Coderina collaborates with Unilag to scale robotics and artificial intelligence innovation
Coderina collaborates with Unilag to scale robotics and artificial intelligence innovation
The University of Lagos has partnered with Coderina, one of Africa's leading non-profit educational technology organizations that uses technology to advance social, economic, and gender inclusion.
This partnership model has the potential to be successful in a variety of fields other than robotics, AI, and machine learning. COUCH (Coderina University Challenge) programs will assist students in honing their creativity and entrepreneurial skills.
Simultaneously, the Coderina Project Fair will ensure that students and researchers use their university dissertations and research to address social and economic issues.
Preparedness of the workforce and skill mismatch are critical national and societal issues. These must be confronted head-on. Coderina hopes to democratize access to practical, experiential skills while also assisting students in acquiring competencies and lifelong skills through this partnership.
By signing the MOU, Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, reaffirmed his confidence in this relationship as a means of developing enduring skills in our young adults in preparation for the future of work.
He also lauded Coderina's work in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education, which involves the introduction of coding and robotics to all 104 Federal Unity Colleges.
Addressing Africa's skills gap
The VC stated as that: “Addressing Africa's skills gap in the age of technology will require bold capacity building measures.”
Ogundipe continued, quoting the World Economic Forum, "The root of unemployment is not simply a lack of jobs; another critical underlying issue is an inadequately educated workforce." And this challenge is likely to be exacerbated in the coming years as a result of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which will be characterized by rapid technological advancement coupled with other socioeconomic and demographic changes that will further transform labor markets.” As a result, the time to begin addressing skills shortages is now.”
Dr. Chika Yinka-Banjo, Lead/Coordinator of the University of Lagos AI & Robotics Lab (AiRoL), expressed excitement about the prospect and potential of the collaboration during the event.
She stated that the relationship's benefits are already extensive. Coderina donated robotics kits to the lab, provided training, and has already prepared students for the FIRST Lego League Championship, a World Robotics Challenge, and has now assembled a UNILAG team for the FIRST Tech Challenge. This partnership will benefit not only the University, but will also aid in the development of an outreach program for youth in nearby underserved communities.”
Dr Sunday Adebisi, Director of the Entrepreneurship and Skills Development Centre (ESDC), for his part, welcomed the University of Lagos' relationship with CODERINA via the AI-Robotic Lab and ESDC as a development that will enable students to develop rare and competitive skills necessary for future decent jobs.
He stated that given that this generation will change careers more than ten times during their lifetime due to the extinction of many jobs and the birth of new ones, there is no better time than now to finalize this high-quality relationship that enables students to develop AI skills.
In Conclusion
According to the director, he said that: “I am optimistic that our students will become globally competitive in terms of employability opportunities, job creation, and entrepreneurship development under the current training arrangement.”
According to Mr. Ajayi, Coderina's founder, "this partnership adds a new dimension to academia-third sector collaboration by allowing both organizations to benefit from research, knowledge sharing, and practical application of research findings in the fields of robotics, drone technology, artificial intelligence, and entrepreneurship, in order to solve practical problems and unlock vast potential for scaled impact."
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