New Horizons Nigeria, an information and communication technology training institute, has inaugurated a ₦1.5 billion, 2,000-seat modern artificial intelligence resource empowerment centre at Babcock University, Ogun.

New Horizons Nigeria CEO Tim Akano said that the inauguration was part of activities marking the university’s 23rd undergraduate and 14th postgraduate convocation ceremony.

The weeklong activities were slated for July 20 to 27.

“We all know that the whole world is moving toward artificial intelligence, and we want to lead in that space. This is why we have taken our time to put the resources in place. It is not the building alone; we are also commissioning the resources inside the building.

“We brought in 300 all-in-one customised systems. Each of the systems costs about N1 million. I have also brought in some items for robotics and AI. You are going to see some samples of them,” Mr Akano said.

He advised students, institutions and others to embrace AI.

“The simplest way I explain AI to people now is to see it as the new electricity. When electricity was invented or innovated in those days, people didn’t know that it was going to touch every aspect of our lives.

“My goal as an individual is to be the hub through which the technology transformation of Africa will happen,” Mr Akano said.

He said that AI had been involved in all spheres of human endeavour.

“There is AI in medicine now. There is a robot doctor. There is AI in law. There is a robot lawyer. There is AI in pharmacy. There are AI warehouses that can pack all those things people buy on Alibaba and Amazon, so there is an AI component in everything we are doing now. There is an AI pilot. There are AI driverless cars,” he said.

Mr Akano said that any nation or civilisation missing out on the AI revolution would be relegated to the background of history.

“Finally, we put an innovation corner for students there, under the tree, because we remember that Edison got inspiration while sitting under a tree. We tried to replicate what Thomas Edison did,” he said.

Mr Akano said that the institute provided a 120-seat sit-out area for students, where they could have deeper interactions with one another.

He stated that New Horizons Nigeria had partnerships with six institutions, including Babcock University, Bowen University, and Redeemer’s University.

Explaining the modalities of its partnership with Babcock, Mr Akano said that it was providing the resource centre and subsidising the training cost by 90 per cent.

He said that it had been difficult to get universities to embrace the innovation, urging a change.

The vice-chancellor of Babcock University, Ademola Tayo, said that he was excited at the inauguration.

He hoped that the centre would help the university become fully digital and enable students and staff to be part of the global digital revolution.

The vice-chancellor stated that employers no longer sought cognitive knowledge, but rather skills.

“I am excited because I believe that in any field of human endeavour today, there is the need for digital literacy. Digital literacy drives every profession today. It will go a long way to make our students compete well in the job market,” he said.

He expressed satisfaction at the collaboration between the university and some professional bodies.

“We believe one thing as an institution: If you want to go fast, you go alone, but if you want to go far, you go with others,” he said.

(NAN)