LASU Innovation Hub Partners with SMAT Media for MTV Shuga Shorts Naija Innovation Lab 2025

The Lagos State University (LASU) Innovation Hub has reaffirmed its position as a leading centre for creativity, storytelling, and social impact through a strategic partnership with SMAT Media, producers of the award-winning MTV Shuga series.

From Tuesday, October 21 to Thursday, October 23, 2025, the Innovation Hub hosted the MTV Shuga Shorts Naija Innovation Lab 2025—a three-day creative workshop that brought together 20 of Nigeria’s most promising young storytellers. The Lab empowered participants to develop youth-led short films inspired by MTV Shuga Naija storylines, addressing key social and health issues through authentic, youth-driven narratives.

Among the selected participants was Morenikeji Uka, a distinguished LASU Mass Communication graduate, whose inclusion further underscores the University’s growing reputation for producing innovators and changemakers in the media industry.

Speaking with the Communications Officer of the LASU Innovation Hub, Ms. Pedetin Ogun, both the Creative Lead of SMAT Media and the Hub Manager emphasized the significance of collaboration and the expanding influence of the Innovation Hub.

Mr. Emmanuel Kalu Uduma, Creative Lead at SMAT Media and Lead Producer of the MTV Shuga Innovation Lab 2025, lauded LASU’s forward-thinking approach in supporting youth innovation.

“The LASU Innovation Hub is not just a space—it’s a movement,” he said. “It’s where young Nigerians discover the power of storytelling to influence mindsets, change narratives, and build a better society.”

The collaboration builds on an existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between LASU and SMAT Media, signed under the leadership of the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ibiyemi Ibilola Olatunji-Bello, mni, NPOM, as part of the University’s broader commitment to fostering strategic partnerships that promote creativity, innovation, and youth development.

Through the MoU, both institutions are jointly developing “Becoming Us,” a campus-based television series currently being incubated within the LASU Innovation Hub.

Adding his remarks, the Hub Manager, Professor Tunji Azeez, described the partnership as a reflection of LASU’s mission to link academic knowledge with creative enterprise.

“We are creating opportunities that prepare our students and graduates to lead Nigeria’s creative industries. The Hub is where research meets imagination, and imagination births transformation,” he affirmed.

Through such initiatives, LASU continues to bridge academia and industry—providing young Nigerians with the tools, platforms, and inspiration to create stories that drive social progress.

The LASU Innovation Hub remains a vibrant space where ideas grow, stories inspire, and innovation thrives.