Bredhub-UBTECH and Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam, Anambra State, have established a collaboration to promote robotics and artificial intelligence inclusion for the university’s students and other community members.

To accomplish this, the parties have agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding for “Artificial Intelligence and Robotics education,” which will enable students and other staff members to interact with robots and gain programming knowledge.

Read also: UNDP, Unilag launch AI UniPOD to empower students

Vice Chancellor’s remarks

Tuesday’s signing of the Memorandum of Understanding took place at the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Kate Omenugha’s office. A significant focus of the event was how important it is to provide the next generation of students with artificial intelligence skills to adapt to the university’s disruptive change.

During the event, the vice-chancellor said that the exercise is beneficial for both the community and the students because it is one of the ways the school prepares the next generation for the disruptive changes occurring in the world.

“We want to bring about the kind of disruptive change that this partnership will enable in this university,” the speaker expressed excitement. When we first arrived at this school, we wanted to infuse our work with social justice and education, so I feel a little satisfied that this exercise will be the catalyst for that.

“There are a lot of lessons to be learned; thus, the school needs to embrace this innovation. We want everyone involved in this, including the kids, the entire school community, and the surrounding community. It’s one of the things we can do to support the transformation of youth culture.

“We must occupy the youth by transforming their mentalities to make them more productive and accountable to the community. We will push this exercise with the help of the institution’s internal and external public because we believe it will be both gratifying and rewarding.”

Anambra State ICT agency MD/CEO’s statement

Earlier in his speech, Chukwuemeka Agbata, the Managing Director/CEO of the Anambra State ICT Agency, said that the partnership would allow the university to access technology that is currently upending the entire world and that it would be a phenomenal change for the better.

The university system is crucial in igniting the Anambra tech drive that the governor is trying to accomplish, according to Agbata, who supported changing the curriculum to include ICT. He also added that it is not by accident that the exercise is beginning at the university.

Bredhub-UBTECH MD/CEO’s speech

Speaking as well, Michael Ahamefule, managing director/CEO of Bredhub-UBTECH, characterised the cooperation as a fantastic opportunity for the organisation and the company since it created a space for creativity to start.

“Teaching AI and robotics to the students at the institutions will significantly impact their future careers and the wider society,” stated Ahamefule. It will get them ready for the workforce of the future. The adoption of AI and robotics is growing, and educating students in these fields might help them prepare for a changing labour market.

The fourth revolution has begun, and the world has moved away from analogue. It’s a means of providing innovations that will allow them to recognise issues and give technological remedies. Thanks to this opportunity, our kids can take the necessary steps to enter the revolutionary world.

We can provide college students with the tools they need to impact the future and solve some of humanity’s most critical issues by teaching them about artificial intelligence and robotics.

“The MOU is a formal agreement and partnership to collaborate and work with the institution towards equipping the university community and students with robotics and artificial intelligence.”

Read also: OpenAI’s Strategy to Empower Humans in AI Training

Students learn robotics programming

Students at the university had the opportunity to interact with AI and robots and learn how to programme them following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding in the VC’s office.

A few students at the Faculty of Social Sciences mentioned how much they enjoyed manipulating and programming the robots during the robotics demonstration.

It’s an unforgettable experience, according to Ifeoma Okeke, a student at the Department of Political Science. I gained knowledge on how to recognise and address issues with the tools, and I think this will be very beneficial to the students in terms of giving them access to the technical advancements required to provide answers in our many disciplines.