NUC, NOUN, AAU train 931 scholars on use of AI

From Fred Ezeh, Abuja

The training programme was organised by the National Universities Commission (NUC), National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) and the West Africa Office of the Association of African Universities (AAU) under the auspices of the NUC Strategy Advisory Committee (STRADVCOM).

Prof. Emeritus Peter Okebukola, who was the Facilitator of the Virtual Institute for Capacity Building in Higher Education (VICBHE) through which the training was delivered, said “during the training, key concepts in AI and 11 other practical sessions were covered.

He confirmed that the participants could now practically use AI tools to support their engagements. “They can now carry out exercises in machine learning and more importantly, use AI tools for quality assurance including accreditation. Participants also learned ethical considerations in the use of AI,”

Prof. Okebukola said he was delighted that the end-of-course project which all the participants undertook was on the development of AI policies for their various institutions. “The quality of the project reports was amazing.

“The aggregation of these policies will expectedly lead to draft AI policies for higher education institutions in the participating countries, and under the aegis of the AAU West Africa Office, produce a draft for the Africa region for consideration by the Secretary General of AAU, Prof. Olusola Oyewole.

“We closed the practical sessions with training participants in deepfake technology. They are now able to deepfake videos and pictures. We did this for two reasons. First, not to hide the bad sides of AI from them but to give them, through hands-on methodology, the good and the bad sides.

“The second reason is that if they know deepfake, they are better positioned to detect deepfake videos and images when they see one,”

Former Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’i, who was the Chairman of the ceremony and the keynote speaker, underlined the importance of the training for the successful implementation of the NUC Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS).

On the performance of the participants, Prof.  Okebukola disclosed that a total of 156 participants earned distinction plus certificate; 457 had distinction; 74 with credit; 131 merit; and 113 with pass, adding that 290 participants earned distinction in the end-of-course project, while 21 participants received special awards.

These include the Malam Adamu Adamu prize for the overall best graduating participant which was awarded to Prof. Omolara Oluwasola Oluwaniyi of the University of Ilorin. The same participant won the Prof. Abubakar Adamu Rasheed Prize for the best participant from the Nigerian university system and the Prof. Ngozi Odu Prize for the best female participant.

The Sonny Echono Prize for the best overall head of tertiary institutions was won by Prof. Mohammed Tanko, Vice-Chancellor, Mewar University. Other awards went to Dr. Florence Kakwera, National Council for Higher Education, Malawi (Prof. Olusola Oyewole Prize); Dr. Bridget Audu, National Universities Commission (Christopher J. Maiyaki Prize); Prof. Ibiyinka Fuwape, Michael and Cecilia Ibru University (Prof. Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’i Prize); Christie Dasaro, ECWA International College Of Technology, Jos (Best serving Rector of Polytechnic); Prof. Akan Williams, former VC, Covenant University (Best former Vice-Chancellor); Prof. Basirat Oladipupo-Folarin, Lagos State University of Science and Technology (Best serving Deputy Vice-Chancellor).