The Institute of Entrepreneurship and Development Studies hosted the first of the series of weekly seminars on the 7^th of September 2023. The meeting began with in introduction of the upcoming webinar series nothing that the series will feature speakers from both the university and outside partnerships.

Prof. Olalekan Yinusa presented a sobering picture of the challenges facing Nigeria, including high unemployment rates, rising inflation, and a weak productivity base. He emphasized the need for Universities to respond to these challenges and help create sustainable development. He stressed the importance of fostering a culture of innovation, developing entrepreneurship programs, encouraging industry partnership and collaboration, and promoting practical-focused education in entrepreneurial universities. He gave examples of universities that have successfully implemented these practices and emphasized the need for Nigeria to create an ecosystem that guarantees students are not just coming to university to get certificates, but to create solutions that solve existing problems or anticipate problems that are going to happen in the future.

During the question-and-answer session, attendees asked questions about collaboration and capacity building in response to the presentation given by Prof. Olalekan Yinusa. Prof. Yinusa responded by stressing the importance of coordination and collaboration within the university’s research efforts to identify ideas that can be commercialized for societal problem-solving. He emphasized the need for critical and strategic thinking and collaboration between different faculties to identify problems and solutions. The question-and-answer session with professors covered a range of topics related to the entrepreneurship program, including its potential to become a national project, its impact on research and policy, and its role in creating industry-driven curricula. The meeting continued with closing remarks and appreciation from the speakers. Prof. Olalekan Yinusa led a discussion on the intersection of sustainability and entrepreneurship in research. He explained that sustainability means the ability to take maximum benefit from resources without compromising future generations. He emphasized the need for research to generate a stream of income to be sustainable and the importance of involving critical stakeholders in dissemination meetings to have a greater impact. He encouraged an entrepreneurial mindset in research to ensure that ideas can continue to generate income over time and be sustainable.