Eunice Ngozi Akpala-Okoroafor (PhD)
Ag. Director, Research and Innovation DirectorateWelcome to the Directorate of Research and Innovation!
Research. Innovation. Impact.
Advancing African science and technology for sustainable development, global competitiveness, and policy-relevant solutions.
The Directorate of Research and Innovation (DRI) sits at the heart of the African University of Science and Technology’s mission to deliver knowledge that transforms Africa and contributes to global scientific progress. DRI represents AUST’s commitment to placing research, innovation, and impact at the centre of institutional excellence.
Our mandate goes beyond supporting academic inquiry. We work to ensure that AUST research is strategic, competitive, ethically grounded, globally visible, and socially relevant. We work closely with our faculties, research centres, postgraduate students, industry, government, and international partners to create a seamless pipeline from discovery to deployment.
In an era where universities are judged not only by publications but by their contributions to economic growth, technological advancement, and evidence-based policymaking, DRI provides the institutional architecture that enables AUST scholars to thrive and to lead. Through carefully integrated administrative structure, the Directorate of Research and Innovation serves as the engine room of AUST’s knowledge economy, ensuring that research does not end in publications alone but translates into innovation, enterprise, policy influence, and societal transformation.
We invite our academic community, partners, and funders to work with us in building a future where African science and innovation shape the world. With your support, DRI will:
Train Africa’s next generation of researchers through funded PhDs, postdoctoral fellowships and skills development
Generate high-impact research in priority development sectors
Translate research into innovation through IP, start-ups and industry collaboration
Provide evidence for better public policy
Create sustainable research systems within AUST
Dr Eunice Ngozi Akpala-Okoroafor
Acting Director, Research and Innovation, AUST.
Director’s Profile
Name: Eunice Ngozi Akpala-Okoroafor
Academic Qualifications: PhD, BSc (Accounting); MBA (Management)
Telephone/WhatsApp: +234 803 328 4770
Official E-mail: eokoroafor@aust.edu.ng
Office Address: Rm AH 105, ICT Building, African University of Science and Technology, Abuja.
Unit: Directorate of Research and Innovation, AUST, Abuja.
Schedule of Duties: Management of Research and Innovation activities across all sectors of the university, Staff training as well as managing University Research Desk Office
Research Interests: Pubic Sector Financial Management, Sustainability/Environmental Accounting, International Development, Development Economics, Macroeconomics and Fiscal Policy
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ngozi-eunice-akpala-okoroafor
The Directorate of Research and Innovation (DRI) is the central institutional platform for advancing AUST’s mandate as Africa’s leading university for science, technology, and innovation-driven development. The Directorate provides strategic leadership, coordination, and oversight for all research, innovation, and external research engagement activities across the University. RID coordinates, supports, and governs all research and innovation activities at AUST and provides strategic leadership to ensure that research excellence, innovation, and societal impact are embedded across all faculties, centres, and postgraduate programmes.
DRI works to ensure that AUST’s research ecosystem is globally competitive, development-oriented, policy-relevant, and commercially responsive. It aligns research priorities with national development goals, Africa’s transformation agenda, and international scientific frontiers, while actively mobilising external funding, partnerships, and innovation pathways.
The Directorate works closely with academic departments, research centres, postgraduate schools, industry, government, and international partners to create an integrated pipeline from knowledge creation to societal impact.
AUST’s research ecosystem is designed to produce not only publications, but also technologies, enterprises, policies, and solutions that support Africa’s sustainable development and global competitiveness.
Our Vision
Mission
To enable AUST researchers, students, and partners to generate high-impact knowledge, attract competitive funding, and translate discoveries into societal and economic value.
What We Do
Set research priorities aligned with Africa’s development needs
Build competitive research capacity
Build PhD and postdoctoral excellence
Mobilise international funding
Convert research into innovation
Protect and commercialise intellectual property
Connect academia to policy and industry
Grow partnerships with industry, government and donors
Translate research into policy and practice
Key Focus Areas
The Research and Innovation Directorate is structured around a modern, mission-oriented research and innovation model, with the following strategic focus areas:
Research Excellence and Impact
Promoting high-quality, interdisciplinary, and solution-oriented research that addresses Africa’s priority challenges while contributing to global scientific advancement.
Competitive Research Funding and Grants
Supporting academics and research teams to access national, regional, and international funding through grant intelligence, proposal development, and post-award management.
Innovation, Technology Transfer and Commercialisation
Transforming research outputs into marketable products, services, start-ups, and policy solutions through incubation, intellectual property protection, and industry engagement.
Strategic Partnerships and International Collaboration
Building institutional partnerships with universities, research institutes, industry, multilateral agencies, and foundations to expand AUST’s global research footprint.
Postgraduate Research Development
Strengthening doctoral and postdoctoral research quality, supervision, publication output, and career development.
Research Governance, Integrity and Compliance
Ensuring that all research activities meet the highest ethical, legal, and quality assurance standards.
Science, Policy and Societal Engagement
Positioning AUST research as a driver of evidence-based policy, public discourse, and national development planning.
The Research and Innovation Directorate operates through specialised units that together support the full research and innovation lifecycle.
Office of the Director, Research and Innovation
Oversees the institutional strategic research plan, identifies funding opportunities, and advocates for the university's research strengths
Development and implementation of AUST’s institutional research strategy.
- Identify priority thematic research areas aligned with national and continental development goals.
- Coordinate interdisciplinary and mission-driven research programmes.
- Track institutional research performance and impact.
- Support visiting scholars and collaborative projects.
- Development and management of international and local research partnerships.
- Promote researcher mobility and international placements.
