The National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, is set to establish a Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment towards a robust digital economy in the country.
The NITDA Director-General, Kashifu Inuwa, who made the disclosure on Wednesday while receiving delegates from the Nile University led by its Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Osman Nuri-Aras, in Abuja, said the centre would be a state-of-the-art facility for emerging technologies.
According to him, embedding relevant skills will better prepare the workforce to actively participate in the fourth industrial revolution, hence the need for such centres in the country.
On the issue of scholarship, Mr Inuwa stated that the Agency offers scholarships in areas that have a direct impact on the industry.
“Our focus is not to just have M.Sc. or Ph.D. but to add value to the industry”, the DG added.
Mr Inuwa stressed the importance of strengthening relationships with educational institutions, “so that there can be custom-made courses to prepare us for future work”.
The director-general, therefore, commended Nile University for its transition from physical learning to virtual learning within the first week of the lockdown, urging other higher institutions of learning to follow suit.
Earlier in his remarks, Prof. Nuri-Aras expressed the Nile University’s readiness to partner NITDA in producing students that are future proof, saying that the institution has a specialty in machine learning.
According to the VC, 85 per cent of the Nile University M.Sc. and Ph.D. Computer Science students have their specialties in Machinery and Artificial Intelligence.
