Role of academia in enhancing technology and innovation for a post COVID-19 recovery and growth

The COVID-19 pandemic represents one of the greatest challenges of this century with wide ranging impacts not only on health but practically every sector of the human society. The pandemic stretched our resources and coping capacities to almost breaking points even in wealthy economies and further exposed crucial weaknesses in infrastructure, human resources and emergency preparedness of most nations. This review article explored the role of technology and innovation in post COVID-19 growth and recovery. The academia has facilitated better understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic by increasing the body of knowledge on the disease. Better understanding of the disease informed technology and innovations which has made it possible to end the pandemic lockdown, and chart the course for recovery and growth. Relevant articles from a search of electronic databases were reviewed and the role of academia as well as some of the innovations that opened the pathway for recovery were highlighted. Recovery and growth after the COVID-19 pandemic will require synergistic efforts between the academia and the industry, more like taking the “Gown” to “Town”. Research and development in academia, and industrial technology and innovation are veritable tools for a post COVID-19 recovery.