SPARK GLOBAL and NIPRD to host SPARK Africa bootcamp and conference
Posted on May 13th, 2025
NIPRD ANNOUNCES COLLABORATION WITH SPARK GLOBAL TO HOST SPARK TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH BOOTCAMP AND CONFERENCE TO CATALYSE PRESIDENTIAL INITIATIVES AND NATIONAL HEALTH SECTOR REFORMS
In a significant stride towards healthcare innovation and self-reliance across Africa and in many parts of the developing world, the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) will collaborate with SPARK GLOBAL to train and educate local African scientists to directly address the health needs of the continent. Leveraging the respective institutional experience and cognate expertise, NIPRD in partnership with SPARK GLOBAL will host the annual SPARK Translational Research Bootcamp and Conference in Abuja, Nigeria on 2 – 6 February 2026, including the launch of the SPARK Nigeria program.
The bootcamp and conference will bring together scientists from across African universities and research institutes for training and collaboration using the SPARK translational research model, offering opportunities for education, interaction and collaboration to enable and empower local researchers to develop local capacity leveraging translational research principles. Development of a SPARK program in Nigeria will highlight the Government’s current priorities on research and development to build respective value chains in life sciences, pharmaceutical and other relevant contributory sectors for effective healthcare delivery.
The initiative’s goal of developing a local, self-driven discovery and development ecosystem is particularly important in the African setting where health and socioeconomic challenges provide commensurate opportunities for robust collaboration and more impactful interventions.
The SPARK Translational Research Bootcamp and Conference aims to achieve the following objectives;
- Educating African scientists and researchers through an intensive translational research bootcamp.
- Working to close gaps between basic scientific discoveries and their practical applications by building research capacity and collaboration in the Continent.
- Facilitating opportunities for networking and collaboration amongst stakeholders, scientists, and other key facilitators within the innovation cycle.
- Training SPARK Africa Directors to help establish SPARK centres in host institutions.
- Leveraging the emergent policies to promote the prioritisation of science, research and development in Africa.
According to Dr. Obi Peter Adigwe, the Director-General of NIPRD, this initiative will enhance R&D and innovation capacity to address prevalent diseases across Africa, whilst also catalysing Pan-African collaboration in the development of socioeconomic objectives embedded in respective value chains. The output, structures, and networks that will emerge will enable a template for more impactful knowledge sharing to aid development of evidence-based interventions that address local challenges.
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About the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD): The National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) is a Government Agency established with the primary objective of enhancing the development and commercialization of health products such as phytomedicines, pharmaceutical inputs, drugs and biological products including vaccines. In achieving these objectives, a significant number of relevant international accreditations and certifications have been attained by the Institute, including the ISO 9001:2015 and the ISO 17025:2017. NIPRD is also statutorily mandated to engage in activities relating to capacity building, policy making, data collation, drug distribution and in the development of contextual partnerships that can expedite access to healthcare. Visit https://niprd.gov.ng/.
About SPARK GLOBAL: SPARK GLOBAL is a non-profit organization that supports local programs at academic and non-profit institutions seeking to turn innovative ideas into solutions for patients and society. SPARK GLOBAL offers education, mentorship, and resources to aid the translation of academic discoveries into practical applications for unmet medical needs. SPARK GLOBAL was founded at Stanford University based on the successful SPARK translational research model and now includes programs at numerous academic institutions worldwide. Visit https://sparkglobal.io/.
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