The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) says six Nigerian tertiary institutions will host new Centres of Excellence in Robotics, Coding, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Cybersecurity.
The Fund said the development would increase the number of its Centres of Excellence from 30 to 36 when the new additions become operational.
Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc. Sonny Echono, disclosed this at the Fund’s headquarters in Abuja during the inauguration of the Advisory Committee on Robotics, Coding, AI, Machine Learning Centres and Cybersecurity.
Echono said the committee’s primary responsibility was to guide the selection of institutions that would host the new centres.
According to him, the committee is chaired by Prof. Yakubu Ochefu, immediate past Secretary-General of the Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities.
He said the panel’s terms of reference include identifying institutions with demonstrable strengths and capacity in Robotics, Coding, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Cybersecurity.
Echono added that the committee would also set criteria and conditions for selecting beneficiary institutions and recommend up to six universities to host the proposed centres.
He said the selection process would ensure representation across the six geopolitical zones in line with the provisions of the TETFund Act, 2011.
“We are not only addressing issues around national security, but also preparing future generations of our youthful population to contribute meaningfully to national development and fill global knowledge and skills gaps,” he said.
Echono said President Bola Tinubu approved the establishment of at least six additional centres of excellence across the country.
He said the initiative was designed to reflect the six geopolitical zones while harnessing Nigeria’s abundant talents.
The executive secretary explained that the centres would be hosted exclusively by public universities to provide students and researchers with state-of-the-art facilities to drive innovation and competitiveness in emerging technological fields.
He directed that the first phase of the committee’s assignment be completed within 30 days, adding that the panel would retain an advisory role to guide selected institutions in establishing and developing the centres.
Responding, Prof. Ochefu pledged that the committee would develop clear, merit-based criteria to identify qualified institutions.
He assured that the process would ensure equitable representation across the six geopolitical zones in line with the TETFund Act.
