26 UNILORIN dons receive VICBHE training on AI
Twenty six academic staff members of the University of Ilorin were among the 983 successful participants at a recent training organised by the Virtual Institute for Capacity Building in Higher Education (VICBHE).
The training, which held between January 22 and April 26, 2024, focused on the use of Artificial Intelligence to support teaching, research and community engagement.
According to a statement made available to UNILORIN BULLETIN by Prof. M. O. Ameen of the Department of Chemistry, the training programme with anticipated support from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), was organised by the National Universities Commission (NUC), the 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. Ameen said that the 13-week training with the team, “VICBHE Module 8: The ABC of Artificial Intelligence and the Delivery of Quality Higher Education: A Practical Course”, was an online hands-on training for Academic and other Senior Staff of Higher Institutions in Africa with participants from more than 193 public and private higher institution of learning, including universities, polytechnics, colleges of technology, colleges of education, institutes etc., across Africa.
“At the end of the13 week-long programme, 931 participants successfully completed the training out of 1,023 that initially registered. Among the successful 983 participants, 26 were from the University of Ilorin”, Prof. Ameen said, adding that “worthy of note is the achievement of Prof. Omolara Olusola Oluwaniyi of the Department of Industrial Chemistry and immediate past Director of Quality Assurance, who emerged the overall best in three categories. The Mallam Adamu Adamu Prize for the Overall Best Graduating Participant, 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 Overall”.
Prof. Ameen stated further that “among the successful participants also are the immediate past Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic), Prof. Sylva O. Malomo; former Director of Academic Planning, Prof. I. A. Adimula, former Dean, Student Affairs, Prof. L. T. Ajibade, as well as the current Provost of the Federal College of Education, Iwo, Prof. R. I. Adebayo.
“Others are Prof. J. O. Adeniran (Surgery), Prof. Tunmise L. Adewoye (Chemical Engineering),Prof. A. O. Adeyina (Animal Production), Prof. Mubarak O. Ameen (Chemistry), Prof. S. A. Ameen (Vet Medicine), Prof. K. O. Babalola (Mathematics), Prof. Omodele A. A. Eletta (Chemical Engineering), Prof. Olubunmi A. Fadipe-Joseph (Mathematics), Prof. A. S. Kasum (Accounting), Prof. O. M. Kolawole (Microbiology), Prof. O. A. Lasode (Mechanical Engineering), Prof. A. O. Mahmoud (Ophthalmology), Prof. J. O. Olaoye (Agric & Biosystem Engineering.), Prof. A. O. Latinwo (O & G), Prof. Bolanle O. Olawuyi (Social Science Education), Prof. A. O. Oniye (Guidance & Counselling), Prof. J. F. Owoeye (Ophthalmology), Prof. M. M. Sulaiman (Science Education), Dr Idayat F. Usamot (Mathematics) and Prof. Khadijat A. Yahaya (Accounting)”, he added.
While speaking at the graduation ceremony, the Director/Facilitator-General of the VICBHE, Prof. Peter Okebukola, said that “during the 13 weeks of training, we covered key concepts in AI and had 11 practical sessions”, adding that the participants could now practically use AI tools to support their teaching, research and community engagement.
According to him, “They can now carry out exercises in machine learning and more importantly, use AI tools for quality assurance including accreditation. All the participants also learned ethical considerations in the use of AI”.
Prof. Okebukola who is the immediate past Chairman, Governing Council of the National Open University of Nigeria, (NOUN), further said, “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”.
The participants at the training included Vice-Chancellors, Rectors of Polytechnics, Provosts of Colleges of Education, Deputy Vice-Chancellors, Directors of Academic Planning, Directors of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Deans of Faculties, Heads of Departments, Professors, Chief Lecturers and senior management staff of higher education institutions in Nigeria, among whom were the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin and the Registrar of Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Is-haq O. Oloyede, and the former Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’i, who was the Chairman of the ceremony
Highlights of the graduation ceremony, which was held on Monday (April 29, 2024), included the formal launch of the Nigeria Association of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Practitioners (NAAIP).