Arogundade emphasised the potential for the students to utilise the skills acquired to become self-sufficient and contribute to the nation’s technological advancement.
By Jeffrey Agbo
Abiola Arogundade, Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Education, has donated 50 laptops and 50 industrial training course licenses, valued at over N80 million to students at the Government Science and Technical College, Garki, Abuja.
The laptops were equipped with appropriate software to support a six-month training programme in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Engineering.
During the handover ceremony at the College in Area 3 of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Arogundade emphasised the significance of the donations in line with the presidential mandate to promote innovation in technical education.
“We are giving licenses to 25 students for each of these courses who will each also receive a laptop which is already configured with the appropriate software downloaded to enable the beneficiaries to do the course effectively,” she said.
At the presentation, the need to focus on promoting technical, vocational, and entrepreneurship education was reinforced, with an emphasis on enhancing the advancement of technical and entrepreneurial skills among the students.
“It is the beginning of a journey into stimulating innovation in technical education in the country which is one of the major pillars of the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration,” Arogundade said.
She urged the beneficiaries to seize the opportunity presented by the training, envisioning them as future entrepreneurs in the fields of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence. Arogundade emphasised the potential for the students to utilise the skills acquired to become self-sufficient and contribute to the nation’s technological advancement.
Underscoring the importance of upscaling the skills of the nation’s workforce, she highlighted the potential impact of Robotics Engineering and Artificial Intelligence on Nigeria’s industrialisation and productivity.
Arogundade also emphasised the need for Nigeria to advance in industrialisation and technology and join the league of developed nations. Drawing parallels with leading countries in the use of Robots and Artificial Intelligence, she encouraged the students to strive for excellence in their chosen fields, envisioning a future where Nigeria achieves significant progress in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence.
Arogundade expressed gratitude to Messrs. De Lorenzo International for their generous support and looked forward to continued partnership with the company. “The initiative represents the beginning of a journey towards stimulating innovation in technical education in the country, aligning with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the administration. The donations of laptops and training course licenses symbolise a significant step towards fostering innovation, enhancing technical education, and empowering students to become key contributors to Nigeria’s technological landscape,” she disclosed.
She also pointed out that currently many interventions are going on in Nigeria in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence adding that by the donations, her office is contributing to Tinubu’s mandate of promoting technical education in Nigeria.
Arogundade, who said the donations to GSTC are the beginning of a series of such gestures to technical institutions across the country, disclosed that the next in line for the donations is Yaba College of Technology (Yabatech) in Lagos where Robotics Science and Artificial Intelligence equipment will also be donated adding that the courses being given to any technical institution would depend on the ones they indicated interest in.
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Reacting to the kind gesture by the Federal Government, the Principal of the school, James Kuta, in his remarks, expressed delight at the gesture describing it as a privilege to be chosen among many other technical institutions in the country as the first to receive the courses and laptops for the six-month programme.
The principal declared, “It is a privilege that our youths are being captured at this age to engage in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence. Anywhere you go now all over the world it is the in thing and if the youths perfect in them, they will fit in any part of the world.”
While expressing their appreciation of Tinubu and Arogundade, Young-Itiye Emmanuel and Simone Godsfavour Ojoacheli, both beneficiaries in the Artificial Intelligence Course, thanked the President for his interest and commitment to Nigeria youths commending Arogundade for bringing that commitment to reality by the donations to them.
Also, Muhammad Hadiyyah, Augustine Daniella and Manasseh Injadoo, beneficiaries in the Robotic Sciences, hailed the administration of President Tinubu for its commitment to youth development in the country and expressed gratitude to Arogundade for making them beneficiaries of the gesture. They all promised to make good use of the opportunity by both developing into experts in their chosen careers and training other youths in their careers.