Research and Grants Management Support Unit
Focuses on the development and management phase of research and grants:
Scans and disseminates funding opportunities.
- Supports grant proposal development, budgeting, and compliance.
- Assists faculty in identifying funding, writing proposals, and managing grant budgets.
- In conjunction with the Research Ethics and Integrity Committee and the Institutional Review Board, reviews and ensures compliance with international research standards.
- Organizes workshops for staff and students on proposal writing, data analysis, and publishing in high-impact journals.
- Negotiates and manages research contracts.
- Effective management and supervision of research grants to ensure proper utilization and compliance with grant requirements.
- Oversees post-award financial and technical reporting.
Innovation, Technology Transfer and Industry/ Commercialisation Unit
Facilitates the "town and gown" connection, and thus turning research into products or services by:
Providing guidelines for incubation-related activities across the university.
Facilitating the incubation of novel ideals, start-ups and networking opportunities for entrepreneurs and innovators.
Identifying and assessing intellectual property (IP), facilitating the registration and protection of patents, copyrights, and trademarks, and managing licensing agreements to ensure compliance with relevant laws.
Protecting and managing patents, intellectual property (IP), and licensing of university discoveries to external markets.
- Providing Corporate Partnerships and Consultancy and acting as a single point of entry for industry partners to collaborate on projects or hire university experts.
- Providing mentorship for students and faculty to develop startups and prototypes.
- Supporting spin-offs, start-ups, and innovation hubs and facilitating industry-academia collaboration.
Strategic Operations and Information Unit
Responsible for setting standards and ensuring effective dissemination of high-quality research output.
The Research Metrics and Data Desk tracks publication counts, citation impact, and grant success rates to measure institutional performance.
- Through the Communications and Outreach Desk, manages the university’s research website, newsletters, and annual research exhibitions/magazines.
- Drafts and reviews Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs), industry consortium agreements, and IP contracts.
- Strengthen science-policy-society linkages
- Maintain research databases and institutional repositories
- Support policy briefs, media engagement, and stakeholder outreach.
Research Ethics, Integrity and Compliance Unit
Core responsibilities include:
Oversee ethical approval processes
- Manage data protection and responsible research conduct
- Handle research misconduct and integrity issues
- Support PhD and postdoctoral researchers
- Provide training in research methods, publishing, and grant writing
- Monitor research supervision quality
Profile of Current and Past Research Funding won by AUST Community
NASENI Delta 2 Project on Production of industrial products from natural fibres (2024-date). This project is funded by National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Abuja. The project team from AUST is in partnership with Federal University of Technology (FUTO), Owerri and a private company Nnia Farms Ltd, with FUTO as lead institution.
Strengthening the National Research and Innovation Funding Agencies in West Africa (SRIFA) (2023-date): AUST is a co-PI and partner in the project: Strengthening the National Research and Innovation Funding Agencies in West Africa (SRIFA) with African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS), Nairobi, Kenya as the PI.
Large scale manufacturing of personal protective equipment (PPE) for the medical industry in Nigeria and sub-Africa Africa with 3D printing (2022-present). This project is funded by Partnership for Skills in Applied Science Engineering and Technology (PASET) under the World Bank. The aim is to increase access to personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical personnel for covid-19 protection using 3D printing innovation solution in Nigeria.
African Centre of Excellence (ACE) in Materials (2014-present): AUST hosts the Pan African Materials Institute (PAMI), under the African Centre of Excellence Project financed by the World Bank and African governments and coordinated by the National Universities Commission (NUC) in Nigeria.
Member of Nelson Mandela Institutes of Science and Technology (2007-present). AUST is a member of the Nelson Mandela Institute (NMI) based in Washington DC. The other universities in this network are International Institute for Water and Environment (2iE), Ougadougou, Burkina Faso and Nelson Mandela Africa University of Science and Technology, Arusha, Tanzania.
Capacity Building in Science and Technology through Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund (RSIF) (2018-present). The university is a focal point and African Host University for Partnership for Skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology (PASET), an African continental project supported by the World Bank, different national governments and managed by icipe, Nairobi, Kenya. www.rsif.org
From Research to Markets: Strengthening the innovation capacity of AUSTInspire (2020-2023). This project is funded by PASET under the World Bank. The aim is to strengthen and expand the innovation capacity of AUST through AUSTInspire. The project involved policy development and implementation for innovation, intellectual property, start-ups, industry advisory board, continuing professional development and entrepreneurship. www.rsif.org
Regional Scholarship, research and innovation fund. (2016-2023). This project was funded by African Development Bank (AfDB) and provided scholarships, research and innovation funding as well as networking and mobility for sub-Saharan Africa. www.aust.edu.ng.
Funding of Capacity Building Programs for Sub-Saharan Africa. (2014-2017). To finance the cost of training professionals, from sub-Saharan African countries, at the postgraduate level, to enable them acquire necessary expertise in their field of study. www.aust.edu.ng.
African Capacity Building Foundation
World Bank Step B Project
Activities: Past and Ongoing
Recently secured partnerships and collaborations with Università Telematica Degli Studi IUL, Italy, and European-African Chamber of Commerce and Industries (EACCI) backed by MoUs.
Hosting Grant Proposal Writing Workshops to enhance the University's success in securing grants.
Coordinating a Curriculum Review and Evaluation Train-the-Trainer Workshop in collaboration with the Quality Assurance Unit and the School of Postgraduate Studies.
Publishing the AUST Annual Report to showcase the university's achievements and activities.
Ensuring the accurate documentation of grants received by the University and promoting transparency by sharing this information on the University website.
Review and publication of the Research Policy document, making it accessible to the University community on the website.
Formation of research grant writing groups for responding to calls for funded proposals.