Nnaji sets up Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Institute in Nigeria

A group of scientists and engineers are set to establish an institute in Nigeria devoted to the study of robots and artificial intelligence under the direction of Professor Bart Nnaji, founder and chairman of the Geometric Power Group.

Professor Nnaji revealed this today at a lecture to mark the 100th anniversary of Bigard Memorial Seminary, Enugu.

Bigard Memorial Seminary, Enugu is owned by the Catholic church in Anambra and Enugu states.

Nnaji is a former minister of science and technology who later served as the minister of power.

He completed his postdoctoral fellowship in artificial intelligence at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Later, he became a distinguished professor of engineering and director of the robotics and artificial intelligence laboratory at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

He moved to the University of Pittsburgh to lead a consortium of universities on a research program funded by the United States National Science Foundation.

Nnaji told the audience that the federal government has successfully scrutinized the institute through the office of the attorney general and minister of justice and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

He disclosed that the institute submitted its application in 2017.

He pointed out that it took the government four years to establish that “it is in the national interest to have such an advanced facility”.

According to him, the institute’s goals include training and certifying students in the design of hardware that can perform certain autonomous tasks repeatedly.

It also aims at conducting research studies in the development and analysis of algorithms

These algorithms are reportedly proposed to learn and perform intelligent behavior with little human intervention.

The institute will further teach and study computer sciences that teach the technology of intelligent machines and robots.

Dike Ejike

An Abuja-based mechanical engineer, power and business consultant, Mr. Dike Ejike, attended the Bigard Seminary centenary.

Mr. Ejike explained that “it is remarkable that far-reaching steps were taken to establish the institute in Nigeria long before generative artificial intelligence took the world by storm since November 30 2022 when Sam Altman and his group at OpenA1 launched ChatGTP in the United States which has radically changed the way the world learns, conducts research and does business”.

It was observed that Nnaji did not specify the institute’s location, structure, or start date.

Dike still maintained that “all Nigerians and the government should support this farsighted institute to help galvanize Nigerians into the AI race that has begun to define development in the 21st century”.

He noted that the Bells University of Technology in Otta, Ogun State, recently approved the construction of an artificial intelligence center.

He revealed that he is the chairman of the governing council in the school.

Nnaji urged the Nigerian government to give STEM subjects top priority so that Nigeria can advance in terms of development.

He cited Vietnam as an example, which currently produces 90,000 STEM talent annually.

Though the pool is woefully insufficient for top tech companies like Apple and Invidia that are vying for larger operations in the nation.

“Nvidia was established in 1993 by a team led by 30-year-old Jansen Huan, originally from Taiwan, and it made a stupendous $15.3 billion profit last quarter alone whereas Nigeria, a country of over 200m people, makes not more than $25 billion from crude oil sales annually”, recalled the famous scientist.

He recommended that top-notch economics and management programs be implemented in the nation in order to boost Nigeria’s competitiveness.

He also mentioned that even top scientific organizations, such as NASA, require skilled managers to stay operational, and business executives require a fundamental understanding of global economics to succeed.

Nnaji was earlier awarded the Nigerian National Order of Merit (NNOM), the country’s highest accolade for artistic and academic accomplishment.

Beyond preparing students for bachelor’s degrees…

He urged Bigard Memorial Seminary’s administration to think about elevating the 100-year-old school’s academic standing beyond just preparing its students for bachelor’s degrees in theology and philosophy.

“Eight years of full-time and intensive studies should earn the candidates at least the licentiate or master’s degree”, he noted.

He asked them to emulate the International School of Theology at Atakwu in the Enugu South local government area, where candidates for the Catholic priesthood graduate with a master’s degree from Duquesne University in Philadelphia, United States, after four years of philosophy studies followed by a four-year theological program,

Similar to the Catholic Institute of West Africa (CIWA) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, whose postgraduate programs are affiliated with the University of Calabar in Cross River State, he counseled the institution’s leaders to associate the proposed postgraduate studies at Bigard Seminary with a Nigerian or foreign university.

In response to widespread acclaim from the audience, which included Reverend Father Albert Ikpenwa, a theology professor and seminary rector, Nnaji said, “Alternatively, Bigard can apply to the National Universities Commission (NUC) to become a full-fledged university, after 100 years of existence”.

Francis Cardinal Arinze, a seminary alumni and former prefect for the congregation of divine worship and discipline of sacrament at the vatican, was one of the previous speakers at the centenary.

For Diaspora Digital Media Updates click on Whatsapp, or Telegram. For eyewitness accounts/ reports/ articles, write to: citizenreports@diasporadigitalmedia.com. Follow us on X (Fomerly Twitter) or Facebook