The Rector Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic Aba, Dr Christopher Okoro Kalu has announced that, moving forward, promotion to senior academic ranks would be tied to innovation outputs.
Dr. Okoro made the announcement at the 3rd National Conference of the School of Science and Industrial Technology (SSIT) held in the institution on Wednesday.
“Within the next five years, anyone aspiring to become a Chief Lecturer must have at least two patents, verifiable innovations with measurable impact.
The conference, themed “Leveraging Emerging Technologies for Sustainable Scientific Innovation and National Development,” officially opened under the leadership of the Dean SSIT, Dr. Akuagwu Nneka Agbanyim, and the Local Organizing Committee (LOC), Dr. Eric Ogbonnaya.
Declaring the event open, the Rector, Engr. Christopher Okoro Kalu, who served as Chief Host, challenged participants to move from theoretical research to practical innovation.
“We cannot continue to rely on the era of the white beards, looking only at papers,” he said.
“It is time to step out of our comfort zones and engage in innovations that can transform our society. We have written enough papers in this country; now is the time to implement them.”
Delivering the keynote address, Dr. Chizaram A. Ogbuji, Deputy Rector (Administration), spoke on “Indigenous Research and Its Relevance to Community Development.”
He emphasized the need for home-grown research that promotes inclusion and unity.
“Indigenous research should not perpetuate partitioning or make people second-class citizens in their own communities,” he said.
In his presentation, Dr. Christopher C. Onyemenonu, Deputy Rector (Academics) and former Acting Rector of the Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, urged participants to strengthen creativity and critical thinking, skills he described as “irreplaceable in an era of automation.
