Staying relevant in academia means knowing where the money goes, By Mohammed Dahiru Aminu

…if you are an academic who seeks to self-improve, remain globally relevant and attract funding and collaboration, remember to always follow the money. You should also stay curious, read widely and be bold. You should publish in emerging areas, partner across disciplines and reinvent yourself every few years. Because in academia, as in life, stagnation is the enemy of relevance.

In today’s academic world, whether in Nigeria or abroad, relevance is no longer guaranteed by the number of degrees you hold or how well-aligned your qualifications are across disciplines. What truly sustains an academic career is the ability to follow the money. In other words, the best way to remain visible, productive and valuable in academia is to understand where research investments are going and to align your work accordingly. In my experience working in the Nigerian university system, I found that the conversation around research relevance rarely focuses on the flow of funding. This is perhaps because our academic environment is structurally uncompetitive. Unlike in many developed countries, hard work in Nigeria’s academia does not often yield commensurate rewards. Promotions, grants or career progression are rarely tied to performance or innovation. Those who go above and beyond are often driven solely by their internal motivation to self-improve, rather than any structured incentive.

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In the Nigerian system, I was once advised by a senior professor to follow a linear academic path: a bachelor’s degree in Geology should be followed by a master’s in Geology and a PhD in the same field. The advice was well-meaning, but outdated. The assumption was that any deviation from a strict disciplinary path would spell doom for one’s academic career. But in the real world, this rigidity has no place. Take, for example, Professor UR Sumaila of the University of British Columbia, a world-renowned expert in ocean and fisheries economics. He began his academic journey with a degree in quantity surveying, which is far removed from the oceans or fisheries. Today, he leads global discussions on marine fisheries. His success is proof that relevance is not about your starting point, but about where and how you position yourself along the way.

Academic disciplines are not static and research funding does not remain fixed. Funding is fluid. It appears in one field, gains traction for a few years and then shifts to a new area. Climate change, artificial intelligence, bioinformatics, hydrogen energy and carbon capture, are recent examples of where the money is going, and where researchers must go if they want to stay relevant. The most successful academics and institutions understand this and move with the current, not against it. You do not need a new degree to move into a new field. What you need is intellectual curiosity and the willingness to engage deeply. Let us say a new funding wave is directed toward geothermal energy or hydrogen storage. If your current research is remotely related, say, you are a geologist, chemist or engineer, you are already halfway there. What remains is for you to immerse yourself in the literature and catch up with the latest thinking. One practical approach is to download 250 to 300 relevant papers in the emerging field, read five papers daily and take notes. Within two months, you will not only understand the language of the field, you may even begin to generate original ideas and write your own papers.

During my time collaborating with researchers at the British Geological Survey, I saw firsthand how researchers evolve with funding trends. Many began their careers as geologists in the 1980s. Over time, they moved into geochemistry, radioactive waste management, gas hydrates, carbon capture and storage, hydrogen storage, and geothermal systems. Their titles, departmental names and institutional affiliations changed along with them. That is how dynamic researchers survive by adaptation.

There is no way you will study 300 papers in a new field and remain clueless. Quite the opposite: you will find yourself at conferences, workshops and proposal review panels contributing meaningfully. You will find collaborators. You will get invited to contribute chapters or reviews. This is how mastery begins, not always with a certificate, but with boldness and deliberate curiosity. During my time collaborating with researchers at the British Geological Survey, I saw firsthand how researchers evolve with funding trends. Many began their careers as geologists in the 1980s. Over time, they moved into geochemistry, radioactive waste management, gas hydrates, carbon capture and storage, hydrogen storage, and geothermal systems. Their titles, departmental names and institutional affiliations changed along with them. That is how dynamic researchers survive by adaptation.

In the developed countries, universities themselves also evolve. Departments rebrand. Faculties restructure. New centres emerge, often in response to global funding trends. Why? Because universities must stay competitive in research funding, global rankings and partnerships. It is no accident that you find research clusters today on climate resilience, AI ethics or sustainable energy. These clusters did not exist twenty years ago. In the developed countires, universities follow the money because it is necessary for institutional survival. Researchers should do the same for professional survival. The lesson here is simple. You cannot afford to spend your entire academic career locked into a single field, publishing the same kinds of papers you did during your PhD and expect to remain relevant. The world is moving and you must move with it. That movement may be tangential, not radical. But it is movement nonetheless. The reward is not just more publications but also more funding, more impact and more invitations to shape the future of your discipline.

As academics in Nigeria, and more broadly, in Africa, we must unlearn the idea that a person’s value in academia is measured by how closely their degrees align. That logic made sense in the past, when information was scarce and change was slow. But we live in a dynamic era and our approach must reflect that. Your credibility comes not from the title on your certificate but from the substance of your ideas and your ability to contribute to the pressing issues of our time.

Another common myth in academia, especially in Nigeria, is that you must wait for the world to come to you. You assume that your specialty will one day attract attention and funding. But that is not how research ecosystems work. You must take initiative. You must venture out. You must show up where the money is already going and make yourself useful there. Once you establish credibility, the grants will follow you. Until then, you must follow the grants. This principle is even more critical for academics in developing countries. In countries like Nigeria, where research budgets are limited and local funding for innovation is scarce, the only way to maintain global relevance is to connect with international funding opportunities. These opportunities are not going to fund your nostalgia for a field that is no longer in demand. They will fund what solves today’s problems. The good news is that intellectual versatility is easier to develop today than ever before. With access to open-source journals, webinars, online courses and global networks, any curious academic can pivot to a new field in record time. You do not need to enrol in another university or sit through three years of classes. You need internet access, time, discipline and a genuine hunger to learn.

As academics in Nigeria, and more broadly, in Africa, we must unlearn the idea that a person’s value in academia is measured by how closely their degrees align. That logic made sense in the past, when information was scarce and change was slow. But we live in a dynamic era and our approach must reflect that. Your credibility comes not from the title on your certificate but from the substance of your ideas and your ability to contribute to the pressing issues of our time. So, if you are an academic who seeks to self-improve, remain globally relevant and attract funding and collaboration, remember to always follow the money. You should also stay curious, read widely and be bold. You should publish in emerging areas, partner across disciplines and reinvent yourself every few years. Because in academia, as in life, stagnation is the enemy of relevance.