AUST, NAN To Collaborate Ahead of Africa X Summit

Abuja, Nigeria — The African University of Science and Technology (AUST) and the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) are set to explore strategic media partnership ahead of the upcoming Africa X Summit scheduled for April 27-29, 2026.

This was disclosed during a visit by the President of AUST, Professor Azikiwe Peter Onwualu, FAS and his team to the NAN Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mallam Ali Muhammad Ali at the NAN headquarters in Abuja.

In his address, Prof. Onwualu provided an overview of AUST’s mission and institutional development, highlighting the university’s establishment under the Nelson Mandela Institution Initiative to promote advanced science and technology education across Africa. Originally founded as a continental postgraduate institution, AUST has since expanded its academic offerings to include undergraduate programmes in order to broaden its impact and strengthen capacity development across the continent.

He explained that the university operates within a wider network of African campuses, including centres in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and Arusha, Tanzania, and maintains strong collaboration with African diaspora scholars who support postgraduate supervision and provide access to international laboratories for research training.

According to the AUST President, the institution has trained students from more than 20 African countries, reinforcing its role as a pan-African hub for advanced science and technology education.

The AUST President also outlined the university’s growing focus on innovation and the commercialisation of research, noting that AUST has recorded about 15 patents within the past two years as part of efforts to convert academic research into practical goods and services capable of addressing Africa’s development challenges.

As part of this strategy, he presented plans for the Africa X Summit, a continental platform designed to connect researchers, innovators, policymakers, investors and industry leaders in order to accelerate the translation of research into market-ready solutions.

The summit will feature plenary sessions, innovation exhibitions, start-up demonstration days, networking and investment roundtables, youth innovation awards, and a gala dinner, creating opportunities for innovators to engage with potential investors and development partners, and the opening ceremony is expected to take place at the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) in Abuja, while other sessions will be hosted on the AUST campus.

Prof. Onwualu emphasised that the summit aims to foster collaboration beyond Nigeria by engaging innovators and stakeholders from across the African continent.

The university formally invited NAN to serve as a media partner for the summit, leveraging the agency’s nationwide and international media reach to amplify stories on African research, innovation and technology.

Prof. Onwualu concluded by outlining potential partnership benefits for participating organisations, including tuition discounts for staff and their families, as well as access to specialised short courses and professional training programmes tailored to institutional needs.

Responding, the NAN Managing Director, Mallam Ali M. Ali, welcomed the delegation and commended the leadership of AUST for its contributions to science, technology and innovation development in Africa. He expressed the agency’s willingness to support initiatives that promote research visibility and knowledge dissemination.

Ali noted that NAN’s extensive multimedia platforms, regional bureaus and social media channels provide broad coverage capable of amplifying innovation-driven initiatives and connecting them with wider audiences.

He emphasised the critical role of the media in bridging the gap between research and public awareness, noting that innovations in sectors such as technology, agriculture and financial technology deserve greater visibility to encourage adoption and support.

The meeting concluded with mutual expressions of appreciation and a commitment to pursue formal documentation to finalise the partnership ahead of the summit.

The AUST delegation included Mr Kingsley Ogwudu, Senior Manager of the AUSTInspire Hub and Technical Assistant to the President; Mr Solomon Ibrahim, Personal Assistant to the President and Head of Procurement; Dr Gloria Ajaegbu, Multilateral Programme Manager; Dr Eunice Ngozi Akpala-Okoroafor; Mr Obioha Atulomah, Head of Media and Public Relations; and Ms Blessing Iweha, Assistant to the Media and Public Relations Unit.

Also present from NAN were Mr Mufutau Ojo, Editor-in-Chief; Engr. Aaron Miller, Director, ICT/Technical Services; Mr Wole Shogunle, Director, Public Relations Services; Mrs Hadiza Aliyu, Director of Marketing; Mr Ismail Abdulzeez, Director, Special Duties/Multimedia; Mrs Ugochukwu Ejim, Acting Director, Administration and Human Resource Management; Mrs Khadijat Ibrahim, Head of Audit; Mr Ugochukwu Nwogute, Head of Procurement; and Dr Uche Anunne, Head of the Science and Technology Desk.