and fostering innovation across key sectors of the economy.
Both teams secured the support of several key stakeholders, including the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, Federal Ministry of Education, Federal Ministry of Steel Development, the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), the Bank of Industry (BOI), the Foundation for Innovation and Research in Science and Technology (FIRST), and other institutions within Nigeria’s science, technology and innovation landscape to host a successful second edition of the conference jointly.
The conference will feature exhibitions, technical sessions, networking opportunities, and discussions on emerging technologies, innovation policies, research commercialization, and industry partnerships.
The STIConf 2026 will provide participants with opportunities to showcase, connect, engage, network and learn, while creating avenues for stronger partnerships that can accelerate technological development and industrial growth in Nigeria and across Africa.
