On Wednesday, November 4, 2026, the College Research and Innovation Management (CRIM) Unit, in collaboration with the South-West Innovation Technology (SWIT) group, convened a hackathon meeting at the A.O.K. Johnson Boardroom, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan (CoMUI).
The meeting served as a platform for the top three winning teams of the iResearch Hackathon to formally showcase their tech-driven solutions to the College leadership and venture partners. Designed to blend academic research with private enterprise, the gathering established a framework for evaluating high-impact solutions targeting pressing healthcare diagnostics, environmental sustainability, and research data management across Nigeria.
The highlights of the session centered on pitch presentations alongside major financial reward announcements aimed at accelerating product commercialization. Hackathon winner MPDetects, led by Samuel Ogunleke from the Department of Biomedical Laboratory Science, secured a ₦500,000 cash grant from SWIT for its AI-powered smartphone application designed to help microscopists perform rapid, offline malaria parasite detection.
Demonstrating institutional support, CoMUI awarded ₦300,000 to first runner-up IderaPad, presented by Halimat Olaniyan of the Institute of Child Health, for its sustainable reusable sanitary pads integrated with a plastic-waste barter model. CoMUI also presented ₦200,000 to second runner-up Awadata, which created an automated WhatsApp and Telegram chatbot platform to solve participant drop-off rates and streamline academic survey collection.
At the end of the pitch presentations, the three winning groups were formally presented with certificates in recognition of their innovative solutions. The certificate presentation underscored the College’s commitment to encouraging student-led innovation and enterprise.
Institutional leaders and venture sponsors outlined a comprehensive support structure during the interactive session. CRIM Director Professor Adesola Olumide welcomed participants and praised SWIT’s sponsorship, while SWIT Head of Ventures, Elijah Shokonbi and Finance Executive, Anjola Olakanmi presented a 12-week post-hackathon incubation program offering milestone-based funding, advisory sessions, and direct market validation.
Delivering executive feedback, CoMUI Provost Professor T. O. Ogundiran commended the innovators' problem-solving drive, pointing out that sustainable business growth relies on addressing community challenges rather than prioritizing immediate profits. He further urged the student-innovators to balance enterprise pursuits with academic rigor, while strictly adhering to ethical standards and intellectual property protections.
This collaborative event points up a significant evolution in Nigeria's higher education, transitioning academic institutions from traditional research centers into active incubators for commercial enterprise. By embedding seed capital, institutional backing, and market-readiness support into early-stage research, CoMUI and SWIT are creating a repeatable pipeline for health-tech innovation.
The upcoming three-month incubation phase promises not only to test these tools with real users but also to demonstrate how university-industry partnership can effectively drive commercialization and solve real-world problems across Africa.
The Hackathon review meeting was a follow-up to the iResearch Initiative organised by CRIM between September 22 and 23, 2026, during which the three teams with the best innovative ideas won cash prizes.