Prof. Olatunde Farombi, a Professor of Biochemistry, Molecular Toxicology & Translational Medicine and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Chrisland University, Abeokuta, has called on industries to view universities as strategic partners in innovation and national development.
Delivering the Distinguished Postgraduate Personality Lecture of Ajayi Crowther University (ACU), Oyo, on 24th March 2026, Prof. Farombi stressed the need for industries to invest in university research, warning that without such a collaboration, groundbreaking discoveries risk being lost in what he termed the “Valley of Death.”
The lecture, titled “University-Industry Collaboration and Knowledge Transfer: The Two Intricate Nexus in National Development,” examined the critical but often underutilised relationship between academia and industry.
Prof. Farombi explained that while universities create knowledge through research, it is industries that transform that knowledge into economic value. He described collaboration as the essential bridge connecting theory with practice, driving innovation and development.
A central theme of the lecture was the “Valley of Death,” the translational gap where promising research findings fail to become marketable products due to lack of funding or technical expertise.
“Exciting observations and innovative insights most times are lost in translation,” he lamented. “They get stuck in an ever-widening gap that moves basic science down the path toward treatments.”
Drawing on historical precedent, the professor traced the rise of Silicon Valley to collaboration between academia and industry. He credited Professor Frederick Terman of Stamford University, who nurtured partnerships with the electrical power industry, helped launch Hewlett-Packard, and created an industrial park on Stanford’s land, a model that eventually birthed global tech giants like Apple, Google, and Facebook.
To strengthen this synergy, Prof. Farombi urged industries to invest in university research, offer internships, participate in curriculum development, and support technology commercialisation.
He also outlined the role of universities, calling on them to encourage applied and interdisciplinary research, establish technology transfers offices, promote entrepreneurship among students, and bridge the “Valley of Death.”
The government, he noted, must play a central role by creating enabling policies, funding research, and encouraging public-private partnerships, forming what scholar Henry Etzkowitz describes as the Triple Helix of university-industry-government collaboration.
In a practical demonstration of the potential for collaboration, Prof. Farombi showcased phytochemicals from his laboratory, developed over 25 years, that are ready for industrial commercialisation. These include carotenoids from red palm oil, kolaviron from Garcinia kola seeds, curcumin from turmeric, and phenolic compounds from Hibiscus sabdariffa and soybeans, among others.
The lecture concluded with a charge to all stakeholders, universities, industries, and government to work together to build a knowledge-driven economy.
Earlier in her welcome address, the Vice-Chancellor, Ajayi Crowther University, Prof. Ebunoluwa Oduwole, appreciated all the Deans of faculties, staff, and students present at the lecture. She also thanked the Dean of the Post-Graduate School and Chairman of the Committee of Deans, Prof. Paul Akanbi, for organising the first Distinguished Lecture in the university’s history.
She described Prof. Farombi as an astute scholar and an academic to the core, noting that the theme of the lecture aligns with the vision of the University. In alignment with her 28-point agenda, which has been summarised into 10 point agenda, she promised to move ACU beyond the 3-Helix Model of University-Industry-Government to a 5-Helix Model of University-Industry-Government-Community-International Community. Prof. Oduwole reiterated the ranking of ACU among the best private universities in which to study Engineering in Nigeria, promising that the University would move higher through viable collaborations with industries.
Also, the Dean of the Post-Graduate School and Chairman of the Committee of Deans, Prof. Akanbi, appreciated the University management under the leadership of Prof. Oduwole for providing all the necessary support toward the success of the lecture. He enjoined all guests to pay rapt attention to the guest lecturer and tap from his wealth of experience.
The ACU Distinguished Postgraduate Personality Lecture serves as a platform to engage scholars and professionals in critical discourse on issues shaping Nigeria’s development.
