Nigerian defence-tech startup Terra Industries has partnered with Miva Open University to establish integrated robotics, drone and virtual-reality laboratories across the university’s learning centres. The collaboration begins with a pilot lab at Miva’s Abuja study centre and aims to embed hands-on hardware training into degree programmes.
Under the agreement, students will design, assemble, test and fly drones as part of their academic coursework rather than as optional electives. Terra will deliver practical workshops, train faculty, and offer internships and job opportunities to high-performing students. The initiative targets skills shortages in artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomous systems and related fields that are increasingly relevant to infrastructure protection and defence technology across Africa.
Terra Industries, founded by Nathan Nwachuku and Maxwell Maduka, operates a 15,000-square-foot manufacturing facility near Abuja with capacity for tens of thousands of drones annually. The company designs unmanned aerial vehicles, autonomous surveillance systems and ground vehicles, sourcing more than 70% of its inputs from within Africa. It has raised approximately $34 million, including backing from 8VC and Lux Capital, and its systems already protect critical infrastructure valued in the billions across African countries and Canada.
Miva Open University framed the partnership as a step toward experiential learning that prepares graduates for real-world technology challenges. The Abuja pilot will serve as a template for additional labs at other Miva centres, though no detailed expansion timeline has been published.
Africa’s growing demand for defence and dual-use technology talent has outpaced traditional university output in specialised hardware skills. By placing a manufacturing-focused company inside the curriculum, the partnership attempts to shorten the gap between academic theory and industrial practice. Students gain exposure to production constraints, testing protocols and operational use cases that classroom simulations rarely capture.
For Terra, the arrangement creates a pipeline of engineers familiar with its systems and manufacturing processes an important consideration as the company scales production and explores additional facilities. For Miva, it differentiates the university’s technology offerings in a competitive higher-education market increasingly focused on employability.
The success of the model will depend on sustained faculty capacity, consistent student throughput, and whether the hands-on experience translates into measurable career outcomes. In the near term, the Abuja lab represents a concrete experiment in linking African deep-tech manufacturing with open-university education.
