The Federal Government has granted approval for a total of N5,128,180,623 to fund 185 successful research proposals in the Tertiary Education Trust Fund National Research Fund 2023 Grant Cycle, as per a statement by TETFund. The endorsement, conveyed by the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, is based on the recommendations of the TETFund National Research Fund Screening and Monitoring Committee. This committee advocated funding for the 185 research proposals following a thorough screening process that commenced in March 2023, involving the review of 4,287 Concept Notes from prospective applicants.

The breakdown of the approved funds reveals that N3,784,635,923.00 is allocated for the Science, Engineering, Technology, and Innovation thematic group; N759,875,400.00 for Humanities and Social Science, while Cross-Cutting initiatives received N583,669,300.63. Individual grants range from N8 million to over N46 million.

The statement highlighted some of the endorsed research projects within the Science, Engineering, Technology, and Innovation thematic group, including the Application of the Hydro-Biogeochemical Framework for a National Rural Water Quality Assurance Plan, Development and Use of Doubled Haploid Maize Lines for Improved Maize Yield and Tolerance to Armyworm, and the Development of an Intelligent Multichamber Evaporative Cooling Preservative System for Post-Harvest Storage of Selected Fruits in Nigeria.

Cross-Cutting thematic group projects involve Utilisation of Scrap Tires and Plastic Wastes as aggregate Conductive Material for Renewable Energy Storage System, Development of Appropriate Technology for the Production of Aluminum Alloy Sacrificial Anodes for Applications in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Industry, and the Development of an Economical Low Voltage Programmable Electroporator, and Investigation of Pulse Electric Field for Wound Healing and Cancer Treatment, among others.

Under Humanities and Social Science, approved projects include Digital Financial Inclusion, Rural Households’ Consumption Structure and Well-being in Nigeria, Equity and Inclusion: Creating Access to Library Resources for Students Living with Vision Impairment in e-Learning Environment in Nigerian Universities, and Mitigating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among Frontline Nigerian Army Personnel using Stress Inoculation Therapy, among others.