The Department of Mechanical Engineering at the African University of Science and Technology (AUST), Abuja, hosted its monthly webinar for May, 2026.

The webinar featured Dr. Everlyn Nguku of the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, who presented the institution’s model for building African scientific and research capacity to support development.

The webinar was hosted by the Head of the Department, Dr. David Afoloyano introduced institutional leaders and partners and described the event as part of the department’s continuing tradition of engaging accomplished researchers of African descent.

In her presentation, Dr Nguku outlined Africa’s demographic and agricultural realities, noting the continent’s large youth population and the fact that approximately 60 per cent of the workforce is engaged in agriculture, despite yields remaining below global averages. She explained that this presents both opportunities and risks in the absence of quality research infrastructure and advanced graduate training.

She described ICIPE as an African-grown centre of excellence in insect science, with regional and reference laboratories as well as integrated research platforms organised around five impact domains and four research themes, supported by shared platforms in data analytics, policy engagement, biosciences and capacity building.

Dr Nguku explained that ICIPE’s capacity-building model is anchored on four pillars: training and mentoring, strengthening African research institutions, strategic partnerships, and sustainable research ecosystems. She highlighted several postgraduate initiatives, including ARPPS (Regional PhD Programme), DRIP (Dissertation Research Internship Programme), and the World Bank-funded Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund, which supports continental PhD training through government co-funding and partnerships with African universities.

She further noted that ICIPE provides post-PhD junior investigator grants and postdoctoral opportunities aimed at strengthening local research ecosystems and reducing brain drain. According to her, these programmes collectively produce about 300 publications annually, alongside growing innovation outputs, including patents, while a significant majority of alumni remain in Africa and occupy leadership and advisory positions.

In her words, “We are not training students to go abroad. What we try to do is to build a self-sustaining African science ecosystem.”

She cited Dr Afolayan as one of ICIPE’s alumni currently serving in his home country, Nigeria, as Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at AUST, Abuja.

Dr Nguku also highlighted several outcomes and recognitions achieved by ICIPE alumni, including international honours such as the L’Oréal-UNESCO awards. She maintained that African-based PhD training can produce globally competitive researchers.

Addressing existing challenges, she identified chronic underfunding, brain drain, weak university–private sector linkages, limited policy support, and inadequate data infrastructure as persistent constraints. She, however, stressed that these issues could be addressed through strong institutional leadership, government co-ownership, international partnerships, and collaborative research networks.

Drawing from ICIPE’s experience, Dr Nguku identified four key lessons: African ownership promotes talent retention; embedding research in real-world problems enhances adoption; systems approaches that combine infrastructure with human capital create sustainable impact; and applied, problem-driven PhD programmes align more effectively with national development priorities.

She proposed scaling African-owned research infrastructure through government co-investment, aligning doctoral research with national challenges, expanding centres of excellence, and integrating infrastructure development with human capital investment.

In his contribution, Dr Olusegun Toluhi argued that Africa must shift from precept-driven to practice-driven research. He added that innovators should receive adequate remuneration to address immediate socio-economic pressures and enable them to focus fully on innovations capable of addressing African challenges.

In his closing remarks, Dr Afolayan emphasised that Nigeria and Africa at large must focus on successful models and adapt them effectively in order to transform from largely consuming economies into productive and innovation-driven societies.

The webinar, held at the AUSTInspire Hub on 13 May 2026, attracted over 50 online participants and 15 onsite participants, including staff and students.