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Lagos/New Delhi, 14 July 2026: The Nigerian University of Technology and Management (NUTM), Lagos, has been selected for the inaugural cohort of the Innovation Sandbox, the flagship programme of Duke University’s Future Universities Alliance, placing the young African university among a select group of institutions reimagining the future of higher education globally.
The cohort brings together 49 institutions from 23 countries across five continents, including several of the world’s leading universities and higher education innovators. Participating institutions include Duke University, Georgetown University, Northeastern University, Singapore Management University and Western Sydney University, underscoring the global stature of the platform and the significance of NUTM’s selection.
Incubated at Duke University, the Future Universities Alliance is a global platform designed to connect start-up, emerging and established universities working on new models of learning, institutional design and student outcomes. Its Innvation Sandbox is a 12-month peer-learning programme for higher education leaders advancing ambitious institution-level innovation.
For NUTM, a private, non-profit university founded in 2019 with a focus on STEM, entrepreneurship and management education, with an ambition to become the “MIT of Africa,”, the recognition marks an important global endorsement of a new African model of higher education that places entrepreneurship, technology and real-world problem-solving at the centre of the university experience.
NUTM will participate under Pathway 2: New Initiatives in Existing Institutions, which includes 27 institutions. Its initiative for the programme is TEDLab, a student venture-building programme that enables students to develop real businesses through a hands-on, project-based curriculum. The programme reflects NUTM’s larger ambition to prepare graduates not only for employment but for enterprise, leadership and economic transformation.
The Innovation Sandbox begins in July 2026 and will include structured peer exchange, access to a global expert network and participation in the Alliance’s Global Summit in Durham, North Carolina, in October 2026.
Jetri has been involved in the establishment of NUTM since its inception, supporting the university’s academic setup, faculty recruitment and institutional development. NUTM’s selection into the Innovation Sandbox is a significant validation of this foundational work and of the university’s emergence as a globally recognised model for entrepreneurship-led higher education in Africa.
Babs Omotowa, Pro-Chancellor, NUTM, said “What excites us most about the Innovation Sandbox is the chance to learn alongside institutions like Duke, Georgetown and Singapore Management University as peers with something genuine to contribute. NUTM was built on the belief that if African universities solve Africa’s real problems well enough, the rest of the world takes notice. This selection tells us that belief is starting to be heard.”
Nidhi Reddy, Founding Senior Partner, Jetri and Member, Governing Council, NUTM, said, “For us, this is proof of a broader thesis: that a university built the right way from day one can compete globally faster than anyone expects. NUTM is six years old and sits at the same table as institutions with far longer histories and much larger endowments. We hope this encourages other young institutions we work with, in Africa, India and beyond, to build with that same ambition.”
The selection also comes at a time when universities around the world are under pressure to respond to rapid technological change, shifting labour markets and the need for more adaptive, interdisciplinary and outcomes-driven education. NUTM’s inclusion in the inaugural cohort positions it within a global conversation on how universities can better prepare students for an increasingly complex world.
