The National Universities Commission (NUC), in collaboration with the British Council (BC), has commenced a two-day Entrepreneurship Institutional Readiness Workshop with a call by the Executive Secretary of the NUC, Professor Abdullahi Yusufu Ribadu, FCVSN, for robust feedback from employers and industry, increased investment in innovation hubs and data-driven assessments to inform curriculum review.
The Executive Secretary made the call in his remarks at the workshop, held at the Abuja Continental Hotel, Abuja, from Wednesday, 16 to Thursday, 17 September 2026. He was represented at the event by the Director, Research, Innovation and Information Technology (DRIIT), Mal. Lawal Mohammed Faruk.
Professor Ribadu stressed that entrepreneurship should not be viewed as an isolated course but as a holistic enterprise. He noted that the Commission had established benchmarks for monitoring Entrepreneurship Development Centres (EDCs) to ensure quality control, effective mentorship, sustainable funding and strong University-Industry partnerships.
He recalled that entrepreneurship education in Nigeria received a major boost following the Federal Government’s directive for all universities to establish functional EDCs, which resulted in a significant expansion of entrepreneurship education across the Nigerian University System (NUS). He noted that whereas only about seven institutions offered standardised entrepreneurship courses at the time, the landscape had since evolved with a clear operational framework for quality assurance.
The Executive Secretary stated that the Commission had continued to support universities through funding, capacity building, infrastructure and staffing interventions. He added that recent curriculum reforms had gained momentum through the Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS), which provides 30 per cent of curriculum content for universities’ discretion, allowing institutions to embed high-demand practical skills such as software engineering, data analytics and sustainable business models.
Professor Ribadu further disclosed that assessment was increasingly shifting from theoretical examinations alone to practical outcomes, including prototyping, pitching and business plan execution. He reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to continued compliance and assessment visits to ensure that entrepreneurship programmes remain market-relevant and capable of transforming graduates from job seekers into job creators.
While appreciating the British Council for its continued support, he emphasised the importance of stronger linkages between universities, employers and industry in shaping entrepreneurship education and ensuring that graduates acquire relevant competencies for the world of work.
In his remarks, the workshop facilitator, Mr. Daniel Emenahor, who supports international partnerships between British and Nigerian universities to drive institutional change in transnational education, said the workshop was designed to facilitate appropriate and practical solutions for strengthening entrepreneurship education.
Also speaking, the British Council Nigeria representative, Ms. Donna McGowan, appreciated the NUC for its leadership in advancing entrepreneurship education and sustaining its partnership with the British Council. She urged Nigerian universities to seize the opportunity to strengthen entrepreneurship education and make it an integral part of institutional development.
Ms. McGowan noted that while there was no shortage of conversations around entrepreneurship, universities had a critical role to play in preparing young people not only to enter the world of work but also to develop innovative solutions to societal challenges and create opportunities for others.
She said the key challenge was how to move entrepreneurship beyond being a centre, course, competition or annual event to becoming an integral part of how universities operate. She disclosed that the framework being explored at the workshop focused on six interconnected dimensions: Strategy, Environment, Partnerships, Pedagogy, Implementation and Impact.
She explained that the approach recognised that a university could have a renowned entrepreneurship centre, but without institutional support, meaningful partnerships, appropriate teaching approaches and measurable outcomes, its impact would remain limited. She therefore encouraged participants to critically examine existing practices, identify what works and the barriers they face, and develop practical actions that could be implemented in their respective institutions.
She added that the workshop formed part of the British Council’s broader support for strengthening entrepreneurship ecosystems in Nigerian universities.
A major highlight of the workshop was the presentation and validation of the new Operational Guidelines for Entrepreneurship Development Centres in Nigerian Universities, presented by the lead resource person and Professor at the University of Ibadan, Professor Gbemisola Oke.
Presenting the Guidelines, Professor Oke said the document had undergone several reviews and consultations involving the NUC and the British Council, resulting in a more streamlined framework. She described it as robust and transformational, noting that it introduced sections covering the definitions and functions of EDCs, staffing, infrastructure, funding sources, as well as monitoring and evaluation.
She emphasised that the Guidelines positioned EDCs within a university-wide entrepreneurship ecosystem rather than isolating them as standalone units, with every part of the university expected to contribute to entrepreneurial learning and development.
According to her, the objectives of the Guidelines included providing a uniform national framework for EDCs; embedding entrepreneurial competencies across academic programmes in line with CCMAS and global frameworks; strengthening University-Community and University-Industry linkages; and institutionalising a culture of innovation, monitoring and evaluation.
Professor Oke stated that the framework drew from global best practices, including the European Entrepreneurship Competence Framework and the Triple Helix Model of University-Industry-Government collaboration, while being adapted to Nigeria’s Agenda 2050, the National Development Plan and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
She explained that the new paradigm represented a shift from a centrally taught, standalone course to a cross-cutting capability integrated across disciplines, covering the full cycle from research and invention through intellectual property protection, licensing, commercialisation and revenue generation.
She added that under the new Guidelines, assessment would focus increasingly on practical outcomes such as patents, prototypes and business creation, supported by appropriate intellectual property policies, infrastructure and incentive mechanisms. The workshop climaxed with the official launch of the Guidelines, performed by Mal. Lawal Mohammed Faruk on behalf of the Executive Secretary, alongside Vice-Chancellors, Directors and representatives of the British Council. Copies of the Guidelines were subsequently presented to participating institutions.